Today we’d like to introduce you to Renzo Aida.
Renzo, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I took my first ballroom dance lesson in 2004 at the age of 28. I was mainly interested in learning a few dance moves so I wouldn’t look awkward dancing at parties, but I fell in love with it from my first lesson. I continued to dance socially as a hobby for about 8 months, before I attended my first competition. I immediately got the competition bug and began to really focus all my time and energy into developing as a competitive ballroom dancer. I actively competed in ballroom dance competitions for six years. In 2010 I moved to Boston to pursue my MBA at Boston University. It was there where I realized how much dance meant to me.
During my first year of school I was really busy with classes and projects, and didn’t have any time to dance. I gained 30 pounds in 9 months and quickly became depressed. I tend to be someone who doesn’t show a lot of emotion and ballroom dancing was my emotional outlet. When I dance I feel as though all my stresses and issues go away and nothing else matters. Not having ballroom dance in my life really affected my well-being. During my summer break I found a local studio and began taking dance classes again. Almost immediately my health and level of happiness improved. That summer I danced every day and lost all the weight I had gained, so that by the time the fall semester started, I was unrecognizable. I decided to take a lighter workload during my second year so that I could continue my dance training, and by the time graduation came, I knew I needed to find a job that allowed me the flexibility to continue to make dance a part of my life. It was then when I became interested in opening my own dance studio, and in June 2013 it came to fruition. I purchased a small struggling studio in Dedham and incorporated the knowledge I had gained from business school to make it successful. We just celebrated our four year anniversary and have achieved double digit growth every year since I took over.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Starting your own business is never easy. It was a quite the learning experience for me, having gone from the corporate world to running a ballroom dance studio. There were many times during the first year where I was ready to throw in the towel, but I really cared about my staff and didn’t want to let them down. One of the toughest things was looking at our bank account every week and not knowing if we would have enough to cover payroll. It was like that almost every week, and on several occasions I had to swallow my pride and ask my friends and family for loans so that my staff could get paid. I also made several mistakes with marketing and advertising and quickly surpassed my budget with contracts that I could not cancel.
The hardest thing I had to do was firing someone. There was a person who had been part of the studio for 5 years who had been recommended to me as a manager. I thought this was a great idea as I did not have experience running a studio in the past; however, I quickly learned that this person was not supportive of me and did not have the best interest of the studio in mind. It was really frustrating coming up with ideas to improve our product and offerings for our students, just to have my ideas shut down. Even if they were initially accepted, they were quickly sabotaged. I ended up having to fire my studio manager; something that I had never had to do in my career. But I learned from it and made a promise to myself to trust my own instinct from that point on.
Fred Astaire Dance Studio – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Dedham, MA is located in Historic Dedham Square.
Our studio offers a full range of Ballroom and Latin dance lessons for all ages, at all ability levels, and with or without a partner.
The teaching philosophy at Fred Astaire is simple and straightforward: learning how to ballroom dance is always fun! We work with students of all ages and abilities, and help them realize their ballroom dancing goals in a friendly and inspirational atmosphere. Whether you are interested in wedding dance instruction, are looking for a new hobby or way to connect with your partner, want to improve your social life, or are taking your dancing skills to the next level, Fred Astaire’s teaching method will result in faster learning rates and higher levels of achievement – regardless of your physical attributes or comprehension. And at Fred Astaire Dance Studios, you’ll always find a warm and welcoming community that will inspire you to reach new heights, feel and look confident, and have fun doing it!
Our proven dance curriculum includes a tiered program of regularly-scheduled Private Lessons, plus Group Lessons and Practice Parties to ensure that you learn as much as possible, in the shortest amount of time, with the most retention, and the most FUN! Our dance instructors’ repertoire covers the full range of ballroom dances. Created for both social & competitive dancers, our proprietary dance instruction program ensures you’ll be on your way to confident dancing by the end of your very first lesson!
Perhaps what we’re most proud of is that we work in an industry where we have the opportunity to changes lives every single day. Dancing isn’t just about the steps and music. It’s a perfect combination of physical activity, social interaction, and mental stimulation. Dancing enhances your life in so many ways: Health, Confidence, Self-Expression, Social, Relaxation, and Fun.
Health: When you dance, your cardiovascular system improves, your muscle tone increases and you burn calories. This low-impact aerobic activity also increases flexibility, strength, and balance. Olympic athletes often dance as part of their training to sharpen their control, agility, and speed. Dancing is great exercise, and our studios offer a pleasant, fun atmosphere in which to learn.
Confidence: Dancers possess an aura of self-confidence and an ability to enjoy themselves more in social situations. When you learn how to dance, your entire mental outlook will take on a fresh sense of creativity, motivation, and energy. This new self-confidence in your dancing abilities will transfer to other aspects of your life as well.
Self-Expression: Dance provides an emotional outlet so that you can express your feelings through your body movements with passion and flair. Dancing will bring out, improve upon, and strengthen your ability to permanently use these expressive qualities even when you are not dancing.
Social: Dancing lessons are an easy, low-pressure way to meet people. Fred Astaire Franchised Dance Studios provide weekly practice dance parties, nights out on the town, and regional and national competitions, as well as fun trips to many different locations. Our lessons are the perfect way for couples to rediscover romance by dancing your way to love!
Relaxation: In today’s fast-paced world, we sometimes forget to take a moment for ourselves. Dancing provides an enjoyable escape from your normal daily routine, plus a chance to relax, relieve stress, and concentrate on yourself.
Fun: Dancing is a great way to add excitement to your life. Although learning to dance takes concentration and dedication, you will be constantly surrounded by artistic, cheerful people who make learning a pleasurable and rewarding experience. So join us and have some fun!
We enjoy being part of the Dedham community, love the many special activities we offer in the studio and have a blast participating in regional and national events with other Fred Astaire Dance Studios from around New England and the country.
We are open 1:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:30 am – 5:15 pm on Saturday. We proudly serve Dedham, Westwood, Norwood, Canton, Milton, Dover, Needham, Newton, Wellesley, Boston and other surrounding towns.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is not defined by numbers. It’s not about how much our revenues increased or the bottom line. Success is watching a student’s journey from the day they walk into our studio and take their first steps, then watching them develop as dancers and see their health, happiness, confidence and social lives significantly improve. Success is when you run into someone who saw you dance five years earlier and for them to tell you how your dancing inspired them to follow their dreams. Success when a student who had suffered severe memory loss from a car accident brings us a letter from her doctors thanking us for being a major influence in her recovery. Success is when a person with no confidence walks into our studio and seeing that same person walk in for their 30th lesson six months later with amazing posture, a purposeful stride, a joyous smile on their face, and all the confidence in the world. Success is seeing each and everyone of my staff grow as teachers and dancers before my very eyes.
There is not a day that goes by where I am reminded of the difference that we make in people’s lives. There is no marker for that.
Contact Info:
- Address: 619 High Street
Dedham, MA 02026 - Website: www.fredastaire.com/dedham
- Phone: 7813205678
- Email: dedham@fredastaire.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fadsdedham/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fadsdedham
- Twitter: @fadsdedham
- Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/fred-astaire-franchised-dance-studios-dedham-ma-873481
Image Credit:
Ryan Kenner Photography, Hilda Fuentes, Renzo Aida, Kelly Wain
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