Happy Thanksgiving! - Grateful Hearts

Dear The Next Step School of Dance Families,

As Thanksgiving draws nearer, we wanted to take a moment to express our thanks to YOU, for trusting us with your child’s dance education and allowing us to be a positive light in your child’s life. We are grateful that you’ve chosen us for your studio home.

Dance, to so many of our students, is about so much more than learning new steps or practicing choreography. It is a place where they can make friends and share stories; a place where they can express their emotions and act courageously. It is a place where they know they will be held accountable but also loved, even when they mess up. At all ages, our students are absorbing these messages and carrying them outside the studio into the rest of their lives.

Whether your child takes one class a week or ten, they are discovering that dance is a safe place to learn AND be themselves. We love that the dance classroom can serve our students this way, that it can complement their lives at home and at school by offering them an outlet for exploring their potential.

To paraphrase research professor Brené Brown: “We should never underestimate the benefit to a child of having a place to belong—even one—where they can take off their armor and their hearts can exhale.”

Our mission at The Next Step School of Dance is for each of our dancers to experience this benefit, to feel like they truly belong here. And it’s through your encouragement and support that we can make it happen. We’re so thankful for the opportunity to serve your family and be a positive influence for your child. Dance taught us many of the same lessons we are passing on to our students today, so it’s pretty humbling to see these things come full circle!

From all of us at The Next Step School of Dance, we hope the spirit of this season touches your heart in the same way it has ours. We love coming to work every day because of the amazing children we get to teach, who make us smile and laugh and yes, even sometimes cry (happy tears!). We might not say it enough, but they truly inspire us to be the best versions of ourselves.

It is with grateful hearts that we wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!

With love and gratitude,

The Faculty & Staff at The Next Step School of Dance