BUSINESS FEATURE
BY CYNTHIA ZELAYA
Knight guides a class in practicing their dance routine.
Demi Knight opened Leap Dance Center in Katy in September 2017. (Photos courtesy Cynthia Zelaya/Community Impact Newspaper)
Some students take one class per week, while others who compete takemultiple.
DIVERSEDANCE STUDIO Leap Dance Center o ers options for children interested in dancing.
LeapDance Center Business owner crafts Katy dance studio for her dancers U pon graduating with a degree in psychology from Texas A&MUniversity, Demi the completion of her degree, she realized she wanted to make a career out of dancing after all. Using money she earned during college, a 27-year-old Knight
Classes include ballet, tap, acrobatic arts, jazz and hip-hop. Parents can watch their children practice via livestream in one of the two waiting rooms. A playroom for little siblings is available on the second story. Shoes and costumes can be bought in bundles at the start of the school year.
“I’ll release the schedule for the fall in April, and they are full in a week,” she said. “This year we added three classes after the year started, and they’re full. There are waiting lists a mile long.” Knight said she felt frustrated due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the teacher shortage it brought prevented her from giving kids on waitlists the opportunity to learn. Dance classes start at $82 per month plus a registration fee, recital fee and costume fee. Classes run in sync with the school year. In the future, Knight sees herself continu- ing to manage Leap Dance. “I think I’ll always be here manag- ing,” Knight said. “I like being here. I like getting to know the people, using the studio, teaching the little ones. ... It’s not a chore; it’s a job I actually enjoy.”
Knight never imagined she would go on to own and operate a dance studio, she said. In fact, she spent a lot of her youth believing she would do the opposite. Knight said she has always loved dance. Her mother, Kay Bily, owned a studio for 18 years in northwest Houston, where Knight danced from preschool to high school. During college, Knight made extra money teaching dance. “One of my mom’s former students had a studio, and I would sub and teach in the summer,” she said. “That’s where I fell in love with teaching dance to kids.” During college, she drove to Austin once a week for private tap lessons for fun. As she neared
opened Leap Dance Center in Katy in September 2017. The building, a 10,000-square-foot dance studio, was custom designed and built by Knight and her family. Every detail was crafted with dance in mind, she said, from the same-size rooms to the interlocking sprung oors. Leap Dance Center o ers classes in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop and acrobatic arts. Knight said no child is ever too old to learn to dance nor is any child made to feel inferior for wanting to dance as a hobby instead of joining a competitive team. The classes ll up fast, she said. Acrobatic arts—the most popular— lls up the fastest.
LeapDance Center 10452 Gaston Road, Katy 281-890-9999 www.leapdancecenter.com Hours: Mon-Thu. 3:30-8:15 p.m., closed Fri.-Sun.
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KATY EDITION • MAY 2022
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