BUSINESSFEATURE Art Beat Dance Center Studio teaches students of all abilities, ages B renna Kuhn has former dance students who have become professional dancers and also
BY TAYLOR GIRTMAN
Parkinson’s and Adaptive Dance. These classes are taught to t each dancer’s needs, whether it is adapting movements post-surgery, needing more one-on-one support or American Sign Language interpretation. The foundation also allows stu- dents to take other weekly classes in addition to the dedicated foundation programs. “That’s really cool because it also shares with the greater community that everybody is coming at dance from a dierent area in their life and that we all can come together and nd the joy in movement,” Palinsky said. The nonprot started after Kuhn’s husband went through cancer treatment and found support through wellness and tness classes. Kuhn said Cancer Survivor Yoga involves talking through treatments and anxieties. “It’s one of the biggest ways that we create community,” Kuhn said. “Where people can come together and they can talk about their cancer or not talk about their cancer.” The foundation also has a scholar- ship program to allow students to take classes who would otherwise not be able to attend, which is important to Kuhn and Palinsky, who both were able to learn through scholarships themselves. “Dance truly changed my life, so I don’t want any child to miss that opportunity just because their parents can’t aord it,” Kuhn said. With a specialty and heavy back- ground in tap, Kuhn also works to preserve tap’s history as part of the nonprot’s preservation program, which keeps the oral history of tap alive through archiving tap icon Leon Collins’ routines. The center’s Austin Tap Ensemble, which is composed of women who learned tap as adults, meets weekly to learn the historical routines with original choreography. Kuhn said she is reminded daily how lucky they are to see people gathering to make music, listen to one another and connect in a nonverbal art. “We have the best job,” Kuhn said. “I get love from tiny ballerinas every day. I get to make beautiful rhythms and music with adults who want to be there.”
students who have created success as engineers, doctors and scientists. Dance has taught each of them countless lessons from responsibility to working with others and listening to your body said Kuhn, the owner of Art Beat Dance Center. “Your experience in a dance class is going to inform all of those things,” Kuhn said. Kuhn, who started dancing at age 5, opened the Cedar Park dance school in 2017 after professionally dancing for 25 years, teaching for 20 years and managing other studios for 15 years. Kuhn said she wanted to open her own studio to meet three important aspects: high-quality education, a nur- turing environment and a community atmosphere. She said many studios have one or another, but not all three parts of her vision for Art Beat. “I wanted a place that was every- thing,” Kuhn said. Art Beat Dance Center is a noncom- petitive school, but Kuhn said this does not mean students work any less hard. “They are improving, and they are happy,” Kuhn said. “That was not always the case for me when I was a kid. It was a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and it doesn’t have to be.” The center teaches students from age “3 to 103’” with about a 50-50 split between youth students and adult students. Classes include ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and hip-hop, yoga, Pilates and musical theater. Art Beat also has all-boys tap classes. The dance center also has a non- prot arm called the Art Beat Foun- dation, which aims to reach students in underserved populations in the community. Lindsay Palinsky, foundation execu- tive director and studio manager, said the nonprot works with the dance center to oer adapted dance classes for cancer patients and survivors; adults with Parkinson’s Disease and their caregivers; and people with autism spectrum disorders and Down syndrome. Art Beat Foundation classes include Cancer Survivor Yoga, Dance for
“DANCE TRULY CHANGEDMY LIFE, SO I DON’T WANT ANY CHILD TOMISS THAT OPPORTUNITY JUST BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS CAN’T AFFORD IT.” BRENNA KUHN, OWNER OF ART BEAT DANCE CENTER
Lindsay Palinsky (left) and Brenna Kuhn (right) manage and own, respectively, Art Beat Dance Studio. (Photos by Taylor Girtman/Community Impact Newspaper)
Students learn ballet and tap in the school’s combination classes.
Tap 1 students practice in one of Art Beat’s two studio rooms.
• CANCER SURVIVOR YOGA , taught by Brenna Kuhn, adapts yoga poses to meet each student where they are at physically. • DANCE FOR PARKINSON’S teaches people with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers at in-studio classes and at classes in the community, including at memory care facilities. • ADAPTIVE DANCE CLASSES are adapted for children with autism spectrum disorders and Down syndrome with extra buddies for physical and emotional support. • THE LLOYD STOREY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP and the JESSICA KENDRICK MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP honors former dancers by providing nancial support for current students. • THE LEON COLLINS PRESERVATION PROJECT works to keep alive tap dance in America and the teachings of Leon Collins through his protege, Dianne Walker. • THE ANNUAL ART BEAT TAP FESTIVAL connects people through tap dance with classes and concerts. MORE THANADANCE STUDIO The dance center’s connected nonprot, Art Beat Foundation, provides regular and specialty classes to under-served populations free of charge. Here are some of the classes and programs the nonprot oers. More information is available at www.artbeatfound.org.
Art Beat Dance Center 1420 Cypress Creek Road, Ste. 100, Cedar Park 512-258-2232 www.artbeatdancecenter.com Hours vary by class schedule
B
N
29
CEDAR PARK LEANDER EDITION • FEBRUARY 2022
Powered by FlippingBook