Mrs. Michelle began dancing at three years old at York School of Dance. When York School of Dance closed, Michelle auditioned and became a student at Wilkins School of Dance where she was a member of their Senior Company and 2002 hall of fame recipient. She successfully completed the Graduate program where she was a student assistant for three years. Michelle has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, character, pointe, contemporary, and swing. Throughout her years as a student, she attended and competed in Dance Caravan’s annual summer dance convention. There she was able to take classes and learn from the very best; some of the professionals included, Mallory Graham, Jerry Rose, Scott Benson, Barry Youngblood, and Chris Smith. Wilkins even offered the opportunity for its students to take master classes at the studio and perform in the annual Poquoson Christmas Parades. Outside of the studio, Michelle and her Company members danced at nursing homes for community service which brought so much joy to everyone involved! At Grafton High, Michelle was able to use her dance and performance skills as a varsity cheerleader.
After graduating from Grafton High school, she knew that she wanted to become a member of the Wilkins faculty and share her love for dance. She completed her teacher training at Wilkins School of Dance and began teaching her own classes. She taught and continued to dance at the studio for thirteen years and once Wilkins closed its doors, she knew that she wanted to open her own dance studio home thus Elevé Dance Center was born in July 2014. Mrs. Michelle is so thankful to have her loving husband and family by her side supporting every “step” of the way and for making this dream of owning her own dance center become a reality! Her dedication, passion, experience, talent, and knowledge are some of the many attributes she brings to this beautiful studio and offers the opportunity for dancers to receive a well-rounded dance education. However, one of the most meaningful moments Mrs. Michelle can share with the community is how many of the Elevé dancers have begun to call this dance center their second "home"...we are FAMILY here!
Ms. Sarah
Instructor - Adult Class (Tap & Jazz)
We feature two very large dance rooms and a comfortable waiting room with a reception area.
Our brand new facility has first class dance floors and barre brackets with the names of our hall of fame recipients.
Our Facility
Although Elevé Dance Center is newer to the Hampton Roads area, we are very rich in history. Many of our dancers began their dance education at Wilkins School of Dance, but the studio closed in 2014. We were fortunate enough to keep our studio family together and in doing so, Elevé Dance Center was born in June of 2014.
Elevé Dance Center is based on a dance term meaning "to rise." When choosing a name for our new studio, the word rise had many meanings - the literal meaning is to go up on the toes, something that our dancers of all ages learn from the beginning. Secondly, we strive not only to teach our students the technical side of dance, but the importance of discipline, hard work, and self-confidence. We want our dancers to embody the grace, poise, and passion that dance instills. We truly believe not rising to meet others, but rising to meet ourselves is a creed that we can carry with us long after our dance shoes no longer fit.
ABOUT US
At Elevé Dance Center, every class is taught by a professional adult instructor with a minimum of 5 years of teaching experience!
There is no substitute for professional instruction.
Our Company members serve as our student assistants. They are present in all classes as part of our graduate program.
Each class has a maximum of 12 students and
a minimum of one teacher and one student assistant.
Mrs. Michelle
Owner, Creative Director, Instructor - Preschool, Primary, Elementary Combo, Company, Tap
Meet Your Elevé Dance Center Faculty!
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Ms. Sarah is a lifelong dancer, she began dancing at Wilkins School of Dance the first year they opened. Sarah also went to Woodside High School and danced with the performing arts magnet program. She returned to dance as an adult by continuing at Wilkins both in the adult class and alumni class, but then when Michelle, a long time friend of Sarah's, opened Elevé Dance Center, it was an obvious choice to continue dancing there. Sarah is also a hairstylist, she finds great joy in making people feel good about themselves, and finding confidence in their appearance. These same ideas transfer to dancing as an adult because it's an amazing sight to see adults with or without years of experience get on stage and be confident in their abilities. We are so excited to welcome Sarah to the teaching side of dance and we know she is going to be fabulous as our new adult class instructor!
Ballet - Tap - Jazz - Lyrical - Contemporary - Modern - Hip Hop - PointE - Acro
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