THE STORY
» My grandma loved dancing. She never was formally trained. I often found myself dancing with her around the living room to her favorite free and life-loving Gypsy music, full of joy and laughter. I was young, too young to remember the details, but wrapping myself into a curtain, putting mom’s heels on, and pretending to be a beautiful dancer apparently was my thing. I’ve been telling my mom “I want to dance” since before I could even pronounce those words clearly.

When I was 8 years old, my mom finally got a chance to bring me to a local dance company to sign me up for the beginning of dance season. They were holding an audition for a youth ballroom dance troop, which was popular in those days in Moscow (Russia). Oh, this day was the day I’d been waiting for! My heart was pumping with joy and anxiety at the same time. How could it not be? A few days prior, I had hysterically cried watching a ballroom dance competition on TV from the overwhelm of the strong, positive emotions music and dance created within me. My mom had to change the channel to calm me down.

We came up to a sign-up table. “How old is she?” the lady asked.

“She is 8,” mom replied.

“Too old. We don’t accept kids over 6 years old.”

“Can you still audition her?” Mom, who was a piano teacher at a music school that normally auditioned kids for placement, insisted.

“No. It doesn’t matter how good she is. She is just too old.”

I was standing there holding my mom’s hand, not understanding why she was almost crying. She knew how bad I wanted to dance and wished me best. WHY can’t I dance? What now? Maybe another place? These thoughts raced through my mind. Mom tried calling other places, and the answer was the same: “Too old.” There was no place that could give me an opportunity to start dancing at that age, to believe in my abilities, and to help me grow. I felt helpless.

First denial was the greatest denial in my life of what was then the most important for me ever. »

~Natasha Maltseva, Artistic Director

Fast forward to nowadays, and the denial has had the most impact and is the reason LaVida Studio exists.

This is the very essence of why we welcome all and believe that everyone should have an opportunity to start dancing, whether young or not so young, boy or girl, and men or women of all ages, cultures and faiths.

This is the reason why we offer the following:

Support to find right class for each person
Beginner classes for any age
Classes in various dance styles
Classes with instructors of various teaching styles
Group or private lessons
Welcoming and friendly front desk
Easy enrollment and signup process
Russian-speaking classes for young dancers, so they can start dancing, even if they don’t speak English yet
Participation in community events to promote all the above
Opportunities to perform at the unforgettable Annual Dance Show production
It’s never too late to start, never too late to grow and never too late to enjoy all the benefits dance brings to life!

MISSION
LaVida’s mission is to provide opportunities for anyone to enter the world of dance, to pursue continued self-improvement, gain valuable life skills and thrive within a supportive community that offers constant affirmation and inspiration.

VALUES
La Vida means “life” in Spanish and spells out our values.

L – LOVE. We are passionate about dance. We act out of love. We believe that promoting respect, kindness and care are valuable traits of every dancer.

I – INCLUDE. We welcome and accept everyone. We believe dance is for everybody. Regardless of age, shape, size, or ability, we believe every person can benefit from and deserves the chance to dance.

F – FOSTER. We nurture love for dance and develop quality, by encouraging a strong work ethic in our dancers. Pushing yourself and striving for goals is an important skill in dance and life.

E – ELEVATE. We are devoted to progress and continuous improvement. We believe students are more successful when they believe they are capable of anything they are willing to work for. To that end, we strive to build an environment of encouragement, validation, and building up.

We’re looking forward to meeting like-minded people, everyone who shares our values.

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Lavida Dance studio

Lavida Dance studio

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