Welcome to this month's Club Focus. MH Dance Academy, founded out of a passion for dance, acrobatics, and cheerleading, is dedicated to creating a nurturing environment where every child feels special and supported.
- How did your club start?
MH Dance Academy was created out of passion and love for teaching dance, acrobatics and cheerleading. We wanted to create a nurturing studio culture where every child felt seen and special.
Our purpose was to create a studio that ensures whether you’re a competitive dancer or just starting out, our studio is here to cheer you on, celebrate your progress and success along the way, and to make you feel a part of a family.
We started MH Dance in 2017, as a small dance studio running out of two locations; Erina and Hardy Bay. Since then we have now moved in to our own studio space with three large dance studios in it and we still run classes out of three additional locations.
- How many kids do you train and what skill levels?
Currently we proudly train approximately 250 students every week, with our studio still growing quickly within our community.
Our studio caters for all skill levels and abilities, we have classes and programs available for everyone from beginners to advanced levels. We currently offer competitive dance or recreational classes, there is something for everyone at our studio.
We also pride ourselves on having a large preschool program with approximately 100 pre-schooler students currently. We love being a studio where young dancers can begin their dance, acrobatics or cheerleading journey with us. We truly love being a younger dancers first dance studio, there is something so special about beginning a dance journey together as we love to watch these students grow up with us.
- Do you have any programs for children with special needs?
Currently we don’t have a dedicated special needs program, however we are a very inclusive dance studio with an environment where every child feels welcomed and supported during any our classes at our studio.
We offer and teach weekly private lessons with special needs students, which has been a fantastic way to connect with students via one on one coaching. We have seen such a huge success with our private lessons, for confidence building and creating a supportive environment where we each student can flourish at their own pace.
We don’t only work on the physical component of dance but we strive to boost confidence and self-esteem. Our teachers are dedicated to creating a supportive atmosphere where every child feels valued and empowered to express themselves freely through dance.
It’s an honour to witness the joy and progress achieved in these privates, showing us all the incredible power of dance as a tool for inclusivity and personal growth. One of our private lesson students will be performing her solo routine for the first time in our upcoming mid year concert, and we are already so proud of her progress with these private lessons and how much her confidence has grown.
- What is your organisation's vision/mission statement?
Our vision and mission statement at MH Dance is to provide a supportive and nurturing environment where every dancer feels valued and encouraged to achieve their best. We strive to provide quality instruction led by experienced teachers who nurture personal growth and confidence, our team are very committed to inspire young dancers in their dance journey.
At MH Dance we keep motivation high by celebrating achievements, both big and small, and by offering regular performance opportunities that showcase our dancers progress throughout the year. We also achieve this in weekly classes by setting clear goals, inspiring our dancers in class, and nurturing a love for dance that goes beyond technique. We ensure that our dancers are motivated to excel, grow, and find joy in their dance journey with us.
- What are some objectives of your club?
If we can be that safe place for students where they feel comfortable to be themselves, then we achieved what we set out to do! We strive to be a studio that celebrates every child’s success throughout their dance journey, by celebrating small wins in classes each week or by celebrating all of their big achievements with them too!
At MH Dance we prioritise our studio being an inclusive environment where every dancer feels valued and encouraged, while fostering a sense of community, belonging and teamwork.
- What are you most proud of in your club?
We are most proud of the community we have created, everyone at our studio from our families, students and our team are so supportive of one another and we love connecting with each other through studio events/ performances, competition days and within the studio each week.
Every year a highlight is our mid year and end of year concerts, we love any performance opportunities where all of our studios can come together as one big studio. We also thoroughly enjoy competition days with our show team groups, this year to date we have had great results, achieving 4x 1st places, 2x 2nd places, 3x 3rd places and 2x HC at two local competitions. We also have many solo and duo students, who perform at local competitions all achieving amazing results. We are very proud of our growing competition teams at MHDA, we are so proud of all of the hard work from our students and dedicated teaching staff.
Lastly, a big highlight at MH Dance, was when we moved into our Woy Woy studio last year in January 2023. Prior to this, we have always ran our studio out of multiple locations at different venues. Last year, we were so excited to open our very own MHDA studio with three large studios in it of our own. This was a huge step in our journey and we are so grateful to say that we saw a big growth at our studio last year in a short amount of time.
We ended 2022 with approximately 80 students and after our first year in our own studio we ended the year with approximately 190 students. We are very proud of all of the hard work that has gone on to make this growth happen, we have still maintained our beautiful studio culture as we have grown.
- Why do you think your club is important to families and your community?
I believe MH Dance is important to families and our community as it provides a safe, nurturing and supportive environment for everyone. We have such a nice studio culture, where we often get such great feedback from many people about how our studio atmosphere is so kind, and just a happy place to be!
Our studio is often referred to by students or parents as their child’s “happy place”. We love hearing that our young preschoolers will often ask their parents everyday if it’s a “dancing day” today. We absolutely love hearing how dance and our studio can mean so much to our students.
I believe we are more than just a place to learn dance - it’s a place for connection for everyone, growth and happiness.
Within our studio children can develop not only as dancers but also as confident individuals. In our community, we strive to create a welcoming space where everyone can come together, make friendships and support each other.
- What piece of advice would you give to a gymnast/student?
Stay committed and believe in yourself!
Don’t forget to enjoy the moment and every performance. One day you will look back on your dance journey and be so grateful that you got to do what you love, with lifelong friends and a supportive community. Find your dance family who will guide and support you along the way!
