Pearl Dance Studio Interview with Alexandria Karpin

Pearl Dance Studio in Port Richmond, Pennsylvania, is a close-knit, neighborhood establishment. Their mission is to provide a fun, friendly and safe learning environment for their students. According to Alexandria Karpin, the owner/director, they stress fun while learning through teamwork, perseverance, and commitment.

In Alexandria’s opinion, their focus is not to necessarily “win” but rather they want each student to be the best that they can be. At Pearl Dance, they stress the importance of doing the best for yourself, reaching your own goals, and just simply enjoying class and performances. While they expect their students to work hard, they also want their students to have fun and build self-confidence.

Alexandria says that it is really hard for her to pick just one proud moment as a dance instructor. However, she is always the most proud when she sees her students congratulate each other and dancers from other studios/teams for their achievements. For her, it is very humbling when she sees the graciousness and generosity amongst students and competitors.

She believes that dancers are their own worst enemy and the biggest mistake that dancers make is that they create unnecessary standards for themselves based on what they believe their teachers or parents expect of them. That, in turn, causes a dancer a great deal of pressure and stress, and further, often affects their performance. The best thing students can do is believe in themselves and simply, do their personal best!

This year, Alexandria has expanded their competitive team by about 20 students. Her goal is to incorporate their new students and their families into the Dance Team traditions and make them feel welcome and comfortable – like family. It will likely be challenging to mesh all of the students and families together, however, she is confident that they will continue to grow their dance family!

Alexandria danced for years at a similar local, neighborhood studio. She was also a college student pursuing a business degree and when the dance studio where she was teaching closed their doors, she was crushed. Although she never wished to pursue dance professionally, dancing was something she truly enjoyed and she wanted to continue to make it a part of her life. It broke her heart to think that many dancers would not be able to be a part of something that she cherished so much. As a business student, she saw an opportunity within the neighborhood and recognized the desire within herself to share her passion. Her hope was that the students would feel a sense of safety, happiness and family as she had growing up.

At Pearl Dance, they are a “family” . . . a large family . . . and, as with all families, they have their ups and downs, good times and bad times but they are always there to cheer each other on and support each other as best as they can. Several of their teachers taught her as a student and they, along with herself, are sharing their passion for dance with children of all ages…helping them to learn not just how to dance but to be their best dancer, their best competitor, their best person. Their classes include Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Cheerdance, Lyrical and Irish. According to Alexandria, they may be a small dance studio but they have a really big heart!

If you would like more information about Pearl Dance Studio, email them at pearldance@comcast.net. You can also “Like” them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and connect with them on Instagram.

Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Alexandria Karpin of Pearl Dance Studio.

Written By Cyndi Marziani
Owner
BDancewear.com