Dance Concepts (DC) in Sandy, Utah, is home to some of the most amazing, talented, 
kind, bright young people in Utah. According to Erica Ethington, Director, they train well rounded dancers and care about who they are (and are becoming) as much as they care about the height of their grand jetes. Dance Concepts is a fun, family friendly dance studio in Sandy, Utah, offering classes in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Modern, Stretch and Conditioning, and Tumbling For Dancers. They also offer many classes including classes for the younger set such as Dance With Me (often called a “Mommy and Me” class), First Steps, Petite Performers, and Rising Stars. Their Summer Dance Classes include Dance With Me (Ages 2 to 3), Ballet Cinema (Ages 4 to 7 ), Dance Technique, Conditioning For Dancers, Ballet With Erica, Contemporary Movement, Hip Hop, Flexibility Focus.
DC has competition teams that have been dancing with them for years and they are very proud of them. They also have a lot of dancers that just come in once a week for their single class. What really makes them different than a lot of studios is they believe that the once a week classes deserve the same awesome level of instruction as their competitive students. There are no unimportant classes.
Every year Erica has a dance that gets her. And every year it surprises her which one it is. There is always a class, or a dancer that surprises me with what they are able to do. It is not always her top levels either. Sometimes it is a 9 year old ballet class that just pours their hearts into what they are doing that moves her.
The biggest mistake Erica sees dancers make is when they are not dancing “full out” often enough. She tells her students to dance your warm up full out. Do your plies like it is the last thing you are ever performing. Dance every moment like you are on stage and the spotlight is on you.
Dance Concepts’ focus this year is on building community at the studio and fostering better communication among their staff and between the staff and their dancer’s families.
Erica created Dance Concepts in order to provide a studio where her students felt at home. Growing up, the studio where she took dance classes was her second home. She loved dance, but the way she felt when at the studio was probably a bigger motivator for her. She was an awkward kid in junior high, but while she felt unsure and alone at school, her dance studio was always warm, inviting and comfortable.
When Dance Concepts moved into their current location, they had problems with bats 
living in the crack between their building and the building next door. It was illegal to kill them, so they were going to be forced to relocate them. They joked for a while about letting them stay, changing their name to something more bat related, and getting a big batman style light to shine in the sky anytime they had an awesome class everyone should attend. Ultimately, they were able to relocate them.
If you would like more information about Dance Concepts, visit their website at danceconceptsutah.com, call them at (801) 566-2101 or email them at info@danceconceptsutah.com.
Anyone who has danced at Dance Concepts, with Erica Ethington or with any of the other instructors at Dance Concepts, is invited to comment on our blog.
The biggest mistake Erica sees dancers make is when they are not dancing “full out” often enough.
