Making Moves Dance Collective (“MMDC”) in Beltsville, Maryland, is a family oriented studio that offers high level training and opportunities for recreational, competitive and pre-professional dancers.
According to Kellie N. Sellers, the Co-Executive Director, Making Moves’ mission is to provide a safe and positive arts environment to at-risk and underserved individuals in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. Making Moves offers a quality and diverse dance environment to a community that is underrepresented in the arts.
Kellie believes that what separates MMDC from other studios is that MMDC encourages unity as opposed to divisiveness in the dance world. Dance can be extremely competitive; however, MMDC personifies unity that dance can bring to the table. They are supportive and encouraging of all other dance teams, studios and groups. Their students and staff have developed meaningful bonds and lasting friendships with many other dancers. Generally, MMDC is one of the smallest studios at competitions. Even so, they always end up being a crowd favorite and earning the support and respect of all in attendance.
Both Kellie and Amber are proud to have created a competitive dance studio that caters to the total community. Making Moves Dance Collective is an energetic and innovative atmosphere for aspiring and professional dancers. Their creative choreographers make varied bodies of works possible, so MMDC’s dancers are technically and artistically versatile. They encourage creative movement in jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, lyrical, and gymnastics to develop sound dancers for all ages. MMDC also offers an upbeat adult street jazz class for their adult students focusing on conditioning and toning the major muscle groups.
Their studio has developed into a creative, diversified, creative and all encompassing entity just as the owners had pictured. Kellie and Amber created an enriched environment by inviting special guest choreographers who study, teach and perform different genres of dance including step, modern, ballet, jazz and hip hop. The staff of MMDC fully understands and accepts the challenge of exposing MMDC’s students to a variety of dance genres and 
preparing them for future dance opportunities by enhancing their ability to learn and pick up other styles of choreography.
The success of MMDC is a joint effort. As a result, all comments, opinions and suggestions are weighed, valued and appreciated. Making Moves is also “Making Moves” in the community by sending their instructors into local daycare centers to make dance training to the children in a comfortable and familiar setting.
The ultimate goal of MMDC is to provide superb technical training while developing students’ self-esteem, poise and confidence. While their mission is dance, their priority is the general development of each student who enters their doors. Along with exposing MMDC students to community performances, competitions, and dance conventions, performances, MMDC students are eligible and encouraged to participate in MMDC’s annual recitals in order to showcase their talents to friends and family!
Kellie’s proudest moments have been watching the undeniable growth and development of their students both in their technique and their mentality. To see individuals who came in undisciplined and sometimes uninterested develop into young ladies and men in love with the art of dance makes her heart swell with pride.
In Kellie’s opinion, the biggest mistake a dancer can make is not being open to critique or corrections. She tells her students all the time that dance is an ever evolving craft and they have to continually educate themselves in that craft. No matter how good they get or how good they think they are, there is always something they can do better.
MMDC has several goals. They achieved one of those goals when they added a few new teachers to their amazing staff. Additionally, they want to make this year their best one yet since it’s their ten year anniversary! They are focusing on the continual growth of their students technique and performance quality and also in just doing more marketing and increasing their enrollment.
Kellie and her partner, Amber Comer, taught together at a local studio that suddenly closed its doors in 2006. She and Amber both knew somehow they needed to keep quality and affordable dance classes in their community. They did not have any money or a full business plan; however, Amber knew of a space inside of a church where she had taken dance classes when she was little. With no name for their studio, and their hearts on their sleeves, Amber and Kellie met with Stephanie Butler, who at the time was the secretary of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in New Carrollton, Maryland. Stephanie took a chance on them and allowed them to rent the space. Although they didn’t have the contact information for the majority of the students at the old studio, Kellie and Amber were able to get the word out that they were opening a studio, and it quickly spread by word of mouth. To this day the most difficult decision Amber and Kellie have had to make was the studio’s name. It started to seem like they would never agree when they both decided to write down a list of names they liked. “Making Moves” was on both of their lists. The rest, as they say, is history.
Making Moves Dance Collective is a multi-award winning dance studio. They are two time winners of the PG’s (Prince George’s County, Maryland) Best Dance Crew competition. MMDC is known far and wide for their Hip Hop performances. They also offer amazing technique and choreography classes in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and gymnastics. They are a nonprofit celebrating their 10th season in business!
Since opening in 2006, MMDC has awarded over $125,000 in tuition scholarships to deserving students who otherwise would not be able to afford to dance. They are currently raising funds for their scholarship program and are seeking tax deductible donations. They encourage everyone to consider making a donation via the following site: https://www.youcaring.com/the-making-moves-dance-collective-scholarship-fund-455266.
If you would like more information about Making Moves Dance Collective, visit their website at www.makingmovesdc.org, call them at 301-220-1500 or email them at kellie.sellers@usss.dhs.gov. You can also “Like” them on Face book, follow them on Twitter.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Kellie N. Sellers of Making Moves Dance Collective.
Written By Cyndi Marziani
Owner
BDancewear.com
