Next Step Dance Performing Arts Center in Frisco, Texas, was founded in 2008 by award winning choreographer and director Michelle Stafford. According to Michelle, their studio is the ultimate training facility for dancers of all ages. They offer recreational classes for those children that want a fun after school activity but also provide more serious programs for those who wish to pursue dance later on in life. Their teaching staff is a group of highly trained, experienced, and professional men and women with integrity, skill, and responsibility. They offer year round classes with registration open all year as well. The studio year is August through Recital and the summer session is June through August. Their goal at Next Step Dance is to be an integral part of helping produce young dancers strong in mind, body, and spirit.
Next Step Dance’s mission is to make available activities that allow students t achieve social, mental and physical skills to compete in a business environment or a private life. Students will be educated and trained in a variety of venues that promote physical fitness, artistic expression, and competition in a safe, healthy environment. Their teachers will be highly trained, experienced professional men and women with integrity, skill and responsibility. Their students will be provided a state-of-the-art curriculum within cost parameter expectations. They will scrupulously avoid any action that might be incompatible with the public interest and the best interest of their students.
In Michelle’s opinion, Next Step Dance stands apart from the other studios in the metroplex by implementing a diversity of styles into their dancers’ training. They provide their dancers with the ballet training they would receive from a conservatory, but also give them the tools they need to be successful in hip hop, tap, jazz and contemporary/lyrical. They would like to consider their studio a premier training facility for those looking to pursue a career in the commercial dance world.
According to Michelle, her proudest moment coaching every May, she invites the Next 
Step Dance alumni to teach classes at the studio. Last year was the first time she had done this, and it was such a great moment for me as a teacher. Michelle loves seeing her students come back after continuing their dance education and share their knowledge with her current students. “There is something very special about watching your old students working with your current students and that continues to inspire me as a teacher.”
It is Michelle’s belief that one of the biggest mistakes dancers make is not seeing the importance of studio dance training. It is just like school. It is better to have the same teacher all year so that they can learn how you work and think, one who can understand what you need to improve on rather than changing teachers every week. While you still might learn the lesson when you frequently change teachers, you are not going to get the benefit that you would get if it you stayed with the same teacher with whom you had developed a one on one relationship. Michelle hopes that this trend ends soon and that dancers and parents will realize the importance of consistent training year to year at a dance studio.
Their goal for this year at Next Step Dance is to create more outlets and opportunities for every single one of their students whether they spend one hour or twenty hours at the studio every week. She wants to be able to put a smile on a child’s face and make them believe that their dreams can come true. Additionally, she wants to show her students all 
of the ways to achieve that dream. Often the dance class can consist of life lessons and character building experiences, and she hopes that at Next Step Dance they can continue to build a dance program that trains and inspires their students in every aspect of their lives!
Next Step Dance was started in with one goal in mind . . . excellence. She wanted to start a studio that was committed to providing her students with only the best instructors, training, and family atmosphere. Owning her own studio is really a dream come true and she looks forward to each and every day that she is lucky enough to continue making her dream a reality. Training children to dance is a passion of hers and she wants to be able to do it for the rest of her life. It is also important to her to provide a great workplace for other teachers like her to share their passions.
Next Step Dance prides themselves on having a professional teaching staff. All of their teachers have worked in the professional dance world (past and present) and are always pushing themselves to be better and continuing to learn. They are also very proud of their students. Their dancers have won numerous awards and scholarships and have gone on to both the collegiate and professional dance world. They are also fortunate enough to provide once in a lifetime opportunities by bringing in some of the top choreographers, teachers, and dancers in the world to train and work with their dancers.
If you would like more information about Next Step Dance Performing Arts Center, visit their website at http://nextstepperformingarts.com, call them at 214-387-4466, or fax them at 214-387-4467. You can also “Like” them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, connect with them on Instagram, watch them on YouTube, and “Pin” them on Pinterest.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Michelle Stafford of Next Step Dance Performing Arts Center.
Written By Cyndi Marziani
Owner
BDancewear.com
