The Baltimore School of Dance Interview With Amy Hornberger

Amy Hornberger, the owner and Director of the Baltimore School of Dance in Baltimore, Maryland, was interviewed for this article.  She stated that their tagline “Dance for All” is taken very seriously at Baltimore School of Dance.  So whether students want to prepare for a career or just want to take class for exercise or enjoyment, the school tries to make all students of all body types feel welcome.  They also have small class sizes so students get individual attention to help them reach their full potential.  While discipline and focus are important in class, they also try to make the classes so much fun that students don’t get distracted or feel like it is drudge work.  If it is not enjoyable, why dance?

Like most teachers, Amy strives to motivate her dancers.  She tells them that dance is hard so they will struggle at times, but as long as they keep working they WILL improve.  She tells them that the best dancers are not necessarily the most talented but the ones that work the hardest and want it the most.

When asked what has been her proudest moment coaching, she replied, “I don’t know that there is just one.”  She gets equally excited when one of her pre-pro dancers gives a stunning performance or gets into a school/company as she does when one of her adult beginners or recreational kids has a breakthrough with a step with which they have been struggling.  She is also proud of her students when they accomplish things outside of the dance world or just make good choices as human beings.

 When it comes to competing, Amy likes to see good, clean technique and transitions as well as an emotional connection to the choreography and music not just a bunch of tricks.  I also don’t like to see suggestive and age-inappropriate costumes, music or choreography.

As far as the “must have” dancewear items every dancer needs, she feels that the dancer should have the appropriate dancewear and shoes for each style of dance.  She hates it when a student tries to wear sweats, a t-shirt and socks for ballet with their hair not in a bun.  It is disrespectful and is not conducive to learning the technique.  On the other hand, a leotard and tights are just as inappropriate for hip hop.

Amy has just started a faith-based youth support group where they are putting their emotions and struggles into movement.  The plan is to take the choreographed piece to churches, schools, etc. as a way of giving back to the community.  Her goal is to see this group grow.

Her goal for the studio is to increase awareness of the studio and the number of students.  She would like to get to a point where she could hire an office assistant part-time so that customers would get great service and she can focus more on the part she loves – teaching and choreographing.  Right now she does it all and due to time constraints sometimes things fall through the cracks despite her best efforts.  She also wants to build their student company.

She started the Baltimore School of Dance to better accommodate her students and parents.  She was teaching for a studio that was based in another city but rented space in churches and community centers in her city.  The parents of her students did not like dealing with the office of that studio because they could not deal with them face to face and felt they did not get good service.  The parents begged her to start her own studio.  She did and they followed.  The only downside was that the first day of class was on September 11, 2001.  She doesn’t really feel very celebratory each year when the anniversary of the studio comes around since that was such a dark and terrible day.