Kahina Haynes, School Director, describes The Dance Institute of Washington (DIW) in Washington, D.C., as a family oriented organization that is truly dedicated to cultivating well-rounded, talented dancers and leaders. Their staff knows each and every student by name, and each child is given individualized attention which, Kahina believes, gives their students a one-of-a kind experience when they walk through the Institute’s doors. Additionally, DIW works to instill self-esteem, discipline, and a drive for excellence among all of their students and Kahina believes the successes of these efforts can be seen in the school’s accomplishments and those of DIW alumni.
It is Kahina’s opinion that what distinguishes The Dance Institute of Washington from other dance schools is the demographic and unique populations of students with which they have the opportunity to work. A majority of their students come from disadvantaged and/or low-income backgrounds and many of them would not have access to the quality of dance training 
and enrichment that DIW is able to provide to them free of charge. Dance is a form of artistic expression and all children, regardless of their background, should have access to it.
When Kahina asked staff members and fellow instructors what was their “proudest moment” while coaching, they all responded with the same answer. Their proudest moment coaching is when they finally begin to see students enjoy the outcome of their hard work. It often takes years, especially in dance, to start seeing improvement; so, when a student finally begins to recognize these outcomes it is extremely gratifying.
Too often, one of the biggest mistakes that they see dancers make is to compare themselves to other dancers. A little competition is healthy, but the fastest way to improvement is focusing on the best dancer they can be and worrying about how they can advance as a dancer. Kahina always tells their students to race against themselves or the clock as a metaphor for pushing themselves to be better than they were before and not better than others.
Kahina’s goal this year at The Dance Institute of Washington is to fully modify and implement an ABT National Training curriculum to improve consistencies and coherence among the students’ ballet training. She also hopes to increase visibility and awareness beyond the dance community.
Their Founder and Artistic Director, Fabian Barnes, launched the Dance Institute of Washington in 1987 to give young people the same chance that the Dance Theatre of Harlem gave him to develop talent and confidence through dance.
They are always excited to have new students and so they would like people to know that they have annual auditions for each of their programs (Positive Directions Through Dance, Boys IV Ballet, Ballet Conservatory, and Weekend classes). They also have an exhilarating adult program offering a variety of classes from Yoga and African, to Contemporary Jazz and Ballet.
If you would like more information about Dance Institute of Washington, visit their website at danceinstitute.org, call them at 202-371-9656 or email them at khaynes@danceinstitute.org. You can also “Like” them on Facebook, connect with them on LinkedIn, learn more about them on Tumblr, and view them on YouTube.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Kahina Haynes of The Dance Institute of Washington.
