Dance Lessons in Durham

Shari Huggett has been studying tap, jazz, and ballet dance since she was 5, a passion that can be tracked through her collection of regional, national, and international awards. Huggett has appeared on the Today Show and CNN with star Julio Iglesias to illustrate the beauty of Tango, Iglesias’s 1996 album. Now at the helm of her own studio, NC Dancesport, Huggett teaches styles ranging from the carolina shag to the disco hustle to students divided by skill level, preventing novices from accidentally getting trampled in a tango stampede. Huggett’s instruction alights on the feet of her students in a variety of settings, including private or semiprivate environs and group classes, all of which can foster confidence in social dancing or the more advanced skill required for competition.

Ninth Street Dance believes everyone can enjoy dancing. In this spirit, rather than tailoring programming to professional dancers, the studio embraces all skill levels and ages, with a staff of 40 instructors specializing in disciplines from ballet to break dancing. Pupils learn new styles of movement in classes on international dance techniques, aerobic movement, and social dance, which helps students meet new people without the hassle of scheduling daily bikini waxes. Class times accommodate busy schedules by spanning mornings and evenings, and by meeting on both weekdays and weekends.

Fueled by her passion for performance art, fashion, and choreography, Durham native Anjanée N. Bell founded Bellan Performance Centre as a philanthropic organization, and as a destination for those individuals with interests as diverse as her own. The disciplines and fundamentals of dance weave a common thread through the facility's many endeavors, which include aspirations to emerge as a performance-art community by way of engaging live shows. Off stage, Bellan provides various educational programs and fitness classes that encourage participants of all ages to get up and move, even if they lack the experience and spring-loaded toes of many professional steppers.

If the floorboards at Nan's School of Dance could talk, they would speak kindly of the tapping toes and pointed feet that have graced their surfaces for more than 30 years. In 1975, owner Nan Smith began teaching students in Yadkinville and later opened a dance studio in Greensboro in 1982. Twenty years later, Nan passed the torch and ancient family sweat towel to her oldest daughter, Jennifer Grinwis, who runs the studio with the same passion for teaching dance and instilling self-discipline, poise, and self-esteem.

Talented dance instructors lead students of all age levels in disciplines such as ballet, jazz, tap, and hip-hop. Patrons can also sign up to for a Kenpo karate class with resident martial-arts guru Mike Carr or get hips swinging and calories spontaneously combusting with Zumba classes infused with Latin dance moves.

Triple Threat's co-owners and directors Holly Grubb Smith and Kim Moser Hobson are professionals. In addition to their degrees in dance education from UNC Greensboro, they learn more about teaching and dancing every year. Kim has been recognized as teacher of the year by West Forsyth High School, and Holly currently puts her skills into action as a Rockette in the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular. They share their talents in Triple Threat's wide range of classes, which boost self-confidence in children as they explore dance, voice, and dramatic performance. Each part of their curriculum is broken into classes for aged 3–18. Elementary students grasp basics such as memorization and group cooperation, and high-school students attempt advanced skills such as directing or telepathically making audiences cry during dramatic monologues.