Dance4Life Black-owned dance studio in Delaware raising bar for dancers in technique, life skills
CLAYMONT, Del. (CBS) - All month long we've been celebrating Black-owned business month. Before the curtains close on August, have to take a trip to The First State. Eyewitness News reporter Vittoria Woodill takes us to "Dance4Life" dance studio. It's a dance company that's raising the bar for its dancers in technique and life skills.
Sometimes it's hard to imagine where life will take you until you find that thing you love. For Chauntee Andrews, stepping into dance as a young girl was a step toward her purpose.
"They call it 'dance utopia.' That's what it is, 'dance utopia.' It's a place for people to be who they are, to be accepted for how they are, to love the way they choose to love and we embrace that, and if you happen to learn to dance that's a good thing," Andrews said.
Fifteen years ago she opened her own dance studio called "Dance4Life" in Claymont, Delaware. She offers instruction on all forms of dance.
"The dance school that I grew up in was phenomenal," Andrews said. "I watched everything from how the director spoke, to how she interacted with the dancers, the parents, I watched how she presented herself on stage, and I just knew that was something I wanted to carry over."
She's opened doors for the next generation. With her guidance, these young Black dancers have performed on some incredibly large stages, like the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
But it's what she teaches beyond the bar, she hopes, will stay with them forever.
"I always say 98% of my students will not go on to concert dance, but 100% must be successful in life so it's a lot of life skills that are being taught. Being on time, being prepared, presentation is everything! Even the way they greet people so I've always wanted to instill those types of things in the girls," Andrews said.