W hen we co-founded Bodies of Empowerment (BOE) in 2021, we were driven by a shared belief—dance should be a resource available to everyone, not just those with the finan- cial means to access it. In the wake of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that dance needed a space where people could feel empowered, and where their bodies could find expression with- out financial barriers. In response, we founded Bodies of Empowerment, a program that offers adults of all ages a one-of-a-kind selection of dance classes led by highly trained instructors at no cost. Now, BOE has grown into a thriving program that has impacted over 600 individuals and continues to suppor t dancers and instructors of all backgrounds. THE BEGINNING: A RESPONSE TO NEED Our journey began in response to a significant gap we observed in the dance community. Both of us spent years scraping by to pay for dance classes while earning minimal wages to teach them. The pandemic only deepened these chal- lenges, with many studios closing their doors or raising rates to stay afloat. We realized that for dance to truly embody empowerment, it must be accessible to everyone. Our classes aim to bring people together—dancers and non-dancers alike, those with disposable income and those with less—creating a space where everyone feels included and valued. Shareen’s passion for BOE’s free classes stems from her own struggles with the cost of dance training. Starting at a young age, she faced finan- cial hardships in affording tuition. To offset costs, she took on janitorial duties in exchange for class access, a dynamic that often left her feeling unworthy or embarrassed. This tension extended to her family, with frequent conflicts over unpaid tuition, and persisted throughout much of her training. These financial barriers not only created stress but also highlighted how the high costs of dance training exclude many communities, par- ticularly those historically marginalized. For Kristin, the imbalance between time spent preparing and teaching classes and the income earned was stark. Some studios offered pay structures as low as $5 per student with no base rate, making earnings contingent on self-promo- tion and popularity. While a few studios imple- mented base pay or 50/50 splits, these models
In many fitness and wellness spaces, the cost of a
class can be double what you might pay for a dance class…
Shareen DeRyan
THE REAL COST OF FREE DANCE CLASSES WITH BODIES OF EMPOWERMENT By Kristin Damrow & Shareen DeRyan
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In Dance | May 2014 | dancersgroup.org
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