Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Knowlton.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My happy place, my peace… my entire life is and always has been dance. I knew at a very young age that I wanted to open my own dance studio one day. I spent the first 25 years of my life on the dance floor as a student, an amateur dancer, a teacher’s apprentice, and finally, I reached my goal of becoming a professional ballet dancer.
After I retired from professional dance, I married my husband, we started a family, and I became a stay-at-home parent.
When my children were older, I decided to pursue dance again, only this time by combining dance and fitness.
By the time I reached six months as a dance fitness instructor, I was working at four separate gyms and teaching a total of ten to twelve classes per week. I was content enough, but I still felt as though a piece of me was missing in the dance fitness journey.
Tragedy struck then, and Covid Shutdowns turned the world upside down.
Every gym closed, and I was furloughed from all of my dance fitness instructor contracts at once.
I used my furloughed days as an opportunity to reflect. Yes, fitness was and is important to me; however, my passion, and education in Classical Dance was left untapped. Realizing that I may comfortably live out the rest of my days never attempting to open my own studio if I stuck solely with dance fitness, I decided to push myself to finally pursue my dream of becoming a dance studio owner.
My husband, Andrew (who was also furloughed during Covid shutdowns from his career as an Engineer), was extremely supportive of my endeavor into dance studio/small business ownership. He listened to my ideas and started creating spreadsheets, looked for a space to lease that fit my vision, and located contractors for build-out estimates.
Elite Dance Company of Texas opened its doors in October 2020 with zero students and a dream.
Our student population has grown continuously over the course of the past 1.5 years.
In October 2021, I formed our inaugural competition dance team, the Elite Dance Company of Texas (EDCT) STARS.
In June 2022, our EDCT STARS Competition Team was awarded First Place Overall Small Group at The Dance Effect Nationals in Arlington, TX!
We are so excited for the future of Elite. It is such a joy to watch EDCT students learn and grow through the Art of Dance. Our next goal is to triple our current amount of students, grow our non-profit EDCT CARES (EDCTCARES.org), and continue our mission to create access and provide Fine Arts education throughout the community.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Opening a brand-new small business in the middle of a pandemic was extraordinarily difficult. The continued restrictions placed on businesses due to Covid and subsequent variant strains, matched with the lack of financial assistance available to us that was available to pre-pandemic companies, required us to keep our overhead at a bare minimum. After a few attempts at local advertising, social media boosts, and Google Ads, we realized we did not have the budget to compete with other larger, more established businesses. We had to generate interest in our studio in other ways.
A direct factor of EDCT’s difficult start was the fact that a large part of the general population was (and some still are) terrified to leave their homes. With many people working from home, cars were not driving by and seeing our sign on the building as they normally would be. Without existing customers, there are no customer referrals. Google Ads are extremely costly. Social media boosts would generate the occasional “like” or a short message asking for more information, but none of the leads turned into real-life customers.
Understanding the importance of raising awareness about our studio, I began creating (daily, sometimes several times a day) eye-catching, attention-grabbing posts on our business social media pages via Facebook and Instagram @elitedancecompanyoftexas. I create Reels with my competition team; it’s fun. I also spent a few months at the end of 2021 posting silly videos about Dance Teacher Problems on TikTok.
Eventually, when EDCT had a handful of students enrolled, I selected a small group of students that I felt would do well in the competitive dance world. I created the EDCT STARS Competition Team. Our EDCT STARS compete in local, state, and national dance competitions. We also contractually obligate the STARS to participate in two community outreach events per season. One, because we want good, caring humans on our team and in our studio, and two, because it helps us to get out and meet people/mingle in the community in order to raise brand awareness.
All of the above being said the best way for people to learn about us is to have our existing EDCT customers make referrals. New leads are 4x more likely to become actual customers when referred by a friend. We love our EDCT Family, and we want to see it continue to grow. We will always need our existing EDCT families to partner with us to help expand our potential reach.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What do you do, and what do you specialize in? I am CEO, Owner, Artistic Director & Choreographer of Elite Dance Company of Texas.
I teach every class we offer Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Lyrical, Broadway, Hip Hop, Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, Strength & Flexibility (Technique), Open, Character, and EDCT STARS Competition Team routines: Small Group, Large Group, Solos, Duos, Trios, and Line Production pieces.
My husband, Andrew, is CFO and Owner. He handles the administrative side of our business with regard to accounts, billing questions, memberships, etc. He answers the phone. He responds to emails and text messages. Andrew also takes care of any maintenance needs in the studio. He installed our sound system, and he is super smart on the computer. Any time there is a technology issue (internet, computer, printer, whatever), he’s the one who knows how to fix it.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of our 1st Place win at The Dance Effect Nationals competition in Arlington, TX on June 25th, 2022.
I choreographed five group pieces for the EDCT STARS for this competition. We won 1st place with “ABC,” a very fun Character piece which included classroom setting props such as school desks and a whiteboard.
Winning 1st place while still in the EDCT STARS’ inaugural season was a huge confirmation to me that what we are doing is relevant and resonates with others in the dance community.
EDCT also took 3rd place at The Dance Effect Nationals for a Hip Hop piece that I choreographed to “Run the World.” This piece was all about precision, drill, and stepping.
Next year’s goal is to be bigger, better, and more technical. If we focus as a team to improve our strength and flexibility, I believe our 2nd Season EDCT STARS will be very difficult to beat.
What sets you apart from others? What sets me apart is my passion and love for the Art of Dance. I take my studio and my work very personally and very seriously. I am also highly competitive by nature. I love to win, but I hate losing more.
I believe a few unique traits make me a different sort of dance teacher:
One, I have a way of hearing music/seeing sounds that enables me to choreograph with inspired musicality. I think the way my brain functions is partly due to learning and playing percussion instruments as a young child; another part is due to taking dance classes from a very early age, and the rest is just an innate trait.
Two, my lesser background as a stage and musical actor (and subsequent obsession with all things Broadway), in addition to my professional dance training allows me to retain a fairly lofty artistic oeuvre. I love that I can pass this knowledge on to my students now and aid in creating a new generation of extremely diverse performers and entertainers.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
I follow several dance-focused influencers that assist in a variety of skills.
Right now, I am working on increasing my dance vocabulary and really studying the origins, places, and faces of specific genres. I view dance as a lifelong journey. Any dance teacher who thinks they don’t need continuing education is going to become irrelevant. It is super important to humble yourself as an artist and look to others for inspiration and guidance.
Right now, I am very much enjoying Dance Trainer Katie Groven’s IG tutorials. She has great content that offers a wide variety of strength & flexibility ideas for Mini Dancers through adults.
For Ballet specifically, I study with Veronica K. Dance Training. She is very good at explaining the “whys” behind a ballet dancer’s pitfalls and gives ideas about how to improve technique overall.
Choreography and Artistry-wise, it’s definitely the Kinjaz. Ever since watching them perform “High for This” on World of Dance Season 1, I have loved them. The musicality in their choreography is absolute perfection (and what I strive to achieve with my dancers as well).
Personally (and nothing to do with dance), my favorite books are typically crime thriller novels. Any well-written work of fiction with a jaw-dropping twist is right up my alley. I also love non-fiction books and documentaries about biology and anthropology.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elitedancecompanyoftexas.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elitedancecompanyoftexas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EliteDanceCompanyofTexas
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/EliteDanceCompanyofTexasLasColinas/
- Yelp: https://maps.app.goo.gl/q5mTzLsHqXZFUXMj8
- Other: https://edctcares.org/
