Originally posted on Instagram @kunaecondev and Facebook facebook.com/KunaEconDev on 1/27/23 (scroll down to read the full posts)...
Meet Lori Power. The passionate owner behind Kuna's very own Music and Dance Studio.
Her studio which sits along Main Street is the premier spot for kids ages 2-15 interested in singing, dancing, music, and overall performing. She opened her doors in April of 2022 and currently has around 300 students learning everything from tap dancing, ballet, cheer, musical theatre and much more.
With a career that has taken her all over the US, Europe and Japan, she truly brings an array of experience and passion to our town. She lives and breathes music and dance, and knew from a young age she was meant to be a performer. Now her journey has led to teaching, and her ultimate goal is to pour her heart and soul into providing the next generation of kids an opportunity to experience and become immersed in the performing arts. She strives to provide quality lessons and ultimately make sure the kids are having fun and growing in confidence.
When entering the Power and Music Dance Studio you immediately walk downstairs into a vibrant dance studio lined with mirrors along the wall. There is a waiting room to the right where the parents get to sit and are able to watch their kids on a TV screen. The studio also has a multi-use room in the back with a piano, a ballet bar, and a wall lined with music books. Lori and her family spent countless hours and hard work in making the space into what it is today and hopes that in the future she can expand. Every minute you spend there you can feel the buzz of excitement, fun, and creativity flowing. From the mini ballerinas concentrating on learning their positions to the gymnastics section practicing their newly learned skill. For Lori Power and her team, this is what it's all about - being able to provide a space for kids to be able to really hone in on their creativity through dance and music.
Power Music and Dance Studio provides group lessons in acro dance, ballet, cheer, creative dance for special needs, gymnastics, hip-hop, jazz, musical theater, tap, tumbling, and the Power Kids-Performing Group. They also offer voice, piano, guitar, fiddle, and ukulele lessons.
[Power Music & Dance] recently became a part of the Empowering Parents grant which will give kids more access to performance arts. The studio runs year-round with the next session of classes starting February 6, 2023 and a showcase in June (continued below...)
Interview with Lori:
WHAT LED YOU TO OPEN A STUDIO AND HOW HAS THE INITIAL GOAL EXPANDED?
"I was just wanting to start voice lessons out of my house and then the performing group. That's all that I was going to do. And then as I saw the interest grow and my clientele grow and me outgrow the space in my house, that's when I said, I have an opportunity here to make something bigger. And add cheer.
And add dance, ballet, all these things that is my background, I just couldn't do it out of my house. So, then I started the journey of getting a bigger space, and making a studio and the response has just been amazing."
DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS IN ONE WORD
"Empowering. I think that's what it's all about. I have some kids that come in here with experience but the majority of these kids and I have adult classes too, but a majority of them come in and it is about empowering them. You can do whatever you want to if you practice and if you really put your whole heart into it, you can do it. And that's what I'm here for. Is to help teach you how to do that. And you can do whatever it is you want. And they truly can, I really believe that."
WHAT IS SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR COMPANY?
"I think a lot of people get the misconception that we only do dance. We have clogging, we have tap, we have hip hop, we have ballet, we have jazz, but on top of that we do singing lessons, we do guitar lessons, we do piano lessons. I teach a class for individuals with special needs on Saturdays and they participate in our showcase. I have a performing group. There are some kids that want to go out into in the community and we perform all over the Treasure Valley. There are so many kids that don't dance. There are kids that just want to sing. Or there are kids that just want to act and sing so that's why I have musical theater. So, we just try to really provide a plethora of options for the community not just dance."