Dance has a variety of benefits for children. Just like other sports like soccer, tennis or basketball, it promotes good health, emotional and mental stability.
The Dance Place in Hicksville is the brainchild of former dancer, Miana DeLucia. As a child, DeLucia found relief in her local dance studio. She says, “When I was young, my brother was very sick. I used to go to the studio just to get away. There, I found my passion and it became like a second home to me. It was my safe place.”
Finally, in 2008, she was able to realize her dream of owning a dance studio. She opened The Dance Place in Hicksville and has since added 2 new locations: Bellmore and most recently, Levittown.
DeLucia says, “We were able to fill a hole in the community, there was nothing like it at the time in Hicksville. Today, we’re thrilled to be able to give back to the community.”
The Dance Place doesn’t just teach dance, they’ve become a haven within the area, reaching out to students in need.
“Last year we had two students who lost a parent,” says Delucia. “When one of the kids wanted to quit out of grief, we got involved and offered to pick up the students. They used the studio as a safe place to heal. We tried to encourage and would tell them to just dance it out.”
The Dance Place also offers classes for special needs children. “One of our students wanted to do it for her brother who has special needs. We worked together, and let her design the program with our special education certified teachers,” adds DeLucia.
Community motivated, The Dance Place has monthly movie nights. They also volunteer at nursing homes and at a local elementary school every winter for three weeks where they hope to inspire the love of dance to new students.
Last March, the troupe was invited to perform at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn before the New York Nets vs. Miami Heat game.
“The kids were thrilled; they got the chance to be on television,” said DeLucia. “They didn’t give us much time to prepare so we used our competition team which consists of boys and girls ages 5- 18.”
Shortly after that, dancers were asked to perform at Disney World and take part in one of their special parades called Dance The World. DeLucia explains, “We organized a fundraiser which helped a lot. They were very specific and wanted children aged 7-8 for the parade. It was an open call at my studio. We never shut anyone out. We gave every child a chance to make the team. We brought many different levels of dancers with us. When we got there, we rehearsed with Disney characters and got to see the secret backstage areas.”
The Dance Place offers a variety of classes. One of the most popular programs is called Ballet/ Hip-hop. The class combines classical ballet instruction with Hip-hop innovations through music. Another innovative program is Hip-hop Breakdancing. And the classes aren’t just for girls—DeLucia says they now have over 50 boys who dance regularly at the studio.
As a mother of three growing children, DeLucia understands the benefits of dancing. She also says that dance is a way to have fun and learn about life. She adds, “When a child comes in sometimes they have no idea what they’re doing; but with a little hard work and dedication, I’ve seen miracles happen.”
