It's been a long and exciting journey for Babs McDance! Prior to the opening of our dance club and ballroom, I had taught at more than a dozen clubs and dance studios in southeastern North Carolina since 1990. During that time, I recognized the need for creating a social dance studio in Wilmington. At that time, social dancers either had to go to the bar or to go to a dance studio. There was no in-between.

 

Before 2003, I had been renting space from DanceWorks on Oleandar to teach dance lessons. That year, a colleague of mine approached me about a children’s dance studio leaving Wilmington and the opportunity to rent their old facility. I had always dreamt of having a studio, but I had never actively pursued the idea. After some soul searching, I finally said yes! That year we reopened the facility at 6782 Market Street.

 

Myra, my studio co-owner, also owned another studio at the time. After a fun and hectic year of working together, Myra decided to focus her time and energy continuing to grow her original studio. 

 

During that transitioning period, I saw the chance to finally establish a studio that could cater to the social dance community. Thus began the transformation of a colorful children’s studio into an elegant social dance studio. A group of us tore down several walls to create an open floor plan. The space was created for hosting many guests during weekly dance socials and monthly themed events. I wanted to allow students to have a space to put into practice what they learned during group classes and private lessons.

The studio continues to evolve as we grows our staff, services, and events. I feel like we’ve come a long way, but we still have lot more to do. It’s a team effort, whether it be with the staff or the community. You always have to evolve to fit the times and the niche of the student. We love hearing feedback from our students in order to create what our students need. I'm so thrilled to have spent the last several years helping to grow the social dance community by sharing the joy of dancing with the Wilmington area. I cannot wait for what the future holds for Babs McDance!

 

See you on the dance floor!

Babs