Boni's Dance & Performing Arts Studio teaches generations of dancers

“We were a dancing family. My mother and aunt were dancers, so my aunt Jackie and my mom were my mentors, and my mother always wanted a dance studio of her own,” Schuetz said.

At the age of 8, she began practicing dance at the American Legion hall with the guidance of her teacher Pat Alston.

“At the American Legion hall, we didn't have barres and we didn't have mirrors. We used the window shingles for our barre and a wonderful wood dance floor, which is why I still have a wood dance floor in my studio today,” Schuetz said.

Before opening her studio in The Woodlands, Schuetz said she taught dance to students in the community from her garage in 1981.

She then opened Boni's Dance & Performing Arts Studio in a small room in Panther Creek Village Square, which quickly expanded and took over the space next door.

As the studio grew, Boni's dance moved into Jamal’s, a grocery store on Panther Creek. Today, the building is now The Woodlands Children’s Museum.

In 1998, Schuetz bought a piece of land where Boni's Dance & Performing Arts Studio is today and has two additional locations aside from its main studio.

Boni's Dance & Performing Arts Studio has 50 staff members, 1,520 students and over 300 classes a week.

To Schuetz, dance is not only about developing a student's dance skills but about molding young dancers into responsible people through an art form that enhances their life skills and confidence.

Boni's Dance & Performing Arts Studio’s next performance will be at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion from May 25-26 at 5 p.m.

• 9102 Forest Crossing Drive, The Woodlands
• 4545 Research Forest Drive, Ste. A, The Woodlands
• 30420 FM 2978, Ste. 480, The Woodlands
• www.bonisdance.com