In-Step Dance Center is starting its 28th season teaching students in The Woodlands area at a new location on Sawdust Road. The school has been in operation since 1999, according to owner and operator Dana Sparks. (Courtesy In-Step Dance Center)
In-Step Dance Center teaches a variety of styles including ballet, jazz, lyrical and tap dance.Courtesy In-Step Dance Center.
In-Step Dance Center is starting its 28th season teaching students in The Woodlands area at a new location on Sawdust Road. The school has been in operation since 1999, according to owner and operator Dana Sparks.
The backstory
Sparks, whose mother was a dance instructor, has been dancing since she was 3 years old.
Her mother’s dance studio closed after the construction of the Hardy Toll Road displaced it, but Dana continued dancing. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in dance from Sam Houston State University, she moved to Los Angeles, where she danced and taught before returning home to open In-Step Dance Center. Today, Sparks teaches second-generation In-Step students, some of whose parents also attended the studio.
A long time coming
In-Step relocated to a suite at 314 Sawdust Road on Aug. 15. The new location has brought increased visibility, space and improved facilities, she said. The studio also has a location on Spring Trails Ridge in Spring. The additional space on Sawdust Road has allowed In-Step to expand its class offerings. Sparks said she hopes to expand options for the adult program in the near future.
“I think we hit our ceiling [with the old location]. People couldn’t find us, and when they did, there was no place to park,” Sparks said, “So I think this place gives us a lot more room to grow.”
What they offer
In-Step Dance Center offers regular classes for all ages and skill levels in over 10 different styles. Highlights include the Mommy & Me class for children ages 2-4 and their caregivers. The class helps young children learn concepts such as left and right, and colors and letters, while developing motor skills. The studio also offers music lessons for guitar, drums, piano and voice, and it recently added hip-hop and K-pop classes to its roster.
Sparks describes In-Step Dance Center as a “small but mighty” studio in the dance competition world. In-Step's hip-hop team won the Grand Championship at the 8 National Talent Competition in Conroe. A duet and several soloists from the studio also finished first overall.
Some of the classes available include:
Ballet
Jazz
Lyrical
Tap
K-pop
Hip-hop
Modern
Salsa
Musical theater
Acro/tumbling
Mommy & Me
Music lessons
Staying Local
In-Step Dance Center works through Arts in Motion, a local nonprofit that provides dance classes in schools. The organization also gives students the opportunity to perform on a professional stage at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts during its annual Danscape event. The event raises money for Ronald McDonald House Charities and awareness of ovarian cancer.
“It’s a really elegant affair. We get all dressed up, which is fun for us, because we’re only used to seeing each other in sweaty T-shirts and leggings,” said Lola Jordan, director and instructor at In-Step Dance Center.
314 Sawdust Road, Ste. 200, The Woodlands and 28533 Spring Trails Ridge, Ste. 200, Spring
