Today we’d like to introduce you to Anacia Weiskittel.
Hi Anacia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Degas Dance Studio opened its doors in the height of the financial crisis and recession of 2010 in Encino, California. We started with a big dream to teach students the ART of DANCE, with very little money for start-up costs, only a few students and NO room for failure. In the beginning, I taught sometimes only 1 (scholarship student) 3 hours in a row. I was dedicated and determined to succeed. I made a lot of business mistakes along the way that cost me, but I learned from them and I hope to pass along that knowledge as I move into franchising the studio and save new owners from making those same costly mistakes. Now 11 years in, going through recession and a pandemic, I feel that I have earned a PHD in dance studio ownership.
The last year and half has been incredibly difficult but through those challenges, we were also able to see what’s truly important in life and it gave us the strength to take risks and follow our hearts. Our family made the decision to move to the Netherlands! We were looking for a slower pace and better quality of life for our children. We had visited a few years back and fell in love with the nature, architecture, bike culture and abundance of arts and culture everywhere. So over the summer, we sold both cars, all of our furniture and most of our belongings except for a 7.5 x 3ft crate (still being shipped at sea since July 9th) and we arrived in August with two suitcases each.
I am running the studio remotely with the help of an incredible faculty team in LA, of the top dance educators, most of which have been with me 7-10 years and including a few alumni that grew up dancing at the studio and have had several years of teacher training with me. A wonderful front desk manager and support staff, As well as such a supportive community of students, families and parents. This has really given me the time to take on more of my role as the Artistic Director and focus on the big picture of our students and studio goals. To create opportunities for the students to perform and explore. I’ll be coming back and forth to set choreography with my daughter Savea Kagan. As well as running party scene Nutcracker rehearsals via zoom, with the 9hr time difference I’ll be teach in the evenings which is Saturday mornings for them. My student assistant will be in the studio who has been in the Party Scene production for seven years and previously played Clara in 2019. Through a lot of preparation, organization I’m able to make this long-distance remote possible. It’s also given me the time and space to see things from a different perspective and fine-tune. I’m also very clear on my communication and how things should be run, our teachers all share the same philosophy and passion, it’s a really special environment. Every family who has moved away has said that they have never been able to find anything else like it.
I’m in the beginning stages of starting my second location Degas International Dance Academy in Delft, Netherlands. The market here is very unique and different but I’m excited to be a part of this community. In some ways, I’m starting from scratch again but I feel we have a unique niche here and that we will be a benefit to the dance community. I know that the success we have had training dancers from the ground up generation after generation is not a fluke it’s a recipe. I’m starting by renting space only a few classes a week at TU Delft X-Studio and possibly 1-2 other locations while we find our permanent home. I’m excited to recreate our very special community in LA here in Netherlands, where students can find like-minded individuals that share their same passion to dance, perform, create and explore. I don’t care at all about “natural facility” or what student’s current level is regardless of age, I know from 30 years experience that I can train anyone that has the passion, desire and wants to truly learn the ART of DANCE. I’m also excited to create a summer intensive exchange program in 2022 where our students from Netherlands can go to LA and our LA students can come to the Netherlands.
I am so proud of the work we have done, generation after generation we have proven our results training dancers from the ground up with unprecedented success. Not just as technical dancers but also as artists empowering the next generation of Dancers, Directors, Choreographers and helping each one find their unique path and voice. Our dancers are performing and working all over the world and in some of the top college and conservatory programs including Codarts/Netherlands, Copenhagen Contemporary Dance, Alvin Ailey, USC, Boston Conservatory, Columbia, NYU, Vassor, Michigan and tons more. They have been National Young Arts Winners, Music Center Spotlight Winners, received scholarships and acceptances to summer intensives including Jacobs Pillow, Bolshoi, ABT, PNB, SFB, Alvin Ailey, European School of Ballet, Ballet West, Hubbard Street Dance, Bodytraffic and many others. In addition, many of our students train at the highest levels and then go on to college to be doctors, lawyers, science, engineering and business majors, they all say that the life skills they learned in dance have helped them to succeed at whatever they set their minds to do. I absolutely LOVE what I do and I’m grateful to have been a part of each of my student’s and families lives and journey.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There are always bumps in the road for any new entrepreneur but between the recession and the pandemic, these were particularly challenging times. During the financial crisis a lot of our families were laid off or not working. Extracurricular activities were one of the first things many people cut from their budgets. My teachers were struggling as well because most of them were still working dancers which again entertainment was one of the first things to be cut from productions and live events. I didn’t pay myself for many years in order to invest back into the business and keep it alive. Slowly jobs came back and people were more confident in the future and returned to dance.
When the pandemic hit in March of 2020 dance studios and gyms were the very first to close. We took an early spring break and completely changed our business model to 100% online within a week. At first, we had the instructors upload classes to our Vimeo account and students could do them at their own time or as many times as they wanted. This worked well for many students but others needed the motivation and accountability of a time and a live instructor. So we pivot ball changed again to online zoom classes. Our most dedicated students showed up and we got used to dancing in small spaces and laughed when all of our pets walked through the classrooms. In June, we were allowed back into the studio for summer intensives but things were very different. We had stars marked on the floors for 6ft apart distance, students wore masks and had temperature checks and we no longer could physically correct or hug our students, there was no physical contact. Regardless we were happy to be together after two months of being at home. August restrictions heightened again and we could now only teach outside. So again we rallied, parents, faculty, husbands and students came together donated money and built two sprung wood outdoor stages from cut pool noodles and layers of plywood and 2x4s. We covered the area with carport tents and streamed outdoor lights through them. We carried gymnastics mats out everyday to make the 3rd studio and brought out barres, portable music stations day/night. The students could see the other classes and hear the other classes music which at first is a little distracting but everyone adjusted and was just happy to make it happen. The students danced outside from August 2020 until April of 2021 in 115 degree weather and 42 degree weather doing dance in layers of gloves, hats, sweatshirts and still all in masks. In addition, we filmed our original end of the year production “The Lottery” that the students missed the previous summer in all outdoor locations masked.
We were determined to make our annual Nutcracker happen as well. Performance opportunities are a vital part of our student’s growth and for many of them, it’s the fuel that keeps their passion burning. These are also the real-world experiences that prepare them and the memories they will cherish for a lifetime. So we did what we do we were resilient and found a way! We rented LA Castle Studios a green screen production stage and turned all of our digital backgrounds into new 3D real engine software backdrops. We rehearsed outdoors for months, families reduced exposure prior to filming, got covid tested, we wore masks and filmed out of sequence so that we could have each level come in at a time. We didn’t do any partnering or physical contact but found a way to tell the story without it. It was a Nutcracker miracle but we made it happen!
At the end of the year in June, we filmed a third full-length original production entitled Proxima. It wasn’t easy to write a new production during Covid that would allow the students to stay social distanced, not touch, wear masks and could be performed on stage or film in sequential order to avoid traffic on set or backstage.
With every punch, we rolled with it and pivoted but there was one in particular that hurt and is still hurting. I filled out the paperwork for PPP loan the very first day they came out. I knew the first round of funds would go quickly. I was the first person from my bank branch to even receive it. However a year later, I was informed with a decision that $17k of the $22K had to be repaid within ONE year! I fell into a grey area my faculty who each teaches 3-8hrs a week were all independent contractors until mid-October 2019 before the AB5 law passed. I met all the requirements and put everyone on payroll ahead of the decision. For the first round PPP loan, it wanted 2019 figures but stated new business could use 2020 figures. While I wasn’t a new business, I was new to payroll and I assumed the intent of the order was to help small businesses. I submitted all of my forms based on first quarter 2020 payroll and my loan was approved based on this information. I used the funds exactly as the designated purpose only to cover payroll and one month half rent. In hindsight, my teachers and the business would have been much better off if I temporarily laid them off and they collected unemployment. More than a year later, I received a notification that I had only actually qualified for $5k based on my 2019 payroll and that I would have one year to pay back the remaining $17k. I still haven’t financially recovered, our student numbers are finally a little above half of pre-pandemic and it will take a while to get back on track, but I will do what I always do and that’s find a way and make it happen.
A few good things came out of the pandemic. We launched an online training program with classes students could do anytime, anywhere for only $19.99mo. www.degas-dance-studio-teachable.com as people got more comfortable online this opened up avenues for us to create content and reach even more students worldwide. This supplemental training can support dancers of all ages from kids to adults and a variety of levels that may or may not have access or funds to professional training. It’s easy to use and flexible for someone to do anytime, anywhere at as many times as they want. We currently have classes including Jazz technique turns leaps, Stretch & Flexibility, Ballet, Jazz/Acro, Improv Flow and we are adding Ballet Sculpt, Int/Adv. Acrobatics, Modern and a Teacher Training Course very soon.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We will continue to do what we do best at our studio in Encino and our new location in Delft, Netherlands and that inspires the next generation, create lasting memories and give students the life skills they need to be successful in whatever they choose to do. To provide the highest level of training for all students regardless of natural facility or age. Create a safe space for students to try new things, explore their own creative voice and be accepted for who they are. We aren’t perfect but we work really hard to instill these principles in our students and make it a safe space free from judgments. To cultivate a community of like-minded individuals that share the same passion for the ART of DANCE.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
If I could offer any advice, it would be to find a mentor or choose a franchise that offers good support. I could literally save someone hundreds of thousands of dollars from the mistakes.
Pricing:
- $19.99mo online training program
Contact Info:
- Email: info@degasdancestudio.com
- Website: www.degasdancestudio.com
- Instagram: Degas_dance_studo and Degas_dance_academy_delft_nl
- Facebook: Degas Dance Studio and Degas Dance Academy Delft, NL
- Youtube: Degas Dance Studio
- Other: https://degas-dance-studio.teachable.com
Image Credits
Anacia Headshot by Marjorie Salvaterra additional photography by Anacia Weiskittel
