CUPERTINO, Calif., Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Dance Academy USA (DAU) in Silicon Valley is proud to announce that it provided uninterrupted service and support to young children, without fail, from the moment Covid hit until present day.
“When the county wouldn’t allow us to teach in person, our kids needed their dance friends and teachers more than ever. We had many parents thank us for providing consistency and leadership during a time of turbulence,” said Jane Carter co-owner of Dance Academy USA and the former Director of the NBA Warrior Dance Team.
“It was early on, I think as soon as April or May (2020), that parents were encouraging us to keep going, that dance was playing a critical role in the mental health of their child during lockdown and beyond. That gave us purpose and determination to carry-on,” said Ms. Jane. Dance Academy USA has been a staunch advocate for Silicon Valley kids since 1990, having served over 100,000 students during that time with an active Pre-Covid student body roster of approximately 1500. The company has also been recognized by Dance Teacher Magazine as the #1 private dance studio in America.
One dance parent said, “The dance lessons have kept both my girls going through the last year and helped them have a positive focus during their day.” Another parent said, “It means so much for my daughter in these tough times to be able to have a positive outlet both physically and artistically.” And a third parent told us, “My child was honestly spiraling to a really bad spot mentally, DAU saved her, which frankly saved our family. We are forever grateful to the dance studio.”
Dance Academy USA has received dozens of these type of parent messages, over the last two years, thanking the company-staff for its assistance in helping maintain good mental health of their child.
“Since March-2020, we believe the county has acted irresponsibly by adopting a very narrow definition of the word, health. Is it healthy to lock a kid in their room for months on end? Is it healthy to deprive a child of the one thing they look forward to weekly? Parents should be making those decisions, not 1-3 government employees with no public oversight,” said co-owner Jim Carter. Carter was an All-American athlete at San Jose State, Founding Member of Intero and the former CEO of HomeSmiles. “In parallel, the rich can work from home, the poorest of the poor have to go work…making them even poorer resulting in depression and mental anguish. I think the county forgot about that part of the health equation.”
“When Covid hit, we incrementally realized how important the dance studio was to the mental health of our students,” said Kim Barrett the General Manager. The company kept their entire competition team in place, and about half of its recreational students. Jane Carter said, “No dance teacher likes teaching over the internet, but we had to do it, and we had to elevate our game to a whole new level. It was easy to see the kids were struggling, and dance is really the only thing they looked forward to. Thank goodness we are back in person. The kids are so happy!” said Jane Carter.
“Our argument is singular in nature: that parents should be making decisions regarding the well fair of their children,” said Jim Carter. “We have three adult daughters, but when they were 4, 5 and 9 years old, I would not have wanted a government employee dictating to us (as parents) what my girls can or cannot do. I want to make those decisions with my wife,” concludes Jim Carter.
About Dance Academy USADance Academy USA is the largest dance school under one roof in the state of California and a five minute drive from Apple’s new spaceship; the business has served the Silicon Valley dance community for 31 years, and according to its website, offers classes in tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop and breakdancing. Dance Academy USA was founded in 1990 by James R. and Jane R. Carter; the business has since expanded to six classrooms and a staff of over 60; Jane Carter is a graduate of San Jose State University with a degree in Human Performance (Fitness) and a minor in Nutrition and Food Science; while in college she was selected by Dole Corporation to be the company’s ambassador to promote dance, modeling, and aerobics in Japan.
After 24 years at the Oaks Shopping Center, across from De Anza College, Dance Academy USA has recently relocated down the street, still on Stevens Creek and still in Cupertino at 19900 Stevens Creek Blvd. To learn more about Dance Academy USA (DAU), please visit their website at DanceAcademyUSA.com. You can also contact DAU by phone at (408) 257-3211 or by email at [email protected].
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SOURCE Dance Academy USA, LLC
