A local ballet studio is opening up opportunities for more kids to dance.
Muncie Ballet has been serving the community since 1991. Founded by Lisa Love, she decided to leave her corporate job in order to open the studio. She hasn’t looked back since.
“Everytime I walk in the door I go, ‘I love my studio!’ because I truly do, Love said.. I love what I do here, and I love having the kids come in, and I love our shows.”
Establishing the studio, however, wasn’t her only priority. About 40% of Muncie families live in poverty which means fewer kids have the opportunity to get involved in extracurricular activities. In fact, the PEW Research Center found that involvement in extracurriculars goes down about 20% for families with lower incomes. Love does what she can to help this community issue.
“Think of all the times you have someone on the outside looking in, and they don’t have the opportunity [to dance]; it’s fabulous that we can give them the opportunity to come to the studio. I always give them the option to say, ‘what can you pay?’. Sometimes it’s $4 a week, and that’s completely fine. We’re going to find a way to make it work for them,” Love said.
For Amber Couch, a Muncie Ballet student, she’s never felt left out or unincluded. Instead, she treasures the friends she’s made.
“The people - they’re all really nice. I don’t know how many friends I’d have if I didn’t have friends here,” Couch said.
Students who take class at Muncie Ballet are trained classical ballet with an emphasis on dancing to classical ballet music and acting. For performance opportunities, students dance storybook ballets around the community at local schools and Cornerstone Center for the Arts.
In order to allow more students to make friends with kids they may not have otherwise met, Love has established the studio as a 501(c)3 organization. The studio is always accepting donations, on top of what Love already does to help more students get involved.
“We have our share box of shoes - ballet shoes and tap shoes for our little students who tap. We have a share box of leotards and tights - all clean. We have other items that I can find on wholesale or discount that I am able to purchase those and give them to the kids who need them,” Love said.
Anyone interested in donating to the studio can do so online at their website by clicking “Donate” in the bottom right corner.
