After six years of operating at the heart of the 40/42 area, the Step Ahead Dance Studio has moved their dance floor to a new location. The studio, now located just down Highway 42 at 63 Anna Place, held an open house re-grand opening celebration on Aug. 17 to show off the new space and introduce their services to the community.

“On a practical level, the new studio is ‘off the beaten path’ so to speak,” said studio director Kim Yarborough. “There are no traffic lights or congestion to deal with as there were in our former location on Technology Drive. It’s definitely a much lower stress area and that really fits my mentality.”

The open house event featured door prizes, refreshments, class registrations and two free classes taught by dance instructor Bruce Howard. Students and even some parents took part in the jazz and lyrical classes Howard led.

The new studio is comprised of a large open dance floor, which Yarborough says is a welcome change from their former residence.

“The new location provides us a much larger dance space than the old location. We had two classrooms in the former studio, but they were smaller. The single classroom in the new studio is the same size as the previous two classrooms combined,” said Yarborough. “When I started my own studio in 1996 I had just one classroom and I could focus on each and every student and family. I was able to get to know them better and work with them individually. That’s the style of teaching I prefer and I genuinely love it. Having one classroom again will give me the freedom to teach as I truly desire.”

Classes began on Aug. 23, but registrations will continue until classes are full. Instruction is available in clogging, hip hop, jazz, ballet and tap. The studio incorporates a different theme each year, and this year students will be combining reading with dance. Bookmarks were distributed at the open house that read, “Reading touches the imagination and expands the mind. Dancing touches the heart and fulfills the soul.”

Yarborough is also adding a few new classes to the mix, including “Tutu Tales,” a dance class for children ages two through five. Each class will begin with story time, followed by dancing inspired by the book and the movement concepts introduced through the story. The class will run on a drop in basis, with a cost of $5 per child or $10 per family of two or more children.

The studio will also offer daytime classes for adults, particularly seniors. When she had a dance studio in Cary, Yarborough’s oldest student was 86 years old.

“They were all such a blessing to me,” said Yarborough. “They didn’t take things too seriously and we all had such fun!”

The classes are called N-TO (Never Too Old) Dance. The studio will offer tap, line dance and clogging. Cost for the classes is $40 per month.

For Yarborough, the addition of these classes provides an emphasis on her desire to get back to the basics and a diversion from what she says has become a disturbing trend in dance.

“Dance has changed a lot since I started my own studio 14 years ago. We’ve entered some new areas where I personally feel we shouldn’t be going,” she said. “Trends in dance these days lean more towards the ‘risqué.’ Every year I see young dancers becoming more seductive in their dancing and more scantily clad at each performance. In good conscience, I can’t and won’t teach my students to perform in that manner. It was time to go ‘back to basics’ and truly focus on technique, discipline and the passion that makes dance the art form that it truly is.”

Step Ahead Dance Studio is now located at 63 Anna Place Suite 103. For more information on the classes the studio has to offer, visit www.stepaheaddance.com, call (919) 662-1143 or e-mail info@stepaheaddance.com.