What starts as a childhood dream doesn’t always make it to reality—but for sisters Ashley and Jessie, The Beat  is living proof that passion, persistence, and purpose can take you exactly where you’re meant to be. From choreographing in their living room to creating a top-performing studio rooted in heart and community, their journey is one of creativity, resilience, and lifelong impact.

What’s your story?

We had plans for The Beat since Ashley was in 8th grade and Jessie in 6th. While other kids were playing video games, we were playing “dance teacher” at home, choreographing dances for each other to learn, and drawing pictures of what our future dance studio would look like.

Ashley had to write a careers essay in 8th grade about what she wanted to be when she grew up, and she chose dance studio owner. Later, in her high school business class, she had to do a business plan for a potential small business that she would (hypothetically) start. Obviously, she chose dance studio. Her teacher kept her project after she graduated because he said it was the most well thought out and best-executed business plan he had ever received from a high school student…and he wanted to keep it and show it to his classes for years to come. In college, Ashley double majored in Marketing and Dance. Every time she was able to choose the topic of a class project, she always made sure to relate it to owning a dance studio. She also was very prominent in her dance classes, and multiple pieces that she choreographed were chosen by faculty to be re-performed at various St Louis dance events including Dancing in the Streets and National Dance Week.

When Jessie was in high school, she started taking sewing classes. She continued in college with more costume-based sewing classes. Now, she makes some of our amazing competition costumes and Beat Boutique dancewear completely from scratch! She has even won a costume award for one of her original costume designs. She also won a Weissman contest for costuming.

She studied both dance and physical therapy in college, which gives her an edge when it comes to educating our students to be the most healthy, strong, and flexible versions of themselves.

After college, Jessie and Ashley moved out to Los Angeles, California. Ashley auditioned for (and was accepted into) the prestigious Edge-training program in Hollywood. Each year the program accepted 10 girls and 10 guys into their intensive training program. This program allowed her to train nearly 40 hours per week with the best of the best in the dance world. She trained 5 days a week in Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop, Jazz Funk, Tap, Acting, Singing, and Dance Business classes.

While in LA, Jessie auditioned for (and received representation by) one of LA’s premier dance agencies, Movement Talent. Out of the 1000 dancers they auditioned, Movement Talent only accepted 25. Jessie was one of those elite few.

We ultimately decided, though, that our hearts were in teaching dance…and that we wanted to do just that. So we moved back home to Clinton County and started The Beat. We found our passion for teaching, inspiring, and motivating the kids of our amazing community. Our dances at competitions have scored exceptionally well throughout the years, winning many 1st overall spots and choreography awards – and we often get asked the question “So where exactly is Breese?” – putting our local community on the map!

What motivates you to do what you do?

    Our entire business was created behind our passion for dance and teaching, and it’s definitely what continues to motivate us today. We are so fortunate that we were able to take our favorite hobby and passion and be able to make a career out of it. Beyond our initial reasons, we can now see how much the kids of the community need that outlet as well. Dance helps kids express themselves, push their own boundaries, and can boost their creativity as well. Seeing how much joy it brings to our students keeps us inspired to continue our work.

What’s one challenge you’ve overcome, and how has it shaped you or your business?

What do you hope to accomplish through your work or mission?

We strive to provide a safe space for children to push themselves to their greatest potential. When parents send their kids to The Beat, they can guarantee quite a few things: that their children will be taught by highly qualified instructors, that they will be encouraged and pushed to do their best, that they will be held accountable for their knowledge of content being taught, and that they will have a lot of fun along the way. We pride ourselves on helping to create kind, strong, confident, hardworking humans. And we are grateful to our Beat families for trusting us to be a part of their village.

Who has been the biggest influence on your journey?

We have been blessed with so many great people to help guide us in our business journey – it would be hard to choose just one. Our parents have been so supportive of our dreams since day one. They literally have helped us build this business from the ground up and continue to help in our office, at recital, at parades, and every event we offer. Another mentor we’ve had is our past teacher and friend, Annie. She opened up a dance studio in Wentzville, MO, and she was so helpful when we were first starting up. No question was too big or too small to ask of her. We have also made so many great friends through the years who also own dance studios and are so passionate about the work they do. We have learned that truly positive and successful people want success for others as well…and they are always willing to help others achieve. We always try to network at dance competitions and other industry events – little by little finding our tribe of like-minded individuals to help support each other in this business.

What makes your business, craft, or mission unique?

What makes our business unique is how creative it requires us to be. No day is ever the same – we are constantly planning, scheduling, communicating with parents and staff, teaching, choreographing, marketing, and more. And no dance we choreograph is ever the same either. We are inspired by so many different things in life – nature, people, daily events, books we have read, songs we have heard, and our students. Every single dance is created specifically with the dancer(s) in mind – tailored to their strengths, highlighting their special individual skills, and helping them to grow into the best dancers they can be. We also are able to connect with our students and their families on a whole other level. While a lot of businesses might interact with their clients only while their services are required, we are able to cultivate multi-year-long relationships. We have had quite a few students for over 5 years each…and a handful for 10 or more years. That’s both insane and amazing! We love that it allows us the opportunity to see our students grow and mature into fantastic young people (both in and outside of the studio).

What’s one piece of advice you would share with others?

If you have a dream, go for it. It might seem crazy and it might seem scary, but so is living with the regret of never trying to take that step. Even if it doesn’t work out as planned, it will often lead you to where you are meant to be. We moved to Los Angeles to see if dancing professionally is what we saw ourselves doing in life…and in the end, it wasn’t, but it ultimately led us back home with a refueled sense of passion for teaching and the revelation that we definitely wanted to open our own studio here in Clinton County. It sounds so silly, but moving away really made us realize everything about this community that we loved. Also, don’t ever stop learning and growing in life. And don’t be afraid to network – especially with people who inspire you, people you look up to, and people who know more than you. Successful, hard-working, and passionate people typically want to help like-minded people in their journey to succeed.

What’s a fun fact or surprising detail about you that most people wouldn’t know?

We started choreographing at a young age and provided our parents with many a show, but these shows were complete with actual ticketing, real show orders, our cousin as the designated music person/emcee, and costume changes. We also had our first real choreographic debut at recital of a full length duet we choreographed when Ashley was in 7th grade and Jessie was in 5th.

How do you hope people feel after interacting with you or your business?

We hope people appreciate many things that our business brings to the table. We hope they walk away recognizing our professionalism, excellent communication, organization, and creativity. We have actually received the “Heart” award at competition which is awarded to the studio that “has shown us and everybody around them, grace, gratefulness, and true sportsmanship throughout the entire weekend. These dancers are not just talented, but are truly the whole package!

What does being part of the community mean to you?

A strong sense of community is everything! We truly feel so blessed to have our business in Clinton County – in a community that supports one another always. Businesses can thrive or die based on community support, and we have talked to many other studio owners where that is the case. We have met so many amazing individuals through our business and it makes us realize how many more are out in the community still. Covid definitely taught us about the power of connection and how things are better when we can all stand together.

What’s one thing you can’t live without?

Ski! We are so grateful to live in Clinton County. How else could we get all of our choreography done?!

What’s the most surprising thing on your bucket list?

One not so surprising thing on our bucket list is to eventually start families of our own. We have spent our entire careers pouring into other people’s kids…and while that part will never change, we would also love to be able to experience having our own kids and families. We also think it would be super cool to be able to pass on The Beat School of Dance to our future kids and create a legacy in the community that outlives us and can be a safe space for kids to learn and grow for years to come. Some actually surprising bucket list items include traveling more, going sky-diving, writing a novel, and learning another language.

What’s one thing you’ve done recently that brought you unexpected joy?

We find joy in the smallest of things. We are excited for the warmer weather and just recently enjoyed a beautiful day reading in the sun, walking the dogs, and watching the birds build their nests.

Are there any upcoming events or initiatives you’d like to share?

It is an extremely busy time of the year for us! Our performance team is performing at the Cardinals game on May 6th, and we have our fabulous annual recital at McKendree May 31st and June 1st. Then we’re quickly back at it again with new season choreography and super fun summer camps! Our summer session is a great way to take a break from the norm and try something new, whether it be a new class – dance, tumbling, or ninja – or one of our themed camps – Wicked, Princess, Barbie, Taylor Swift, Bluey, and Descendants. We’re always busy at The Beat!

Please share your social media links or any other way people can contact you.

Websites:

Facebook: Facebook.com/thebeatschoolofdance

Instagram: @thebeatdance13

Email: thebeatschoolofdance@gmail.com

Website: thebeatschoolofdance.com