Editor's note: This story is featured in OU Daily's Best of Oklahoma guide, which is available around campus in March-April. Check out other featured stories at the bottom of this article.
Born of inspiration during the uncertainty of the pandemic, adult studio Temple of Dance is home to a vibrant community of dancers from beginner to professional.
In October 2020, Carrie Holmes was the lead of hip-hop group Gather Round Crew. When the troupe was cut due to the financial strain of the pandemic, Holmes went from her dream job to working at a smoothie shop and selling goods on eBay.
“I was kind of lost,” Holmes said, explaining that after 20-odd years of teaching in and managing children’s dance studios, she was burnt out.
“I met a lady through Facebook Marketplace, she was selling a bookcase for $20,” Holmes said. “(We) ended up having a long conversation and she suggested the concept of an adult dance studio.”
While many children’s dance studios offer a limited selection of adult classes, studios designed strictly for adults are rare. The idea resonated with Holmes, who said she struggled as a professional dancer to find adult classes that would help her grow in her craft.
With a vision but no startup funds, Holmes began crowdfunding. She raised enough to secure her building and used her stimulus check on mirrors and floors, which volunteers helped install. The studio opened its doors in March 2021.
Due to the general lack of adult dance studios, Holmes was unsure if Temple of Dance would succeed. However, Holmes said the studio has been highly sought-after since its inception.
Temple of Dance on Feb. 11.
“The community's response from day one has been great because we haven't had this,” Holmes said. “It’s interesting, because there's not a lot of market research out there about how many adult dancers there are.”
Temple of Dance offers beginner, intermediate and advanced classes in a variety of styles, the most popular being heels, hip-hop and contemporary. Holmes said she struggled as an adult dancer to find classes that were anything but recreational and emphasized the importance of providing a variety of levels.
“Adults actually have a broader (age) range than kids,” Holmes said. “We go from 18 to 100-something, and there are all sorts of different dancers at different levels looking for different things.”
The majority of the classes offered at Temple of Dance are at a beginner level, but the studio offers classes for professional dancers as well. The studio's motto is “It's never too late to dance,” which Holmes said is a push against the idea that dancers have to start at a young age to be successful.
“There is definitely this unspoken belief that if you didn't start dance in your high school years, it's too late for you,” Holmes said. “Nobody outwardly says it, but that’s the belief that so many of us carry, so that is one of the primary reasons we are here.”
When he moved to Tulsa, Carson Edmonds had only been dancing for a couple of years. When the societal disruption of the pandemic inspired him to try something new, Edmonds decided to take dance classes for the first time.
“I've always enjoyed dancing, but I didn't consider it something I should do until the pandemic came around and everyone was reevaluating their life choices really hard,” Edmonds said. “I started and just was like, ‘I've got to do this now.’ It just feels good.”
Edmonds found Temple of Dance while searching the internet for adult dance classes in the area. Two years later, Edmonds said that the culture built by Temple of Dance instructors and fellow classmates is what has kept him around.
“The common theme echoed through all of the instructors I've had is that you're supposed to make mistakes and look goofy,” Edmonds said. “It's a place to explore, so there's very much this sort of chill, forgiving vibe built into the school.”
Temple of Dance offers classes seven days a week and has become a center of collaboration. On Fridays, a Latin dance night is hosted by a group of local Latin dancers. This January, Red Bull reached out to Holmes to make Temple of Dance their Oklahoma stop for Red Bull’s Dance Your Style program.
For those who decide to try dance classes for the first time, Holmes recognizes the weight of the decision and emphasizes that the studio is a designated safe space. Holmes said she discusses the dance goals of each new student and shares those goals with each of the student’s instructors to help them find a route to personal success.
“I try to acknowledge that it is literally sometimes five to 10 years of thinking about it before they get the guts to walk into the studio and, on a personal level, that is huge,” Holmes said. “Once you're here, you'll see that we're very nice, we're a very safe space, but to make that leap of walking in the door is humongous.”
Temple of Dance is at 8224 E. 41st St. in Tulsa. The studio offers new students a trial offer of two weeks of classes for $40. The weekly class schedule can be found on the studio’s website and social media.
This story was edited by Shelby Emery. Sophie Hemker, Grace Rhodes, Nikkie Aisha and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
