She calls it, “the tingles”. It’s truly a superhuman experience shared between you, your fellow dancers and the audience,” says Charlotte Williamson, founder of Atlanta Dance Central in Roswell. She believes that every child should have the opportunity to experience this power of dance. By sharing moments like this onstage and spending hours in the classroom, dance creates a community where students find a safe space to shine.
From the time she was in college, Ms. Williamson has always had an unabashed ambition to give all children the chance to be graceful, feel themselves flying or learn to leap to the beat of the music. When she started her first dance company in 2003, she never imagined her mission to include ALL would eventually lead her to open Atlanta Dance Central. At Atlanta Dance Central, a child can be included whether they are neurodiverse, have physical disabilities, or have aspirations and talents of dancing on Broadway. “We believe that everyone is a dancer. It's never too late to start,” relays Ms. Williamson.
Through her creation of the Physio Jazz Program, Ms. Williamson has been able to bring the art of dance to people of all abilities. “I launched my Physio Jazz Program, which was a curriculum that I designed myself over observation and trial and error. The program focuses on building functional movement, strength, and balance while also meeting their learning and social needs. I created my own website Physiojazz.com with my observations and resources for people who want to build their own program,” she remarks. Additionally, Atlanta Dance Central also has a very robust performance company, Atlanta Rising Talent that not only focuses on all styles of dance, but also the history and artistry that each style conveys.
Atlanta Dance Central also prides itself on a student teaching program that builds proficiency and confidence. After completing the program, these students have an opportunity to then assist in classes and even lead two classes per year. Ms. Williamson states, “Our goal is for assistant teachers to feel comfortable leading their own classes when they graduate from high school.”
However, this goal is a conglomeration of the passion, dedication and support that is poured into these dancers from the time they are old enough to tip-toe. “Through this time period, we help dancers mature, discover their own passions (whether that's dance or not), learn to communicate, learn how to identify and express emotions, understand time management skills, and appreciate the benefit of being supported by a community. Our policies have a built-in structure to allow dancers to make mistakes & recover from them as opposed to hard, solid, inflexible rules. We help dancers set reasonable goals and give them the guidance and tools to meet them. We provide two evaluations per year for all of our dancers to help communicate with parents about how they are doing in dance technique, friendships and behavior,” says Charlotte.
Ms. Williamson sees herself as an ally to parents in raising bright and confident adults and has had the privilege of helping to identify ways for children to overcome obstacles. She conveys, “We feel it's our responsibility to partner with parents to help their child grow into a successful and happy adult. Since starting the studio, I have seen thousands of students come through our doors and are able to guide parents when they have questions on what is happening in their child's life. Developmentally, we have spotted some crucial things in children that helped them get treatment they need.” Whether it’s a physical challenge that can be identified and supported or an emotional obstacle that a young person needs guidance with, Atlanta Dance Central and its instructors lovingly help escort students through it all.
Community support and collaboration are also important to Atlanta Dance Central. “Atlanta Dance Central provides our open dance days in August and January when anyone can try a class. We also champion a musical project called Sam's Room. The goal of Sam's Room is to bring people of diverse backgrounds together, people with special needs and people without, to gain mutual understanding, respect, and creativity together. We feel that our rooms are more powerful when we have more voices inside of them. We've presented one workshop this past April and the next one will be in September. We'd love to see everyone "Inside the Room," says Ms. Williamson.
Atlanta Dance Central is a dance company that takes all abilities and interests into account and meets the child where they are so that they may grow in their love and passion for dance and in life, passing it on to the next generation.
Visit www.atlantadancecentral.com for information on classes and upcoming events.