The Barstool Fund - CY Danceworks (Thanks To TradeZero)
Thank you to TradeZero for their donation to help support our next business… CY Danceworks (San Mateo, CA)
CY Danceworks provides dancers of all ages the space, education and encouragement to reach their dreams. They aim to teach, motivate and inspire. Their friendly and talented staff is extremely committed to sharing their passion for dance with students.
Reader Email
Dear Dave,
My name is Chantelle York and I have a Dance Studio in the Bay Area that has been serving the community for the last 10 years and is a second home to hundreds of children. However before I talk about my business, I wanted to introduce myself and give you a little back story about why I started my business. I grew up in an physically abusive household and dance was the one thing that gave me a sense of self worth and kept my head above waves of depression. I promised myself as a young girl that I would dedicate my life to saving others by sharing the gift of dance and all of its healing benefits. I opened up my dance studio at the ripe age of 21 on the raw fundamentals of hard work. I came from a low income household, which of course meant my parents never had any money, so I had to work 3 jobs and save up to invest in my dreams. It was certainly a huge risk and very scary but let’s just say boy did it pay off! 10 years later, we had 600 plus students and had outgrown two studios Until COVID hit…
Now let me give you some insight of my business and what we do:)
CY Danceworks is a community oriented dance studio that embraces creative expression and values self improvement. At CY Danceworks we believe there is a dancer in everyone! Our classes are designed to be fun, educational and entertaining all while focusing on individual growth. We offer a range of dance classes for all skill levels and ages. At the heart of CY Danceworks is our passionate teachers who are truly committed to instilling a sense of self worth and confidence upon their students. It is our devotion to our craft and dedication to educating and improving our students skill in this beautiful art that sets us apart from other dance studios.
I founded CY Danceworks 10 years ago in the Summer of 2010 with a mission to provide a safe environment and creative outlet for our youth to freely express themselves and build upon their self esteem. We opened our doors with only 30
students enrolled and the dream of changing lives through the therapeutic benefits of dance. Since then we have doubled in clientele every year, outgrown two dance studios and last year reached our highest enrollment record, 600 plus students.
We can accredit our growth and success entirely to word of mouth as well as our participation in the community. We are true believers in letting our services and accomplishments speak for themselves. It is our passion for what we do, level of expertise, and bond with our students as well as the community that makes us one of the most popular dance studios in the bay area. We have a strong outreach to various different schools in San Mateo and Hillsborough, teaching dance through their after school enrichment programs. We volunteer our services free of charge by performing at art fairs, science fairs, libraries, churches and schools for the purpose of Mental Health awareness. For 10 years CY Danceworks has donated free classes to schools, churches, and underprivileged youth. We have even worked with the San Mateo Police Activities league to teach dance to disadvantaged teens whose parents cant afford extra curricular activities.
In addition to our reputation in the community, our studio is well known for our world renowned adult competition team called Str8jacket. Str8jacket has performed on TV shows such as America’s Got Talent, World of Dance, and BET LIVE. This team of extremely talented dancers have taken 1st place at multiple urban dance competitions around the country, performed at Warrior games, and currently have over a hundred thousand views on some of their youtube videos. Because of this, CY Danceworks attracts dancers from all over the world who come to our studio just take take Str8jacket’s workshops.
CY Danceworks serves as a beacon of inspiration to a multitude of dancers of all ages and skill levels. We see dance as more than an art form but a way of life. We feel it is our purpose to educate and uplift our youth beyond the boundaries of dance. I established CY Danceworks in an effort to provide a safe haven for our youth to feel supported and experience self growth but along the way we’ve built a community.
I have lost half of my clients and have been close to losing my business multiple times. We are now hanging on by a thread and are in need of financial assistance to keep our doors open. 2020 has been a rough year to say the least. On top of trying to keep my business afloat I also had a baby amidst the pandemic. She is healthy and certainly the love of my life. My Fiancé and I have planned to get pregnant and we were thrilled when we found out at the beginning of 2020 while my business was booming because he wanted to be able to provide for her comfortably. Unfortunately shortly after giving birth, my fiancé lost his job due to Covid-19 and now I am struggling to keep my business afloat and take care of my family. I want her to see that dedication, persistence, and hard work does pay off. I am hoping that you could help keep my business afloat and thriving so that I can continue to inspire and foster our youths mind, body, and souls. Thank you so much !
Advertisement
Kindest regards~ Chantelle York