Today we’d like to introduce you to Chloe Routson.
Hi Chloe, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Chloe Routson and I am a Loudon County East Tennessee native. I am a graduate of Lenoir City High School, a Pellissippi State Community College graduate, and a proud former member of the well-known Appalachian Ballet Company, having studied classical ballet and other genres for over ten years. I spent most of my life in local pre-professional training programs where I learned from various instructors who influenced and shaped me.
My parents were not made of money and worked very hard physically to give me the opportunity to dance. Dance has always been a part of my life since I was a young child, but I always knew behind the scenes that I could create my own dances and put them on stage, even when I was little. After getting married and having a child I stumbled upon my unknown passion in teaching when a neighbor came to me and asked, “why don’t you teach some dance classes at the community center?
They had a town meeting and asked for someone to step forward to start something for the youth here.” I was a new stay-at-home mom, so I decided I had time once a week to dedicate to others and get some exercise. In 2019, I began the “Greenback Angels” youth ballet program at the Greenback Community Center in Loudon County for all ages and abilities in a “come as you are” and “do what you can” fashion.
I experienced the greatness of reaching youth who really needed something in their lives to look forward to and I unknowingly came at the right time for many of them. Many families had expressed love and admiration for dance but had never had the money, means, or confidence to enroll in a large studio.
I accepted children with no shoes or dancewear. I accepted children with social and emotional problems who we worked with each week to join in. One student, age 7, had lost her baby sister months prior and wasn’t able to attend school or activities for fear of being away from her mother. She began to take a class with us and we allowed her mother to stay in the room.
The mother told us dancing was the best thing for her to take her mind off her late sister and let her “just be a kid” while the music was on, and each week she would leave smiling despite the death of her toddler sister. One student had walked from the local school, hungry with lice-infested hair, and poured out her heart of dreams of being in the Nutcracker.
A tired grandmother desperate for her overweight granddaughter to join any kind of physical activity, “she won’t play sports. She won’t go outside. She needs to lose weight. She’s getting made fun of at school.” Lost middle schoolers who were rejected from joining cheer or didn’t have an interest in softball and other sports or who simply didn’t feel like they fit in at school.
We were flooded with young children whose faces lit up and smiled from ear to ear every week to just be able to take a dance class that had never been given the opportunity before. After a few weeks, there was a change in the children. They would tell their parents “I’m a ballerina”. They felt a new sense of importance and belonging. A boy from a neighboring county was described as “depressed.
All he does is play video games. I have to get him in something.” There were so many kids who needed something to do and look forward to. No matter their ability, what they wore, or what they accomplished, effort and attitude were applauded and celebrated by every child, and we finished each class with a ‘free dance’ where each child grabs ribbons and expresses themselves in any way they want.
This was the spark of a love of dance in our small town which has carried through the last few years despite the major pandemic and is now the driving force of my ever-growing recreational dance studio. Today I have adapted many programs to suit parents’ and children’s different goals and needs. We have worked our way up to having full-length mirrors, ballet barres, and proper equipment and space for classes and families.
As an instructor, I strive to create a unique environment for my students that is noncompetitive in nature and encouraging to each student, no matter how much time it takes to teach each one at their own pace. We focus on each step in our own time and do not rush to create a stressful or half-executed end product. I don’t allow my class sizes to exceed my own abilities to give each student the attention they need, and I spend time creating a relationship with each student by accepting them as they are.
I have a passion for mentoring students through the ups and downs of performing arts by working on sportsmanship, teamwork, effort, and attitude in everything we do while stopping to take the time to make dancing fun through games, interactive songs, and endless special activities. Our goal each week is to build confidence in the curriculum at hand as it applies to each student individually.
Not every student fits in a mold that many dance studios are looking for, and those students or parents who don’t perfectly fit that mold should have somewhere to learn and perform that’s not a competition stage. I believe each child should be celebrated and loved for who they are and their accomplishments no matter how small, to better contribute to their emotional and social development that will carry throughout their life.
I am proud to be opening Miss Chloe’s School of Dance in the Historic Downtown area of Lenoir City just a few minutes from Knoxville, accepting new and transfer students ages 2 to teens and adults.
We offer classical ballet, pointe, tap, jazz/lyrical, musical theatre, tumbling, and hip-hop, as well as Latin and Ballroom dance for adults. Our preschool programs are our most popular, as parents have described them as “fun, low pressure and affordably priced.”
We currently do not have a competitive or pre-professional team but accept transfer students of any age and experience level who are looking for a new dance home and a place to shine. You can find Miss Chloe at 111 East Broadway Street, Lenoir City, TN 37742.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Some struggles I have faced have been navigating during the pandemic and all the effects it has had on parents and students.
There are so many struggling and we must remember that everyone has been and will continue to be affected by this, and we all need to work together to create the best environment possible for our children for their emotional and social development.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I specialize in children’s programs including but not limited to: preschool ballet, tap, toddler creative dance movement, tumbling, Kinderdance programs, and children to adult ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, musical theatre, tumbling, hip-hop, and performing arts.
I have a unique program that accepts beginner teens who have never danced in all styles. We accept transfer students of any level to join the studio who are burnt out of their current environment and looking for a change. We also accept beginner and former dancing adults that wish to continue dancing after the age of 18. In other words, there is no age limit at my studio.
I also specialize in Ballroom and Latin dance for adults as well as wedding dance choreography for a fraction of the cost of Knoxville Studios.
