At the age of 11, Elly nearly quit dance. She came home many nights from her old studio in tears not wanting to finish.

“There was a lot of inner competitiveness and hierarchy,” Elly said. “There was a lot of favoritism, and that felt stressful.”

After a couple of breakdowns surrounding recital, Elly decided to leave her old studio and try a summer class at Bloom. While Miss Amanda was tough, she balanced her corrections with love.

“Miss Amanda pushed us,” laughed Elly. “But she balanced it out with compliments and encouragement because she’s trying to make you better.”

That summer, with the help of Miss Amanda, Elly got over some of her perfectionism and competitiveness. The atmosphere at Bloom created a safe space for Elly to be herself.

Through the years, Elly’s love for dance increased, and she also found deep friendships at Bloom.

“It’s really a great place to make friends because there isn’t that competitiveness between dancers,” Elly said. “You are friends trying to help each other, rather than beat everyone.”

In high school, teens start to move more towards their peers and every parent hopes they find solid friendships.

“It’s hard to find people you want to be around your kids and to pour into them,” Elly’s mom, Heather, said. “They’ve been a great group of girls for her to move towards.”

Heather believes if it wasn’t for Bloom, Elly wouldn’t be dancing now. 

Last year, Elly joined Seeds, a class that grows dancers in their dance skills while allowing them to experience the power of worshiping God through movement. A portion of the class is a mentorship program, and a few times a year, dancers participate in a local outreach or performance.

Now, at the age of 15, Elly is doing more of her own dance outreaches this year. She is choreographing a performance for her church’s Christmas program with the little girls, as well as some performances for her homeschool co-op.

“In a world that’s working to be good enough, she can rest in being the best Ellyanna Faith that God has made her to be,” Heather said. “Bloom, with her encouraging instructors and sweet friends, has been a huge blessing for influencing her to be confident in who she’s made to be, and not worry about the commentary the world seems to want to make on her life.”

At Bloom, we want to have a part in growing creative, confident dancers who courageously impact their world! We are inspired by stories like Elly's, where a dancer has had the opportunity to become just that!