What makes us the best in DSM?
1. OUR DIRECTOR – Kelli Devine-Woods is one of the most decorated choreographers in the Midwest. She has earned nearly 50 choreography awards in the last 10 years. She is one of the few dance studio owners with both a degree in dance and professional international dance experience. Because of this experience, Devine Dancers focuses on providing the best dance education possible. We aren’t as focused on the dollars and cents growth at Devine Dancers. Our greatest aim is to teach the art and athleticism of dance.
2. OUR TEACHERS – We have an incredible mix of teachers with professional experience, dance/choreography awards, and advanced degrees. In fact, the majority of our teachers hold a bachelor degree or higher in a related field to teaching dance (e.g., elementary education). We are excited to be the only dance studio to have three doctors on staff. Dr. Brianna Mooers is a physical therapist, Dr. Charlotte Baptie is an occupational therapist, and Dr. Josh Woods is a professor of sports psychology. We hold education in the highest regard and that is reflected in the whole of what our teachers bring to the table.
3. OUR DANCERS – Our dancers are an incredibly diverse group. We have pre-professional dancers as well as baby angels in their first years. We have kids who dance for fun and dancers who live, eat, and breathe dance every single day. We have dancers from every background, faith, and socioeconomic status. We have dancers from Waukee, Ankeny, Van Meter, Winterset, Cumming, West Des Moines, Indianola, Altoona, Bondurant, and many other surrounding areas. And, of course we have incredibly talented dancers from all around Des Moines.
- OUR TEAM – Our competition team is the only team in Iowa to have received 100% Platinum awards (the highest adjudicated score) for all group pieces four years in a row. Last year, we took home 6 National Titles and sent more than 20 dancers to Grand Nationals! This year our team earned 1st place in the most elite category at every competition we attended. Every competition was a sold-out competition. In our last competition for the season, we took home the overall 1st place for every division (intermediate and elite) age (2-4, 5-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-18) and group size (duet/trio, small group, large group, and production) that we competed in. To our knowledge, that is the best record out of any other dance studio in Central Iowa and reflects the amount of hard work and heart that our dance team puts into their competition pieces.
5. OUR LOCATION – We are located in The Avenues Cultural District in the historical heart of Des Moines an area rich with public art, culture, and character. Our studio is on Ingersoll Avenue, right off the 31st Street I-235 exit which means we are conveniently located and easy to get to for anyone who wants to give their child a dance education and cultural experience that will stay with them for life.
6. OUR PASSION FOR DANCE – We believe in the power of dance to change lives. We know that dance aids in physical and mental well-being. It will improve muscle strength, flexibility, and motor skills, as well as provide cardio conditioning and endurance training. But we also know a quality dance education has the ability to teach creativity, abstract thinking, emotional processing, coping skills, discipline and an infinite number of other benefits. From the Isadora Duncan Effect (linking motor development with brain development), to the goal-setting mindset it builds, dance can transform our children’s lives.
This studio is like my daughter’s second home. The teachers are just the best!!!
I signed my daughter up for dance like any other activity. She said she wanted to try dance so we looked for one with a good reputation. But what she has learned is so much bigger than just dance. She sets goals and works towards them as she is supported by her teachers and peers. I LOVE THE WALL OF FAME! What a great idea. I don’t know why anyone dances anywhere else.
- OUR MODEL – We aim to train our dancers in all genres to create well-rounded dancers. We believe the benefits of dance should be available and enjoyed by every person of every ability level.
- Every genre of dance is offered at our studio.
- Two different training types are offered so that each dancer can find a program that caters to their personal goals. The Core and Excel programs address different goals for dance and we love to celebrate both types of dancers.
- Additionally, Convention Prep has been a wonderful addition to our program to educate dancers on a different genre each week: ballroom, improv, contemporary, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap, and so many more.
9. OUR EDGE – Our director and teachers are constantly learning about the most cutting-edge research in coaching, dance training, and sports psychology. We invest in continuing to help our staff learn and grow. We want to provide the absolute best and so we are adapting, learning, and trying new techniques every day. This growth mindset means our dancers and families get to experience the both traditional form as well as the trendiest movements in the world of dance.
- OUR MOTTO – RISE! You’ve probably seen it somewhere around the studio or perhaps around the community. Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise poem, which inspired our motto, hangs in Studio Infinity in our building. This simple idea is the single greatest difference between Devine Dancers and all the rest. We strive not just to teach dance, but to impact lives. We are teaching our dancers to RISE no matter what they face in their life.
And you see that motto reflected in everything we do. This is not just a clever motto – this is who we are.
Our Motto: Rise
Our studio motto is RISE because the story of Devine Dancers is one of perseverance and hope against all odds.
Our kids will face limitless challenges, losses, and seemingly impossible circumstances. Though many Devine Angels go on to pursue professional dance careers most do not. So, we use dance to teach about determination, supporting others, setting goals, and always striving to be the best version of themselves; lessons which will hopefully live with them the rest of their lives.
I did not want to create just another dance studio. Our dancers’ mission is simple and summed up with just four letters. We RISE to give our personal best every day. We RISE when we face a situation we’re not sure we can overcome. And when we feel like we’ve failed and there is no hope, we RISE. I believe wholeheartedly in this attitude because it has not only impacted me personally, but I’ve watched it alter my dancers’ lives as well. I’ve seen teenagers use the studio as an outlet as they develop the strength to face toxic situations at school. I’ve watched children who were too anxious to enter the studio their first year go on to perform in front of hundreds of people and win multiple 1st places at sold-out dance competitions. I’ve seen dancers who were heartbroken by rejection use the RISE mindset to turn their pain into motivation, so they could not only conquer their fears and doubts but conquer those who rejected them.
Becoming a Devine Angel is about accepting you have something special to share with the world and that you can endure any obstacle. My studio’s primary goal is to teach our dancers about how to be a light in the darkness and to never let that light be extinguished. As an extended member of the Angel family, I hope you too, when facing a situation you’re not sure you can overcome, will call on your Angels and RISE. #AngelsRISE
-Kelli Devine-Woods
Our Story
Devine Dancers is a Des Moines dance studio and opened its doors on June 1st, 2009 in a tiny basement studio (853 B 42nd Street) underneath The Shops at Roosevelt.
There were less than 10 students in my first summer camp – five of which I was related to (yikes!). Relief set in when 50 students registered for our first year of fall classes. The space quickly became too small to hold the nearly 100 students who registered in the second year. So, we moved to our current two-studio location on Ingersoll, thinking we would never outgrow that location. The third year we grew to approximately 150 students. And in just two more years we were up to 300 students. The past three years we have been at full capacity, so we are now in search of a new location where we can expand and offer more classes and options for our families.
Those statistics are exciting and all, but our only goal is to share our love for the art and athleticism of dance with as many people as possible. The body can express human emotion in ways words cannot. And the arduous discipline required to execute this movement inspires me. There is no such thing as a perfect dancer…only a dancer who is always perfecting.
I want to thank you for your hard work with my daughter. She was a chatter box tonight and was telling me how challenging it was, but inspiring. She is literally a different dancer than she was and she knows that is because of the hard work she is doing in the studio. And I can’t thank you enough for putting the passion back in her heart for dance. She was almost ready to give it up for good before we ‘found’ you. She is thriving and I am forever grateful!