My love for dance started and grew at Balleraena. I was a student at Balleraena from age two until my sophomore year of high school, when my family moved to North Carolina. I am so grateful to have had so many different teachers, guest artists, and peers who have inspired me as an artist and a person. Balleraena has provided me with such a wide range of techniques and styles. Being a part of the studio has given me so many opportunities to dance with amazing choreographers and travel around the United States. Raena has always fully believed in each one of her students and encourages them to pursue their dreams.

If I have learned one thing from Raena, it is the ability to create regardless of the opinions of others. Raena has been my teacher before there even was a Balleraena, before she sculpted her studio into the beautiful place it is today. I know I would not have wanted to dance at any other studio in Sioux Falls, because at Balleraena I was not only disciplined and taught technique, but also able to experiment in any type of movement open to me.

Raena has been inspiring me to dance since the age of three. She has given me many opportunities that I will forever be grateful for, including helping me get accepted into the Joffrey Ballet summer intensive and Synthesis Dance Project. I hold all my memories at Balleraena close to my heart, from being Clara in The Nutcracker to countless trips to the Cities for dance conventions to all the lifelong friends I have met there. Balleraena will always be home to me.

I began dancing with Raena at the age of two. Balleraena Dance Studio has given me all the skills I need to continue growing in the art of dance. Everything I have been taught inspires me every time I walk into the studio. I consider Balleraena home, and I am so lucky to have the instructors I had for pushing me and giving me inspiration inside and outside of class.

I cherish my experience at Balleraena Dance Studio and attribute my achievements to those who supported me at the studio, in particular Miss Raena. Balleraena provided an environment where I was able to explore the “limitless boundaries” of dance, strengthen my technique, develop an awareness of the body, and discover my voice as an artist and mover. Raena’s enthusiastic and supportive spirit, coupled with her keen ability to push her students into a realm of endless possibilities, was and continues to serve as an inspirational blessing in my life. I am grateful for the friendship that has transpired over 14 years of dancing together and look forward to future collaborations!

I started dancing with Raena at three years old and danced with Balleraena for 15 years, where I was provided with countless opportunities. I was very fortunate to dance at a studio where Raena encouraged artistic expression and provided us with multiple experiences to grow as dancers and be the best we could be. Raena and the rest of the Balleraena staff taught me how to appreciate dance and how to have a strong work ethic. Balleraena provided me a wonderful, safe, and inspiring dance environment to grow in dance. Without Raena and the rest of the staff, I wouldn’t be the dancer I am today.

Once I started classes at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities as a dance major, I appreciated my experience at Balleraena with improvisation and being exposed to multiple sources of movement. It was this openness, willingness to try, and flexibility that afforded me the chance to lunge into the unknown with projects and trust those using me to create. Raena’s work ethic and rehearsal style show what dedication driven by passion looks like.

Balleraena exposed me to a professional dance atmosphere and the ability to creatively explore a beautiful art form as well as myself as an individual. Balleraena has been my second home since fourth grade. Besides dancing, Balleraena gave me the opportunity to assist in teaching adolescent classes, which has tremendously helped my dance. During the summers I attended many workshops in New York, Baltimore, Minneapolis, and Sioux Falls. The instructors at Balleraena share a personal connection and a genuine happiness for every bit of improvement.

I started dancing at Balleraena when I was in fourth grade. After I graduated and continued on to dance in college, I truly realized how blessed I was to grow up in a such an amazing studio. Not only was I one of the only students at college who had previously studied modern, I was also a well-rounded performer. Balleraena had built an atmosphere for me in which I felt at home, which enabled me to grow. All the teachers I encountered there inspired me and continue to be my inspiration.

I have danced at this studio ever since I was a little girl and am a former company member and student. I have such great memories at Balleraena, and I am so very thankful that I was able to grow up in such a loving and supportive environment. Raena helped me turn my passion for dance into a profession, and I will be forever grateful.

My family loves to tell the story of how they potty trained me by bribing me with dance classes. Luckily, my parents chose to enroll me at Balleraena Dance Studio when I was three years old. It has become a second home to me. Through this studio I have had incredible opportunities to dance with many well-known choreographers as well as the opportunity to travel to New York City with Raena and her family to dance. I appreciate all that this studio and these teachers have done for me.

In the short time I was with Balleraena, I was given so many opportunities. I was exposed to many artists throughout the country through receiving a scholarship to dance in New York at Broadway Dance Center and Perri Dance Center, intensives, master classes, and LiRa Dance Theater Company. Balleraena has taught me not only different techniques, but also how important it is to have artistry in your dancing.

Balleraena has supplied me with vital training and experience, advancing my ability to where it is today. The artists and opportunities that have been supplied by Balleraena have allowed me to enhance my skill set, artistry, and connections in the industry. All of these experiences have pushed me to become a better dancer, more knowledgeable human, and harder worker.

Balleraena has taught me to be diverse in my dance training. I love how Balleraena focuses on the passion of just being able to move in a space freely, rather than constantly worrying about looking perfect. I feel as though Balleraena really allowed me to be creative and use my artistry more than any other place I’ve danced. This studio has been my rock, and I owe everything to it and its teachers; it’s why I am where I am today.

My time at Balleraena was filled with so many memories that I could never forget. All of this was due to the amazing people who make Balleraena so special. Each teacher, though they have different teaching styles, has kept me so interested in learning new things while also focusing on making my technique and prior knowledge to dance even stronger. I love my Balleraena family.

By dancing at Balleraena, I have gotten to experience so much outside of the studio and prepare for future experiences in the dance world. The other girls and teachers at the studio are like my second family, and I am so thankful for them. My teachers have not only taught me technique, but also encouraged my personal growth as an artist. Balleraena has allowed me to discover and grow my passion for dance.

Balleraena Dance Studio provided me with a comprehensive education in the art of dance through qualified instructors, an abundance of creative opportunities, and exacting classes. The information I gleaned during my attendance has proved crucial to the quality and artistry of my performance and choreographic endeavors.

Coming to Balleraena was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Through this studio, I’ve been able to get better technique, study with many amazing artists from all over the country, establish tons of connections throughout the dance world, travel with Balleraena Dance Company to different events, and, most importantly, gain another family.

I have never met a more kind, loving, passionate, and strong human being than Raena. She and the rest of the instructors at Balleraena, along with the support I felt from my fellow classmates, are what got me to where I am today. The loving atmosphere that surrounds this studio is impeccable. I have grown so much as not only a dancer but also a person from the company and classes at Balleraena.

I would not be the dancer, nor person I am today, without Balleraena… especially the Raena part. This second home taught me to have fearless determination, drive, and attack to fight for my dreams, and I have everlasting love for all the amazing people I was lucky to meet through Balleraena Dance Studio. In such an important growing period of the beginnings of my life as a dancer, I could not have asked for a better experience!