by LynneRichardson I
A Power House of a Dance Studio
t’s been twenty years since Shella Sattler started her Power House ofDance studio inDallas near theGalleria, in 1995. Since then, this commercial studio has developed the talents and careers of students and teachers alike, spawning a half dozen
independent studios and expanding its own operations to a larger space near the Tollway and an even bigger off-shoot in Frisco.
After 13 years, Sattler sold her creation to local civic and business leaders, J.L. “Sonny”&Gretchen (Minyard)Williams, advising that her lead instructors and right-handman,Gino Johnson, should continue overseeing the studio. Thatwas a smartmove for the Williams asGino, nowofficiallyMarketingManager, has been instrumental in keeping the vision of “WhatDanceCanDo for People” central to
PowerHouse.Alongside him, Trisha Casamassima-Wood andDeeDeeMunson continue the Power House tradition as co-ArtisticDirectors.
Sattlerwas also director of theDallasMavericks’Dancers,where DeeDee and other PowerHouse instructors performed.Minyards stores, owned byGretchenWilliams’s family,were amajor sponsor of the basketball teamand knewall about PowerHouse ofDance and its owner and
staff.After the family businesswas sold,Mrs.Williams says, “We first took over theHighland Park Pharmacywhen the owner retired,whichwas a lot of fun, but (husband) Sonnywas looking for something else. Shella (Sattler)was looking tomove on and Sonny recognized the strength of the customer service she’d built there,with quality instructors;wewanted to keep them.”
Mrs.Williams also sawthe stability and business sense she and her husband’s involvementwould bring to the operation. For example, the formerCFOofMinyards is nowat PowerHouse. The seven- person staff have regularmeetingswith theWilliamses and out of these has come the next iteration of PowerHouse, a foundation, designed to assist dance studentswith expenses for training, travel toworkshops and competitions etc.
“With the twentieth anniversary of the studio, it’s a great time to launch.“ enthusesMrs.Williams.
“We just had our first fundraiser (inMarch) and intend to stage others. The application process is open to all and a selection com- mittee fromoutside of PowerHousewillmake the decisions.We hope to be able to fund five kids this first year.”
ArtisticDirectorDeeDeeMunson is also extremely enthusiastic. “I’ve alwayswanted to volunteer for some charity, butwith teach- ing seven days aweek, I never had the time.We’d been thinking and talking about this, butGretchen and Sonny knowall about foundations; they serve on somany
boards.Now, I finally get to give back.”
Marketingmaven and hip-hop specialist,Gino Johnson agrees, say- ing, “We’d like to get other studios involved and really growthe Foundation to offermore youngsters the chance to experience all that dance has to offer.Dance is so beneficial.”
There’s always something going on at PowerHouse. Around 1,200 students are enrolled, fromtiny tots to
adults.Classes in every genre of dance, in eight studios, overseen by seventeen teachers, are offered seven days aweek.
Many professional companies’ auditions are held here,Disney and DebbieAllen among them, alongwithworkshops given by leading performers fromtheworld ofDisney, hip-hop andmore.
Competitions are big at PowerHouse,with teams competing, local- ly, regionally and soon, internationally. PowerHouse is anticipating taking teams to compete in Japan next year. The lobby of theDallas studio has an enormous display of awards, cups and standards gar- nered by PowerHouse’smany diverse teams.
This commercial studio has gainedwide recognition for its competi- tiveness and professionalism, butwithGretchen and Sonny Williams at the helm, itmay yet be known for its philanthropy.
page 10 May-July 2015
www.thedancecouncil.org DANCE!NORTHTEXAS a publication of the dance council of north texas vol 18 • no 2
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36