Meet Brooke Hatch | Dance studio owner/company artistic director/competition director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brooke Hatch and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brooke, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
Oh man….this changes weekly for me….I feel like….I think that I disagree with anyone who tells you how it will be based on their experience. I think, instead, the best advice is to tell people to go for it, to say YES! Through those actions we commit to doing things we might not have, otherwise, and through those actions we unlock doors we didnt know were ours to open. People oftentimes taint they’re advice using personal/professional trauma….and that’s not going to be right advice for so many people. So I say go for it….if you fail you learn and try again but if you don’t….oh there’s nothing like that feeling when you dont fail.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My name is Brooke Hatch and I am the artistic Director of Dancentre South studio, Dancentre South company, the Collide festival, and the Nutcracker of Cherokee County. My primary focus and work is dance, education, performance, and community involvement. I bought my studio in May 2018 from my mentors whom I had trained under since 1993.

I’m actually really fortunate to be in Woodstock as well as the Atlanta dance community because it is so rich and full of wonderful talent and more than setting myself apart, I want to contribute to the growing arts scene in and around our state so that creatives can continue to bring art to the forefront through physical movement. I want my studio to be a place where people feel they can access the knowledge and joy of dancing in a real and personal way. Whether it’s a child, taking their very first movement class at age 2, a budding, competitive or company dancer at age 9, a high school student looking to take their next step, whether it be in the professional or collegiate, dancing realms, or, all the adults that I see on a weekly basis that are just there to have fun and use dance as an fun outlet.

Oh my journey as a studio, Director, and owner has never been an easy one, and I think anyone that gets to this point in this industry would say the same. Making a living in the arts is tough, but for those of us that love it, it’s worth all the blood, sweat and tears it takes to get here. I always knew that owning a studio and being a Director was in my future and I never lost sight of that as I went through my formative years. Being able to buy and operate my home studio from my childhood is the ultimate dream and I am so very proud to continue its 30 year legacy.

Buying a dance studio in 2018 seemed like such a dream. We had two locations equaling six classroom spaces and over 400 students. The first year we were rocking. Tons of growth and our 2020 season was set to be a record breaker. But we all know how that went. we had to pull away from conventional classes and instruction and pivot in such a way that would allow not only our business to survive, but also for us to be able to reach all of our students Not only for dance education, but for the mental and emotional support that being part of a dance company/studio inevitably provides. To date, trying to reach my students and connect with them through a screen, week after week, is probably the most difficult, yet most important thing I have ever done, professionally….They needed that connection and I could always see it in their eyes and I needed it to.o. The day the studio was allowed to re-open in person. I stood at the front desk and watched my oldest Group run into the building. Many had tears running down their faces, and soaking into their masks …

. In June 2020 we had a live outdoor show. One of the very few in our area. It was incredibly important to me to find a way to provide that experience for our kids and families. It was a really long day filled with lots of emotions. I would relive that day again and again. It was so important to all of us.

Since Covid, we have been on a steady path of rebuilding and growth. Covid inspired the creation of the Collide dance festival, which is held annually in October, and is a convention style event with an outdoor festival type performance with many dance, studios participating and showcasing their talents, and love for dancing in a non-competitive way. We have food trucks and merchandise and master classes, and it really is such a wonderful time for the dance community to come together and just share in their love of our craft.

of course, no mountain summit would be complete without a few catastrophic events along the way that threaten to throw you off course. A major one happened in 2021 when the effects of a hurricane along the coast, swept through our town and knocked a massive tree, right through what felt like the heart of all that I had worked for. The morning after the giant storm swept through, I went to the studio to check and be sure we had suffered no damage. Unfortunately, the damage was more extensive than I could’ve possibly ever imagined With one of my entire dance spaces completely destroyed. My family and I stood in the parking lot choking back tears seeing our place like that.

Thank God it happened during the night when no one was around, but the effects were devastating. We had to rewrite our entire schedule, mid season and a construction project to remove the massive tree take the roof off and repair two dance studio rooms And completely rebuild another somehow managed to take more than eight months. But we persevered. My amazingly, flexible, staff and gracious patrons knew that Dancentre South always finds a way. And we did. Today we are back to four functioning and fully operational rooms and quite a story to tell from that experience.

I always like when people ask about lessons that I have learned from dancing…… training under such wonderfully vibrant personalities means learning some really crazy lessons that while they may seem outrageous in the moment, really do translate to so many real life situations. However, I think personally, my absolute favorite thing that I am still learning every day, is how invaluable it is to have a deep relationship with yourself. Knowing your heart, trusting what path is laid before you, and having the fortitude to follow that path, no matter what obstacles are laid before you.

If I had the opportunity to share one thing with people about the work, we do, it would be that while putting on shows, wearing beautiful costumes, winning titles, and all that jazz….lol….. are great, what I truly hope to inspire in people I work with is to find something you really enjoy, and to work hard at it with people who are going to support you and grow along with you. I think dance is a perfect environment to explore relationships that support not only physical development, but mental and emotional as well. That’s what I want people to feel when they walk through the studio door. That in that safe space they will be challenged to grow and to learn and to be their best self.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh gosh, Atlanta is such a cool place I would definitely spend a day maybe two exploring the beltline with stops at Ponce city market for the shopping and the rooftop amusement park and Krog Street for all the delicious global cuisines as well as hitting the Krog Street bridge to watch the graffiti artists. I would spend another day having breakfast at Babs, touring the High, then walking over for coffee and dessert at Café intermezzo. The next day would be zoo Atlanta. That’s a full day.. after that, we would definitely go to the aquarium and have a picnic in Centennial Park, while the kids played in the fountain. The weekend would need to be art on the Square in Marietta, which is only held during certain times of the year, but always at the same time as the farmers market so you get both. Then down to the new food pavilion just off the Square for lunch and before heading home picking up French Macarons from Doceur de France. And my last day would be spent in the mountains walking our favorite waterfall trails and then picking up boiled peanuts from a roadside stand and having a perfect barbecue dinner. That sounds like an epic week.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband, my sister, my parents and my children. All have sacrificed personally so that this dream could be realized. We took a great product and amplified it to be so much bigger than it was and I couldn’t have done that without their support and grace.

Website: Www.Dancentresouth.com

Facebook: @dancentresouth

Image Credits
Personal pics