Parallel Movement

As a dance instructor, you can’t create a much more relatable environment than teaching in the same studio you came up in — and as an alum herself, local performer Maddi Barness knows exactly the rigor, community, team-building and growth that a BritZa Performing Arts Studio dancer experiences.

Maddi Barness

“I love the community that BritZa has created, not only within its students, but also just in the Sioux Falls community,” said Barness, a one-time studio student since the age of three. “It really has just been such a positive influence in my life, and to see it in the dancers’ lives is really special. And I think it's just incredibly supportive and encouraging of not just who they're going to become as dancers and artists, but just as people.”

Barness herself grew up in Sioux Falls, carrying her youth dance experience through to high school, when she thought that her dance time might be over. But assisting in instruction at the studio during high school sparked a new fire in the performer.

“I would help with some of the younger kids’ classes and just did it on the side as a fun afterschool job and really enjoyed it, but I didn't know that it could be a full-time career.”

After a dalliance at Augustana University starting in the nursing program, Barness came to a realization that she wanted to make dance her full-time career.

“They have a great nursing program, and so kind of decided to go with it. And that was what I thought I was going to do,” she said. “It was probably about my sophomore year, I was still working at the studio just kind of on the side and got through all of the pre-reqs for nursing school, and then got to the semester where you actually start doing the nursing classes. And I just knew that it wasn't right for me.”

She shifted her career track to communication disorders and a fateful coffee with BritZa owner Amanda Hahn yielded a full-time job offer that Barness couldn’t refuse.

“I finished my undergrad and knew dance was the thing that I love — performing and creating and the arts is the thing that I love. So from there I started working full-time at the studio, teaching and doing admin there, and I love it.”

This inescapable love for the artform and for the BritZa mission has kept Barness committed to her work in training up the next generation of kids who love to dance.

“It’s such a good environment that is supportive and loving, and it's like a family-type environment. So it makes it really easy to go to work,” she said. “The lifelong friendships and the lessons that you learn there beyond dance are so important. We want our kids to be the best artists that they can be, but we also want to teach them kindness and grace and empathy and how to be great people.”

Barness’s own background in athletics also pushed her toward dance as her first and foremost form of expression. Developing an appreciation for the way it serves as a cross-section of athleticism and artistry appealed to the performing artist.

“I did a lot of other sports and activities throughout my time in high school, and I was a pretty competitive volleyball player as well,” she said. “But dance just fed my soul. It was just something that I felt at peace when I was doing it. And I think that's why I stuck with it so much and just loved the studio and loved that environment.”

The mental shift from student to instructor has been an exciting journey for Barness since she shifted to a full-time role at the studio as assistant director and lead instructor.

Credit: Rod Evans

“I feel like there's so much I've learned now being on this side of it that as a student you just don't even maybe realize or understand,” she said. “It has given me a new appreciation for my teachers and the things that I experienced growing up and just all walks of life in the arts world, because it can be tricky while still being such a fun area to be in.

“I know exactly what my students are experiencing and what they've gone through. And so it's cool to be able to speak to their experience knowing like, ‘Hey, I walked through the same thing and I get it, and I've been there.’”

On the administrative side, Barness has also been pleased to put some of her collegiate experience to good use, folding some of her learnings from her speech therapy courses into her curriculum.

“Recently we've started to do more sensory-friendly classes at our studio,” she said. “And so we've partnered with a local business in town that does occupational therapy. That’s been a really fun crossover, because movement is truly, I believe, for everybody. Even if your goal isn't to be a professional dancer or performer in any way, I think movement is still super important and can be really good for people in all walks of life.”

That positive influence has been a part of Barness’s own dance journey, and the impacts it has had on the way she approaches life continue to inspire her.

“I think it's taught me a lot about who I am and the way that I process things or the way that I see the world,” she said. “It's given me a lot of discipline, a lot of a good work ethic. And I would say it's given me a lot of experiences with lots of different people, which is awesome. Getting to connect with people — it's really cool to get to build those relationships that I wouldn't have without dance.”