Founded by Angela Dorantes and Avilee Goodwin, Steppin' Out Dance Studio began in 1995, evolving out of the historic Betty May Dance Studios. Iconic dance teacher Betty May served the children of the Mission District from the 1930s until her death in 1994. Angela Rose Dorantes is the current owner of Steppin' Out Dance Studio and continues to expand the vision of her mentor. New dance styles such as creative movement and contemporary have been added to the repertoire as the studio continues to grow, develop, and thrive. To celebrate Steppin' Out's 20th anniversary, Angela offers some insights into the history of the studio and her own personal journey into dance.
How did you first get connected to Steppin' Out?
I had been a student of Betty May's and then when I was ten she asked me to come and demonstrate at her studio and I did. When I was twelve she asked me to come on Saturdays and be an assistant teacher and then when I was sixteen I started teaching classes. When I graduated from high school I started teaching even more classes for her, so after she passed away in 1994 I started Steppin' Out in '95 with Avilee Goodwin [who had also taught for Betty]. She taught ballet and I taught tap. We got together and started our own studio in the spirit of Betty's.
Did Betty pick any other students to mentor?
Many students before me worked with her in the same way. She would select students who would eventually be her teachers. At that time I was the only one, but it was not uncommon for her to mentor students. However, she was very selective about whom she chose.
What do you think made her choose you?
I really enjoyed dance and I was really good at it. I think that's how it started. And then I don't know if she noticed I came from a single mom but she started to pay me and then she told me I didn't have to pay for classes and didn't have to pay for my sister's classes. It was also her way of helping us out.
What was she like?
I was in one of the last classes she actually taught. There's a great story my mom tells about when I started at age four and my mom asked what I'd learned in class that day. And I stood there hunched over taping my toes and my mom came to see one of the classes and saw Betty May had arthritis and I was paying so much attention to the details that when she was slumped over I was slumped over too! I took classes with her for one year and then she stopped teaching and just oversaw the studio. When she taught she was very old school. Everyone had to learn the Charleston. Eventually she was inducted into the Who's Who of tap dance. She was extremely well known in the Bay Area.
When you were younger, what dreams or goals did you have for your career?
I never planned to do anything else other than this. I always knew that I wanted to be around kids, and I wanted to be around music and dancing, and it was either be a dance teacher or be a preschool or kindergarten teacher. When this job opportunity presented itself I just loved it and luckily people kept bringing their kids and I kept going with it.
How did the business idea for Steppin' Out evolve?
Avilee and I came to it mutually, in part beause I was so young and Avilee was older and I needed her. She really laid the groundwork for how to start the business. I was great in the classroom but she knew "we need a fictitious business name, we need this, we need that" so she got the ball rolling on that side of what the studio was. We had a "name that studio" contest and all of our existing students submitted names. One of our students named Darlene suggested "Steppin' Out Dance Studio" and it kind of fit because it felt like we were stepping out of Betty May's business and into a new business.
What parts of Betty May's studio continued in the form of Steppin' Out?
Almost all the students followed us. I kept her same idea of combination tap/ballet classes and as students got older, tap and jazz.
What changed and evolved in the last twenty years?
We added some creative movement classes and our special needs classes. And our approach is always changing and growing as our students change and grow.
When did Avilee leave the business?
She left five years ago after working with me for fifteen years, right before the studio moved into its current location. She wanted to move on and teach high school and start her own high school dance program in the East Bay. So now I've been by myself for five years.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I love what I do. I love that I can be with my students from age three all the way to age 18. If I were a school teacher, I would only get them for one year, but as a dance teacher I get to work with these kids year after year and watch them grow. It's really exciting seeing how they change and their excitement when they get it and when they love it.
What's the most challenging part?
I don't know! I mean there are challenging days I think. I think just coordinating, like especially during show time, juggling so much between the costumes and the show order and the programs and the stage.. I think that's the challenging time of the season for me.
What have you learned from running the studio that you can apply to life in general?
I think, and I've learned so much from my students, but I think that when you really love something and you pour yourself into it then things just really work, and the universe, everything falls into place when you're true to yourself and not trying to force something. And hard work, practice, all of that pays off.. I think that's what I've learned from dance actually, not only from my business but from dance itself.
What do you think makes Steppin' Out unique?
I think that we have a really tight community. Even though we have 180 students coming in each week, it still feels small and intimate and I know every kid's name. It still feels very much like family and I think that everyone feels connected in that tight community, you know, you don't feel like just a number.
What message do you want to leave your students with?
Most of all the love of music and dance and being a part of something positive, having a good time with it, being comfortable in your own skin, and just that experience of working hard at something and having it pay off! That's where the magic is, for me and hopefully for all of them.
