Today we’d like to introduce you to Ali Peecher.
Ali, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been a dancer all my life. I started taking dance classes in Woodstock, Georgia when I was four. I tried other activities, but they weren’t for me (or maybe I wasn’t for them, but regardless – dance stuck). As I got into my teenage years, I began to teach classes on my own and seek out opportunities that made me really consider dancing professionally as a career. Being from the South and a lifelong UGA fan, I only wanted to go to one school even if I didn’t dance, but when I didn’t get into UGA (might have taken one too many dance classes over homework), I was devastated. Which led me to become even more confused and uncertain on life after high school. In true Ali fashion, I waited until the last audition for the Kennesaw State Dance Department in June and ultimately decided I would attend KSU as a Dance Major in September.
Meanwhile, I auditioned for a professional contemporary dance company called Project 7, under the direction of Cherrise Wakeham. Three audition rounds (more than anyone else if I recall), I was in! Project 7 was made up of dancers from the Atlanta & Athens area and was one of the best times of my life, from the training to the performances, to the lifelong friendships. I owe a very large part of my dance training to my time in Project 7 and the leadership and lessons of Cherrise. While still at Kennesaw State, the dance program at Kennesaw was a great eye-opener to new dance styles that I wasn’t trained in as a kid, lots of modern and contemporary classes, which were great to explore, but I was still missing something in my surroundings.
Knowing I needed a change, I set 2 options in front of me. I had visited a friend at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and fell in love with the school, its dance program, and the city. I auditioned for the program, was accepted into the dance department, and was over the moon. But $30,000 in tuition wasn’t looking too enticing to the 18 years old who was footing most the bill. Simultaneously, I had applied for an opportunity in another big city on a whim. Broadway Dance Center’s Professional Semester was in its infancy, but it looked like an incredible experience. Shortly thereafter, I was accepted into BDC’s first ProSem class and the decision was in front of me. New York or Philly, four years degree in dance or six months of training at BDC and an uncertain future after that – I took the leap and moved to NYC in August of 2010. Cue 6 months of the most incredible classes, education, teachers, mentors, experiences, and opportunities presented to me. After the program ended, I began working at BDC as a Manager, which will forever be one of my favorite jobs I’ve ever had. At the same time, I taught classes in upstate NYC, and hour and a half north of the city, and traveled with a brand new dance competition on the weekends as a stage manager – because well, NYC rent.
But I was having the time of my life. I also interned for a prominent talent agency, Bloc Talent where I gained even more knowledge and education into the dance world that I am grateful for to this day. Life was bustling with excitement and I loved everything about NYC except one thing – my family was at home in Georgia. My family had gone through a lot of difficult times while I was away, but they never once asked me to come home to help them and for this – I will always be thankful. They allowed me to chase my dream of NYC that I can never make up to them. But it was difficult to be away, and there was a looming need to finish the degree I started in 2009. With the Hope Scholarship (free college people!) offered to Georgia students, I had a pull in my heart to go back to Atlanta and finish my business degree. It was with every intention that I return to NYC and take a promotion that had been offered to me at Broadway Dance Center before I left. But then life happens.
I began teaching three nights a week at an Atlanta dance studio to pay my way through school and a year in, started the competition program at the studio with kids that felt like my own. With one year left of my Marketing Degree and it was time for a summer internship. A marketing firm in Buckhead offered me a summer internship that was filled with happy hours and dogs in the office – the life! Cut to the end of the internship, and I was offered a job before going back to school – no stress of looking for work and I could focus on teaching my best & finishing out my degree. Graduating Summa Cum Laude from Georgia State University was an accomplishment I hold very close to my heart. But the question of what will I do with my students and teaching career pulled at my heartstrings. Luckily, the firm gave me the flexibility I needed to leave the office at 4PM two days a week to continue as the Director of the competition program I had started. Life was great until as you can guess, I aspired for more.
It was an early morning of dance competition on my birthday in 2015. I was post-break up (literally the night before) from a 2.5 years relationship and lost. When suddenly whilst sitting in the audience watching one of my numbers, in an “ah ha” moment straight from a movie, I knew I wanted to open my own studio. The kids I had been working with for so long deserved something better, something more than they had and I knew in a moment it was my life’s work to give that to them. So there began the late-night business planning, endless research on small business loans, Atlanta real estate, and construction costs. For 11 months I planned and forecasted and worked up the courage to tell the owner of the firm, who had given me my first job out of college so graciously and the team of people I loved going to work every day to see, what I wanted to do. In February of 2016, I put 10 minutes on my boss’s calendar and told him what I wanted to do – only to be met with “no” and “come back in an hour, I have a call, but I want to know more”. As if my nerves weren’t shaky enough (I’m a people pleaser and I was not ready to displease this company I loved so much), now I was explaining my entire 11 months of work, probably not as elegantly as I would’ve done at the bank for my small business loan where I was headed next. But to my shock, it must have gone better than in my head, because his next words were “I think you need an investor.”
So, there we were in 2016, scouring all of the Atlanta real estate spots I had been planning for (nowhere near where Elite Studios currently exists). It was one disappointing tour after another. If you know dance studios, you know they operate on a school calendar for kids, and August was coming closer and closer. The devastating decision had to be made to hold off on opening for another calendar year because the real estate was not in our favor and we could not produce the dance studio we envisioned in the time facing us. We went back to work, back to the drawing board, and I kept my head down and tried to remain focused on the opportunities I was determined to provide to my kids. But then in 2017, a space we had once written off was still available and it felt like a sign. And so it began. Headache filled lease negotiations, construction timelines, and faculty searching ensued. But all thanks to a bunch of incredible people who believed in me and the vision of Elite Studios, Elite Studios was born in 2017 and we’ve been counting our blessings ever since.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Is it ever a smooth road? Absolutely not. The 2016 real estate search was our first real disappointment. I had no clue how little I knew about that process and what was in front of us. Having to hold off one calendar year and keep opportunities away from my students was so difficult. Then this past year, we had a relatively rough season of growing pains, as any business does, that were particularly hard on me personally. We had to make some tough calls for the longterm growth of the studio that didn’t align with other people’s vision for us. But my family, my team of teachers, and the people who believed in Elite Studios kept us lifted through the hard times. And 2019 is off to the best start I could imagine.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Elite Studios is a home for children who are passionate about dance, about friendships, and about bettering themselves. It’s a family from the moment people walk in the door – which is undoubtedly what sets us apart. We have just around 350 students going into our 3rd season of dance with both a Performance Division and Competitive Division of dancers. Our Performance Division fills the studio with little ones as young as 2.5 who take styles ranging from ballet to tap to hip hop to jazz and lyrical to tumbling. Our Competitive Division maintains the Elite Studios culture of a drama-free, hard-working, and positive environment and represents Elite Studios with incredible professionalism and ridiculous talent, thanks to our faculty that in my completely biased opinion are Georgia’s best.
What were you like growing up?
Whew – a lot! (Sorry, Mama!) I was a social butterfly with a bit of a wild side, but a people pleaser, so I didn’t like getting in trouble. Growing up in Woodstock, GA was like growing up in a small bubble in which everyone knew everyone, and I loved knowing everyone! Dance was always my top priority, but lake days and trying to be far cooler than we were was a close second.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5962 Roswell Road
Sandy Springs, GA 30328 - Website: www.elitestudiosatl.com
- Phone: 404.500.1738
- Email: info@elitestudiosatl.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/elitestudiosatl
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/elitestudiosatl
Image Credit:
Stephanie Gore Photography, Gabby Fenimore Photography
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