Today we’d like to introduce you to Robyn Robbins.
Robyn, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My love of dance began like most young girls at the tender age of four when my mom enrolled me in a local dance studio in Omaha, Nebraska. I was hooked from the first lesson. To this day I still credit my love of ballet to my very first performance in the Nutcracker at age nine.
As a young adult I moved to Chicago to pursue a career in theatre and dance. After years of working as a teacher, performer and choreographer, I was finally able to realize my dream of opening my own studio– Thrive Center for Dance.
I am so grateful to be able to share my passion for dance with young students each and every day.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge for me was finding the perfect space for our studio. Thankfully, after a long search I found an amazing space in Indian Head Park.
Another challenge was learning how to teach very young students. I’ll never forget my first class with a handful of restless 3 year olds. I spent a good part of class trying to keep them from licking the mirrors!
Thrive Center for Dance – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Thrive Center for Dance is a brand new state of the art dance studio in Indian Head Park, IL. We offer classes in a variety of styles for ages three and up including Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Contemporary, Jazz, Broadway, Hip Hop, Modern, Irish, Pre-dance combo classes, Stretch and Technique classes as well as Performance Company.
Regardless of the role that dance plays in your life, we believe that all students deserve to be taught and nurtured by high level and caring professionals. Exceptional care is taken with every student to insure the proper technical and artistic development in each style taken. Our mission is to create engaging dancers in an environment that allows each individual student to not only grow but THRIVE!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment by far was seeing my girls on stage in our first recital. The amount they had all grown as dancers throughout the year was astonishing. Not only was their technique visibly stronger, but their confidence and passion for dance was palpable.
Since ballet has such a strong hold on my heart, I have been deeply moved by seeing the same love blossom in all of my students. I also love seeing the look on their faces when they accomplish something they hadn’t thought they were capable of before.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6927 Joliet Rd. Suite A
Indian Head Park, IL
60525 - Website: thrivecenterfordance.com
- Phone: 708-505-3122
- Email: thrivecenterfordance@gmail.com
- Facebook: Thrive Center for Dance
- Other: Thrive Center for Dance
Image Credit:
Foto Eleven
Karen Lattayk
May 16, 2017 at 9:20 pm
Very nice story. My daughter has grown in only one year. The quality of dance is excellent. The teachers all have a passion for the art of dance. So glad that we dance at Thrive.
Vicki Castro
December 10, 2017 at 4:01 pm
This article is so “spot on”! My daughter is 17 and just loves to dance and loves Thrive, Ms Robyn and her instructors. The growth and confidence she gains from dance is absolutely priceless. The one thing I see missing from the article above is the sense of family that Ms Robyn instills at Thrive. She goes above and beyond and has made Thrive a studio that supersedes in every way.
Kim Mattucci
December 27, 2017 at 2:58 am
What a beautiful article, and so fitting for a beautiful person and dance teacher like Ms. Robyn! My two daughters, as well as myself as a “dancing mom”, were students of Ms. Robyn at another dance studio for many years, and she is the reason why my daughters became the amazing dancers they still are today. We attended Ms. Robyn’s first dance recital for Thrive, and it was one of the best recitals I have ever attended. My daughters were both invited to be guest performers at the recital, dancing a tap duet. Ms. Robyn has a way of making her students, past and present, feel like they are very special and a most important part of her life, and the feeling is mutual! We wish Thrive, Ms. Robyn and her amazing staff of teachers – Mrs. Heather Arocho, Miss Elizabeth Lattyak and Ms. Starr Dixon many, many years of continued success!