Houston woman pours life, passion into dance studio

Dance The Dream to host benefit concert Saturday

HOUSTON – Dymond Taylor has been dancing her way through life since the age of 8.

"I had a mother who wasn't really present," Taylor said. "She was in the military and she was serving her country and she was away from her kids at a young age. So I turned to dance to be my stronghold."

The northeast Houston native has dedicated her career to bringing her passion of dance to children in the neighborhood she grew up in.

After college, Taylor's mother encouraged her to open her own studio, and her journey to doing that started small, with Taylor recruiting young dancers at local competitions.

"I recruited about 150 students and about 80 kids showed up,” Taylor said.

She began teaching them wherever she could: In her local park and at any other venue that would have her.

"I started at Lockwood Skating Rink here in Houston, Texas," Taylor said. "They would let me use the skating rink for rehearsals."

In 2015, Taylor transformed a former grocery store into her first private studio, Dance The Dream, fulfilling her dreams and helping to assist local kids to achieve theirs, as well.

Coley Aguillard, 17, is one of a handful of young men who dances at Taylor’s studio, remarking that she encouraged him to pursue new styles of dance such as ballet and jazz.

"They don't just help you learn dance techniques," Aguillard said. "They teach you life lessons and how you should and should not act."

Taylor is loved among students and her parents, and has gone to great lengths to ensure that kids have a place to learn and perform, no matter their family’s income or background.

"I wanted to make sure that anybody that comes to our doors, and (if) they want to be a dancer -- they want to do anything in the performing arts -- that we would be able to give them what they need to make their dreams come true,” Taylor said.

She has even driven 30 miles to pick up one child in Missouri City, when the girl didn’t have a ride to dance class.

Taylor aspires to start her own after-school program at Dance The Dream, complete with tutoring and after-school activities centered around the performing arts.

"I love to see them transform and I love to see them grow as (dancers),” Taylor said.

Dance The Dream is hosting a benefit concert to raise money for the program and for necessities such as a van and supplies for students.

The event is at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Midtown Arts Theatre, 3400 Main St., in Houston.

For more information on how to sign up for classes or to donate, visit Dance The Dream’s Facebook page.

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