RISE Dance has been around for well over 10 years, but not as you know it today. Teaching mainly Ballroom & Latin, we worked out of anywhere that had space big enough to dance. Teachers with backpacks full of Bluetooth speakers, dance shoes, and a packed lunch would travel all over Leeds in school halls, church halls, community centres. Sometimes four venues in a day, all with teachers spread across different places. The inner ring road became our best friend, and never a week went by without a venue issue or last-minute cancellation.

Admin staff were based at makeshift desks in these halls, team meetings happened around someone’s kitchen table or in the nearest Starbucks. We wanted to grow, to give our dancers a better experience and our teachers the resources they needed, but to do that, we needed a permanent home.

We looked for years. Every option had a drawback. Then came Covid. Lockdown hit, and when restrictions began lifting, we discovered most of the venues we hired weren’t reopening. We had staff on the payroll, customers eager to return, but no space to teach. It was a defining moment.

We worked tirelessly, making call after call to venues, agents, property managers, anyone, determined not to let the business close. Then came a friendly voice at the end of the phone: “Hi, it’s John from Gaunts Commercial Properties. I’ve just let out the unit you asked about, but I’ve got something bigger, not sure if it would work for you?”

24 hours later, John was showing us Unit 13c Springfield Mills. Much bigger than we planned, but the feeling was instant: this was it. Could we make it work? Could we afford it?

With help, we did. John and the Gaunts team backed us, and so did Ian Short MD of Morley Glass and Glazing, who has always been both a mentor and a close friend to RISE. After one phone call (“Is it too big, too risky? What would you do if you were us?”), he replied simply “Go for it!!!! What do you need?” He gave us contacts, and a masterclass in project management. With his help, and our team’s determination to make it work, we pushed ahead.

October 3rd 2020, in under 3 weeks, we opened.

Yes, we had social distancing stickers everywhere and sanitiser on every surface, but we were open, we were teaching, and it was ours.

Nic still sometimes stares lovingly at the kettle in reception, “I can make a brew! And put my lunch in the fridge!” not to mention metres of mirrors, courtesy of our fairy godfather who knows a thing or two about glass.

Of course, it wasn’t plain sailing. Another lockdown came, and with it, bigger overheads. But instead of standing still, we launched RISE TV, live classes every evening with a “pay what you feel” donation. In hindsight, it was our living room dancers who carried us through. Their donations, laughter, and endless “we can’t tell what foot you teachers are on” comments kept us going when grants didn’t.

From there, things grew.

Since then, we’ve invested in the studio, expanded our classes and dance styles, and created new opportunities for dancers of all ages. We’ve become a proud part of the Farsley business community, sponsored and performed at Farsley Festival, built our showcase weekend into a full three-show celebration, returned to Blackpool Tower every year with our social dancers, grown our social dance calendar, and launched Level Up to break down financial barriers for children. And this year, we’re proud to give back with our upcoming Tea Dance for Age UK Leeds.

Who knows what’s next? What we do know is that our passion for sharing dance is as strong as ever, and we now believe more than ever that when we set our minds to something, amazing things can happen.