Movement Dance Studio opens in Morinville

Above: Rachelle Namchuk (back row – third from right) poses with her dance family at the grand opening of Movement Dance Studio on Sunday, Sept. 11. The new studio offers a variety of dance styles. – Stephen Dafoe Photo

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by Stephen Dafoe

Movement Dance Studio, a new recreational dance studio for dancers of all ages and abilities, opened on Sunday, Sept. 11, to show Morinville and area residents what they can offer.

Owners Rachelle and Mitchell Namchuk still have some work to do at their 10507-100 Avenue location but are already taking registrations for classes.

Rachelle Namchuk, who grew up in Morinville, said dance had been a lifelong passion for her.

“I started dance at the age of two-and-a-half. I grew up dancing at Classique Dance and Dance Connection, and as I trained to become a teacher in university, I started teaching dance in Morinville as well,” Namchuk said. “Through my years of teaching, I ran a Dance Academy program through the local schools in town. This year, it was time to make a change, and I was ready to open my own space and dance studio.”

Namchuk said that although she had never felt ready before, that changed this year, and it was time to go for it and achieve her longtime goal. “I never thought I’d be driven enough to do it, and this year was the year—I challenged myself for that.”

While Rachelle will lead the operations in terms of dance programming and instruction with the assistance of other dance teachers, husband and business partner Mitchell Namchuk will look after the operations side of the business.

“I’m an assistant on the financial advice and running everything,” he said. “I’ll be handling the business operations, and we’ll be hiring more for the business operations already.”

Movement Dance Studio will focus on Namchuk’s expertise in ballet, lyrical, tap, contemporary and modern dance.

“I’m very into contemporary/modern dance,” she said, adding her children are becoming obsessed with dance, particularly her six-year-old daughter. “She wants to get into everything. It seems very fitting. Let’s do this and open up our own space so I can continue to pass it down to my daughter and my children for the years to come.”

Although children will be a large part of the new dance studio’s students, lessons are open to all age groups—two to adults.

“We have a musical theatre adult class. We have adult hip-hop, adult lyrical class, and adult tap class,” Namchuk said. “We’re hoping to eventually open up some offers for seniors. We’ve had a lot of interest in seniors doing tap dancing, which we’d love to do, and hopefully, it is something we can make happen as short sessions.”

Movement Dance Studio offers full-year programming from September to June with a year-end and Christmas recital for non-adult students.

In addition to the dance classes, they also offer theatrical makeup with an upcoming session focused on wounds and gashes for Halloween.

“[We use] professional theatre makeup. It’s really cool, and it’s a really unique thing,” Namchuk said. “We work with Carrie’s costumes. They’ve been a huge supporter of ours.”

Whether dance or makeup, Namchuk said she and partner Mitchell want to emphasize that they are a dance family at Movement Dance Studio and that everyone is welcome.

“We want everyone to be part of something great and feel comfortable and like they belong,” Namchuk said.

Movement Dance Studio can be reached on their website or on its Facebook page.