It was just one year ago when Lauren Hoskins opened Montage Dance Studio at 1090 Kiely Blvd. in Santa Clara. Not sure of how the studio would do in a saturated market, she took a leap of faith so she could be back in her hometown. So far, it has paid off, and people have steadily been drawn to Montage’s instructors and the family-like community Hoskins has built. As a way to give back and celebrate her first full year of business in Santa Clara, Hoskins threw a Donuts and Dance birthday party on Sept. 10.
“I love donuts,” said Hoskins. “It was something I thought would be fun and it just worked perfectly that donuts and dance sound good together … One of our most popular teachers, LQ, who teaches hip hop and K-pop, which is Korean pop dance, will be teaching an hour-long class.”
The class, free to all attendees, was designed for all ages and all levels of dance experience to enjoy. It was followed by a donut eating competition – with donuts purchased from Stan’s Donut Shop – and a prize drawing for studio swag and a free class. A donut-themed photo booth and activities, like making a “donut seed” (Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks) necklace, were also available throughout the three-hour long event.
Santa Clara resident Tiffany Walters has been taking hip hop, contemporary and jazz classes at the studio since April, and loves being part of the Montage Dance Studio family.
“I had been looking for a while for a studio,” she said. “There are a lot of studios but a lot of them focus on children’s classes. So when I moved to Santa Clara in March of this year, I did a Yelp search and I think Montage was at the top. So, I came and took a class and had a great time. I love Lauren and Matthew, the owners. They’re just awesome. Good attitude and good people trying to offer people dance … They really want, whether they’re a teacher or the owners, they want you to learn and they want you to have fun.”
Montage Dance Studio will have a booth at the 2017 Santa Clara Art and Wine Festival this weekend. The studio will also host a master class, The Session, with choreographer and one of Hoskins’ personal idols, Greg Chapkins on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 9:30 p.m. For $22, students will experience a two-hour class with Chapkins, who was a contestant on the first season of So You Think You Can Dance and whose students have been featured on World of Dance and America’s Got Talent. Finally, the production arm of Montage will have its annual dance competition on Sunday, Dec. 3 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased at www.montagedanceproductions.com.