While many competitive dancers got their start at very young ages, Eden Batson didn’t catch the dancing bug until age 11.

“My parents tried to get me into sports,” she recalled, but it didn’t take. But after one class of dancing, she was crying tears of joy, know she’d found her passion.

Years later, Batson is one of several coaches and instructors at The Dance Center by Erica Edwards, a venue for both instruction and training for competitive teams that have posted top performances against some of the top dance centers in the Seattle area.

“I grew up in Sequim, so to be able to watch a studio from this town compete with the studios from Seattle, to hold their own, is probably one of the most proud moments of my life,” Batson said.

Overseeing The Dance Center is Edwards, a Texas native who opened the business in May 2021 in the wake of the Aspire Academy of Expressive Arts’ closure.

Edwards, who holds a masters’ degree in secondary education, was an instructor at Aspire and felt Sequim could use a competitive dance outlet. She wanted a venue where youths in particular could train and eventually earn scholarships and earn places in fine arts college programs.

“I told my husband, ‘I’m not done teaching’,” Edwards said, taking a few minutes to give an overview of the business at The Dance Center, 145 E. Washington St., before a throng of young students filed into one of the two main studios.

Clallam County was still under a mask mandate when Edwards opened the studio in May 2021.

“Parents had already gotten over the shock of COVID; they wanted to do things,” she said.

Edwards noted that she was happy to find the venue at the Lehman Court Shops building, near the heart of downtown Sequim.

“What I love about our location is we’re kind of a fishbowl,” she said, as people pass by the large windows facing Sequim’s main thoroughfare.

Since those days, The Dance Center has grow to 160 total students, with 26 of those traveling to various communities off the Olympic Peninsula to compete against some of the region’s top dance groups.

And they’ve held their own, Edwards said, racking up numerous top finishes at four competitions in 2024 alone.

“Years ago we’d go to these conventions, we’d be the underdogs,” she said, but that’s true no longer.

The Dance Center hosts a recital to celebrate its talent, set for 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, and 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 30, both at the Sequim High School auditorium, 533 N. Sequim Ave.

All ages, central location

Helping lead the groups of dancers is a number of experienced dance instructors, including Edwards, Naomi Alstrop, Kate Ebling, Anna Pederson, Keely Whitmore and Batson — a Sequim native who took classes at Aspire under Edwards before coming to work for her. Batson recalled the early days, with youngsters in particular craving activity.

Now, she said, “you see these kids light up. They are thriving under [Erica].”

The Dance Center has a number of of classes and levels for boys, girls and adults, from pre-ballet (ages 3-4) and beginner combo classes (ages 4-5) to ballet (ages 5 and older), progressing ballet technique (ages 8 and older), hip hop (ages 5 and older), jazz (ages 5 and older), tap (ages 5 and older), musical theatre (ages 5 and older), leaps and turns (ages 8-18, for intermediate to advanced dancers) and lyrical dance (for intermediate to advanced dancers; instructor approval needed).

The center also offers Zumba and Zumba step classes.

See eedancecenter.com/class-descriptions for more about the class offerings.

Ages range from the toddler-and-mom classes to senior ballet classes and all ages in between.

The competitive dance squads compete in categories such as musical theater jazz, lyrical (expressive ballet), jazz, tap and hip hop, with divisions such as solo, duets/trios, small groups and large groups.

Along with top performing groups, parents of youngster at the dance studio say it’s a supportive, collegial atmosphere.

“The friendships they make [here] are important,” noted Maria Hibbard,who has an 8-year-old at the center.

Jessica Wilcox, who has a 3- and 9-year-old taking classes said it’s “kind of like a family; everybody knows us by name.”

Edwards recalled that one particular youngster, about 4 or 5 years old, came in with her parents to take a tap class and woulkdn’t stop crying.

“Now she’s thriving,” Edwards said, adding the youngster auditioned (successfully) for The Dance Center’s 2025 competitive team.

Batson agreed, calling the studios a family-like atmosphere. However, she noted, the center is far from a day care kind of facility.

“We are not babysitters,” she said.

Edwards explained that while The Dance Center may be a bit more expensive than other dance studios, but that she feels but feel the cost is worth the training offered by coaches.

“You get what you pay for,” Edwards said. “If we don’t see growth [in a dancer], from September to May, we haven’t done our jobs.”

For more about the Dance Center by Erica Edwards, visit eedancecenter.com.

Turn It Up dance recital

Performances by students at The Dance Center by Erica Edwards

When: 5 p.m. Saturday, June 29; 1 p.m. Sunday, June 30

Where: Sequim High School auditorium, 533 N. Sequim Ave.

Cost: $18 for adults, $12 for children (ages 2-12); get tickets at buy.tututix.com/eedancecenter

More info: eedancecenter.com