Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Young.
Hi Melanie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The Dance South Story: 25 Years of Faith, Family and Legacy
The story of Dance South began with a dream.
While attending college, my daughter, Allyson, began teaching dance classes on the weekends, renting space in a downtown karate studio. Since middle school, she had told us that one day she wanted to own her own dance studio. Dance had been a part of her life since she was two years old. Over the years, her passion grew, and she danced competitively through her high school graduation.
Then, an opportunity came along that we knew we couldn’t ignore.
A 15,000-square-foot commercial building became available for purchase directly across from where Allyson lived. As her parents, we wanted to help make her dream a reality, so we purchased the building for her.
Allyson’s first reaction was, “It’s way too big! I’ll never use all that space!”
After graduating from college with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance Education, Allyson opened Dance South in 2001.
At the time, the building consisted of a lobby, front office space, a dressing room area, and one dance studio. During that first year, approximately 60 students enrolled. She offered ballet, tap, jazz, clogging, and lyrical dance.
But Dance South was about much more than dance.
From the very beginning, Allyson wanted it to be a Christ-centered studio—a place where children and families would be welcomed with love and kindness and where Christian morals and values would be woven into everything she taught. She didn’t just teach children the art of dance; she taught them poise, confidence, character, kindness, and how to be a good friend.
That philosophy became the foundation of Dance South.
Growing the Dream
Over the next five years, Dance South continued to grow. An additional 1,500-square-foot dance studio was added, along with a 2,500-square-foot, full-size competition gym. Allyson also expanded the program to include gymnastics, eventually adding nearly 100 gymnasts.
By the studio’s tenth year, Allyson had purchased a Ninja Zone franchise and continued expanding the programs offered at Dance South. Enrollment had grown to more than 200 students, and she began looking toward competitive dance and gymnastics.
After several years of preparation, training, and competitive tryouts, Dance South began competing in ballet, tap, jazz, clogging, and lyrical dance. Gym South began competing in gymnastics as well.
For more than 12 years, both competitive teams brought home numerous top awards and achievements. At its peak, Dance South served more than 300 students.
The studio had grown far beyond what Allyson had ever imagined when she first looked at that 15,000-square-foot building and thought, “I’ll never use all that space!”
Family, Faith and an Unexpected Journey
In 2009, Allyson married her husband, Daniel. Together, they added two wonderful boys to their family—George in 2011 and Brady in 2014.
The boys became an important part of Dance South as well. They participated in the Ninja program for many years, along with more than 75 other boys who found a place to learn, grow, and have fun.
Then, in 2017, our family and Dance South took an unexpected turn.
Allyson began experiencing involuntary weakness on her right side along with uncontrollable movements. The following year brought countless appointments with specialists as doctors worked to determine what was happening.
Eventually, Allyson had to make the incredibly difficult decision to end her competitive dance and gymnastics teams and focus solely on recreational classes. Understandably, enrollment dropped by nearly half.
But God knew what was ahead.
He was preparing a way to make the road ahead more manageable for Allyson and her staff.
In September 2018, just as the new dance season was beginning, Allyson arrived at the studio and suffered a grand mal seizure in the lobby. She was transported to the emergency department, where a battery of tests revealed something much more serious: a lesion in her brain.
Only God could have orchestrated what happened next.
In December 2018, our family traveled to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where Allyson underwent brain surgery to remove a malignant tumor. The surgery was successful, but because part of the tumor was located dangerously close to the motor center of her brain—the area controlling the right side of her body—the neurosurgeon had to leave a portion behind.
The months that followed were filled with rehabilitation and therapy as Allyson worked to regain as much use of her right side as possible.
Eventually, she returned to Dance South in a management capacity, although she continued to rely heavily on her staff to teach and coach.
And then, in 2021, she did something that none of us will ever forget.
Allyson danced a solo in the recital.
That performance was so much more than a dance. It was a testimony of strength, perseverance, faith, and the incredible things God can do in the midst of adversity.
Faith Through the Hardest Season
In 2022, Allyson began experiencing seizures again. We soon learned that the tumor had returned.
She returned to Mayo Clinic for a second surgery in June 2022. Following her recovery, Allyson and I moved to Rochester, Minnesota, for six weeks so she could receive proton beam radiation—a highly targeted form of treatment.
The year and a half that followed was incredibly difficult.
Allyson continued to experience seizures. She lost significant use of her right arm and leg and eventually struggled to speak clearly.
Yet through it all, she never gave up.
She never wavered in her faith.
She believed that God was going to heal her, and on November 19, 2023, we witnessed what we believe was that healing.
God had brought her through an unimaginable journey.
But He wasn’t finished with the Dance South story.
A Legacy Continues
In May 2024, following our end-of-year performances, I found myself wondering if I could keep Dance South going.
I was 69 years old, and I honestly didn’t know what the future held. I had already typed a letter to our parents and students explaining that Dance South would be closing.
But God had other plans.
He had a plan for Allyson’s legacy to continue.
My granddaughter, Ella Young—the oldest daughter of my son—decided to take a year off from college to help with the studio.
What began as a year of helping quickly became something much bigger.
Ella has been an incredible blessing to Dance South. After that first year, she realized that this is where God wants her to be.
And in many ways, the story has come full circle.
Ella was one of Allyson’s students from the time she was not even two years old. She danced and performed competitively for approximately 10 years before graduating from high school.
Now, she is carrying forward the very legacy that helped shape her.
Ella is much like Allyson in the way she connects with children. She is kind, encouraging, affectionate, and genuinely cares about each child’s growth and potential. She hugs them, loves them, encourages them, and wants every child to know that they matter.
That has always been at the heart of Dance South.
It is also the reason Dance South has remained successful for 25 years.
25 Years and Still Going Strong
This year marks Dance South’s Silver Anniversary—25 years of dance, gymnastics, family, friendship, faith, and memories.
And we are still going strong.
Ella now manages a staff of 10, along with four assistants, and she is building upon the foundation Allyson created more than two decades ago.
Over the next one to two years, Ella plans to bring competitive dance and competitive gymnastics back to Dance South.
The dream that began with one young woman teaching dance classes in a rented karate studio has come full circle.
From Allyson’s dream…
to her parents believing in that dream…
to hundreds of children who have walked through the doors…
to a family legacy that continues through Ella…
the story of Dance South is so much bigger than a dance studio.
It is a story of faith.
It is a story of perseverance.
It is a story of family.
It is a story of God’s faithfulness.
Most importantly, Dance South is and will continue to be successful because God is at the center of it all.
Every child who walks through our doors is an opportunity to make a difference in a life. Every class is an opportunity to teach more than a skill. Every performance is an opportunity to celebrate the gifts God has given each child.
Everything we do at Dance South is ultimately to bring Him praise and glory.
For 25 years, God has written the story of Dance South one chapter at a time.
And we can’t wait to see what He writes next.
Anything is possible with God.
Pricing:
- $50 registration fee per family
- $60 per hour per class
- $65 costume deposit per art form
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Dance.South.Studio.SC
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/dance.south.studio.sc
