Nichole and Gregory Savage, Esq. opened the doors of Savage Dance Company to the Mid-Maryland dance community in the summer of 2002 along Liberty Road in Eldersburg, MD. The studio was a modest 2300 square feet, with two dance studios and a lobby. SDC had three instructors and planned on offering approximately 30-35 classes per week to dancers age 2 to adult with the hopes of one day expanding.
Within two years, the studio had grown tremendously as it was now the home of dance education for more than 250 students. SDC increased its facility size to 3700 square feet and four dance studios in order to satisfy the increasing demand of the community. SDC now employed 8 full-time instructors and was offering master classes to its dancers on a routine basis. In addition, SDC had developed a competition team that was winning regional and national titles. The local community and national dance community began to take notice of SDC. SDC began welcoming well renown master instructors to the studio from LA and New York, including choreographers and performers for shows such as “So You Think You Can Dance.” In addition, SDC also brings in working professionals from ABT and companies such as Rock The Ballet and The Bad Boys of Dance. Dancers also started receiving scholarships and continuing their dance education at the collegiate and professional levels.
As a result, Savage Dance Company was recognized nationally as one of the “Top 29 Dance Studios” on the move in the US by Dance Spirit and Dance Teacher Magazine. Susan Amoruso, Editor-in-Chief of Dance Teacher Magazine, stated "Savage Dance Company has been competing for years and has received numerous accolades at reputable dance conventions…Being included in the "Studios on the Move" section gives Savage Dance instant recognition."
As SDC continued to grow, expansion was necessary. In the summer of 2010, SDC moved into a newly renovated 8,000 square foot facility that could accommodate the pressing demand of the dance community. With dancers traveling in from Pennsylvania and 7 different counties in Maryland, the expanded space and class load was necessary. The studios were all built with professional raised flooring and covered with marley. Professional ballet barres were installed as well as stereo surround sound. Viewing windows were installed for each studio. Two parent lobbies were built, as well as a full kitchen, study area, voice room and dance store. The staff expanded to 21 full-time instructors, as SDC brought on master instructors on a full time basis in the areas of jazz, lyrical, ballet, contemporary and hip-hop. The staff of SDC has been specifically handpicked o provide our dancers the most diverse and very best dance training. Our faculty have trained with and worked under the very best dancers and professional companies in the nation. In addition, our faculty continues to train, dance and perform with the very best in the industry today. They can be seen working at regional and national dance workshops and conventions, within professional companies, and on music tours and videos with some of the leading musical acts today.
Today, SDC today trains more than 500 students per week while offering more than 100 classes per week in all genres of dance for all ages and abilities. While the majority of the dancers at SDC enjoy it as a recreational activity and education, others have committed to pursuing dance as their livelihood. For these dancers, a pre-professional program has been established to help guide the dancer and parent. Each year, SDC places graduating dancers in colleges of their choice, including Fordham, Point Park, University of the Arts, Richmond, Maryland, UMBC, etc… Dancers have been hired to work with contemporary companies, ballet companies, hip-hop companies, cruises, Disney World and Tokyo Disney. Dancers are landing major commercials, feature movie roles, primetime television shows on major networks, theater roles, magazine covers, etc… More than 30 dancers have signed on with agents in the last few years as professional agents come to SDC to audition and sign talent. Dancers at SDC have also appeared as finalists on “So You Think You Can Dance” and “America’s Got Talent”, and performed with artists such as Usher, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan and Nick Gonzalez.
Recently, SDC was chosen by McDonald Selznick Associates (MSA), one of the premier talent agencies in the United States, and NRG Dance, one of the largest dance educational conventions in the United States, to be one of the few featured dance studios on a new dance network developed by MSA/NRG. The network is aimed at providing insight to the inner workings of the top dance studios in the United States. The focus is to demonstrate how these dance studios provide the highest quality dance education to their students in a positive and constructive fashion. SDC is focused on each month across the nation with updates as to what the studio and dancers are currently involved in.
Indeed, since 2002, we have expanded, grown, and matured as a studio and dance family. However, our success has been built on never losing sight of why we opened this studio in the first place. We pledge to provide all of our dancers the highest quality of dance education in mid-Maryland, regardless of their age or level of experience. Moreover, we pledge to provide each dancer with opportunities that are most typically available only in cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
