Life & Work with Nicole Oxendine

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Oxendine. They and their team shared their story with us below:

Empower was founded in 2015 by Nicole Oxendine, a lifelong dancer whose belief in the power of movement to transform lives led her to teach in Durham’s public schools. Observing the wealth of incredible talent among students who could not afford to delve deeper into their arts education, Oxendine recognized a clear need for affordable dance education beyond what the schools could provide. 

This, along with witnessing the erosion of her students’ self-confidence from their elementary years to their transition to high school, fueled Oxendine’s desire to create a safe space for dancers to discover and celebrate their natural beauty, a space where seemingly small decisions about costuming and hairstyles took on new meaning. While Oxendine danced with these questions her heart was in the logistics of providing access to dance education. 

The stage was set for Oxendine to develop her expertise and interests, to create an educational experience so needed in her community. Her passion was to create an accessible, safe space for dancers of all abilities and backgrounds. With Oxendine pulling from her background in dance therapy to create the curriculum she so wished to see in the world Empower Dance Studio was born. 

Now in its eighth year, Empower Dance Studio has become a cornerstone of Durham’s arts community and beyond. Empower classes blend professional technical dance instruction with a commitment to fostering the personal growth and confidence of each dancer, welcoming all to explore their potential. By creating a safe and inclusive space that appreciates all dancers as they are, Empower Dance Studio has created a thriving community of students and instructors passionate about the power of movement to connect with the self and navigate the world with a confident and joyful spirit. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I started out as a high school teacher and as you can imagine, the road was very bumpy since I had to learn how to run a business from scratch. I’ve met so many challenges and failures in my life and career, but I’ve overcome each obstacle even stronger than before. Any challenges I faced while building Empower, I faced head on. For example, we were met with a major challenge during the pandemic as an in-person studio. We quickly adapted to serving our customers online, especially for the young dancers who needed to move in front of Zoom and not be sedentary during the shelter in place. I have a relatively young team who were able to use the latest technology to help us pivot the studio to being virtual. Although it’s easy to take credit as a leader, I could not have gotten this far without the help of my family and community. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Now business is one of my favorite subjects! I have a master’s degree in dance movement therapy from Columbia College of Chicago and focused my curriculum on using the psychological benefits of movement to grow and develop dancers. This is the building block of what makes Empower Dance Studio so successful: we truly care about the holistic needs of each of our dancers.

I have been fortunate enough to see so many accomplishments for Empower Dance Studio. But what I consider the accomplishment I am most proud of is being a 100% safe space for children to explore movement and feel comfortable and confident in their own skin. This is what I envisioned when I started Empower in 2015, and it gives me unbridled joy to see it come into fruition, even in the midst of a pandemic.

I cannot stand seeing people belittle others; there is no place for bullies in our society. This is why Empower is so important to me; I believe it is so important to support one another and create safe spaces for the community.

Any big plans?
Yes, we are very excited to expand and move into our brand new studio to meet the needs of our community. It is because of the support of the Triangle area, the dedication of our dancers, and the foundation of building better business practices that we were able to make this happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.empowerdancestudio.com
• Instagram: _empowerdancestudio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1EMPOWERDANCE/