The DancEast Story: 2008-2022

DancEast (formerly Studio 1406) was founded by Emily Masters in August of 2008. Emily grew up participating in traditional dance recitals and even danced competitively, but she wanted something different for her children. She wanted to create a place where girls, boys and adults are encouraged to learn dance and movement - without the limitations imposed by simply learning a recital piece or even the structure of strict classical dance curriculum. So - with 8 young students signed up for classes, she rented a room and got to work! 

When Emily met Whitley Hill (an impeccably trained dancer with years of professional experience as a dancer, choreographer, and dance company founder and artistic director) and Gabrielle Saliba (a Nashville native with extensive performance experience and a heart for community outreach), she knew she had found the perfect artists to help fulfill her vision. With Whitley on board to instruct and Gabrielle signed on as a co-director and instructor, Emily began the process of creating not just a dance school, but A Center for Movement and Creativity. She signed the lease on a small space in Riverside Village in the Inglewood neighborhood (at 1406 McGavock Pike – hence the name “Studio 1406”) and opened that space in January of 2009.

When Studio 1406 was voted “Best Place to Learn to Dance” in the 2009 Nashville Scene Reader’s Poll—after less than one year of being open for business—the women knew the community was just as excited about their vision as they were. In the summer of 2010 Studio 1406 joined forces with Sunny Becks-Crumpton at her “Hooprama” studio - moving into a shared space on Gallatin Avenue. Studio 1406 was renamed "DancEast" in March of 2011, in order to more completely reflect the unique neighborhood that is home to the studio. During the Summer of 2011, Sunny decided to expand her “Hooprama” vision in a different direction, so DancEast took over the lease at 521 Gallatin Avenue, and the studio grew and flourished in that space. 

In December of 2011, Lauren Melancon, who had already been teaching DancEast students for quite some time, became Emily's business partner. Lauren clearly shared Emily’s passion for offering unique dance experiences to students of all ages and backgrounds, and she proved an exciting addition to the ownership of DancEast! 

On May 31, 2013 DancEast made a very exciting move—to a brand new space in the newly renovated EastSide Station on Woodland Street in East Nashville. With 2 studios, a music instruction room, dressing room, much-needed office space and so much more, DancEast found a home to fit the vision that defines "DancEast." Sadly, Lauren left Nashville in 2014, following a job opportunity for her husband, and Emily continued as a solo owner for the next four years, growing studio enrollment by nearly 100 dancers in each of those years.

On May 31, 2018, after nearly ten years as Founder, Owner, Manager and Artistic Director of DancEast (including evolution from "Dancing with Emily" to "Studio 1406" to "DancEast"), Emily sold the business. The new owners maintained the mission and essence of DancEast: to provide opportunities for movement and creativity in a unique and inspiring environment. However, the challenges of the pandemic immediately following the destruction reaped by the March 2020 tornados that devastated Nashville and caused damage to DancEast’s largest studio proved incredibly difficult. Those owners again sold DancEast in October 2020 - to Elizabeth Wilkinson.

Elizabeth (Liz) grew up in Nashville - dancing at Nashville Ballet, Metro Parks and Tennessee Dance Theater. She graduated from Kenyon College in Ohio with a BA in dance and studied abroad at the Laban Centre in London. She danced professionally in Boulder, New York, and LA, and she was a member of Noemie Lafrance/Sensproduction, based in Brooklyn, for 10 years. She also worked as a Pilates and Gyrotonic teacher while in NYC, and when she moved back to Nashville in 2015, she opened Well Body Pilates in East Nashville. She opened a second location in West Nashville two years later, and she jumped at the opportunity to merge her two career paths by taking ownership of DancEast in 2020.

Liz brought DancEast founder Emily Masters back on board as a consultant and investor, in order to restore the studio to its pre-pandemic stature while also working toward a vision for new and exciting programs focused toward further community engagement and growth. As the two women worked together to work toward that vision, they decided to convert “DancEast” to “DancEast Collective” and established the organization as a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization in July 2021. Together they are expanding DancEast’s programming, collaborating with local artists, musicians, and dance companies, and growing the community. DancEast Collective is moving in a positive direction appropriately reflective of its rich history as a mission-oriented organization intent upon cultivating a community of students, artists, and audiences by offering high-quality and accessible dance education, creation, performance, and engagement opportunities.