As an accomplished dancer, choreographer and entrepreneur, Grace Johnson-Wright, founder and artistic director of Neema Dance Collective, has already run a dance studio housed in several locations and grown a student body of about 10 children to nearly 300 students.
Determined to reach a new plateau for her dance studio, and reach and teach more Black youth, Johnson-Wright recently acquired a 16,000 square feet facility in the Ritchie Station Marketplace, becoming the largest Black-owned and woman-owned dance space in Prince George’s County.
While the new space is a milestone, Johnson-Wright told The Informer that this comes after years of hard work.
“The final batch of paperwork has been under review and moving us toward this day since last November but in my head, it has been a two-year project, process and dream,” she said. “The biggest hurdle we had to overcome was securing capital and funding, which is particularly difficult for those of us in the arts.”
Johnson-Wright added that many banks and other financial institutions often consider businesses like hers to be poor investments. In fact, those who she approached found it hard to believe that hers was a profitable enterprise.
“They were shocked that we had been able to grow from 10 students to more than 400 in just eight years,” she said. “But after they heard the outcry of support from leaders, parents and others from across the county and looked at the impact we’ve had and continue to have on Black youth, they finally approved my request for the capital I needed to grow the business.”
Under her guidance, many of her former students have gone on to secure spots in some of the nation’s most prestigious programs, from The Ailey School and Debbie Allen Dance Academy, to even landing roles on BET and Netflix.
For Johnson-Wright, it’s nothing less than what she has always believed about the possibilities that the Neema Dance Collective and its alumni could achieve.
“Working with positive-minded people, and that includes both our staff and the parents who send their children to us, has been the key to our success,” she explained. “We are more than a studio – we have become a cultural hub that provides training, childcare, and creative outlets for the next generation of dancers in the DMV. Even more important for me is how we have garnered the trust of the Black community who have thrown their full support behind us.”
Hard Work Pays Off in Spades
Neema Dance Collective currently has multiple locations, including Temple Hills, District Heights, and the state of Georgia. The studio offers over 25 dance styles and accepts students who are as young as 18 months of age.
Johnson-Wright attributes her success to the support of her family, the extensive training she has received as a dancer, choreographer, and studio owner and the 28 years of dance experience she has under her belt.
Starting at the age of 4, Johnson-Wright studied at Suitland High School’s Visual Performing Arts Dance Program, The Christian Dance Academy, Dance Theater of Harlem, The Ailey School Summer Intensive Program, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Maryland Youth Ballet, The Washington Ballet and the Greensboro Ballet.
Along the way, she mastered various genres of dance: ballet, tap, jazz, folk, African, Hawaiian, modern, Horton Technique, ballroom, and hip-hop with certifications in the Cecchetti method.
She continues to give back to R&B artists located throughout the Greater Washington Area as well as several church-based dance ministries.
“I know what it means to combine a mixture of training, a good, competitive product, and a layering of services and the results one can achieve when students are supported and guided by such a portfolio, and that’s what we offer at Neema Dance Collective,” she said. “We’re excited to be the first of our kind to step into such a large space and we know the pressure is on us to do even greater things. And we already have plans to do just that.”
In the future, Johnson-Wright said people can expect to see the launch of a gymnastics program geared for Black youth, the opening of a home school initiative, and a before-and-after school program to be included among their offerings over the next year to 18 months.
She’s especially excited about the home school program which she said she’s dreamed about for many years.
“Education is the key and if others don’t want to give Black youth the very best training available, we have to do that ourselves,” she said.
She remembers receiving a valuable less from the late Judith Jamison, former principal dance and artistic director emerita for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
“I remember when I was with Alvin Ailey and in New York City, far away from home, wondering if I could make it – if I had what it takes,” she said. “Judith Jamison taught me that I could never afford to become a comfortable dancer.”
Now, the entrepreneur and artist is taking the lessons she learned from Jamison, to empower her students.
“She told me that I had to be willing to push myself, to learn new techniques and to expand upon my strengths. The structure Ailey provided for me helped me to become a better dancer, a better choreographer, and a better woman,” Johnson-Wright told The Informer. “And that’s what I want for our students.”
For more information, email Grace Johnson-Wright at ceo@neemadancecollective.com.