“My passion is teaching dance,” said Marissa Salemi, the 28-year-old owner of Breaking Ground Dance Center, a 7,500-square- foot studio in Pleasantville. Voted Favorite Dance Studio in Westchester for Tweens by InTown Magazine, Breaking Ground Dance brings in teachers and choreographers from all over the country to instruct more than 350 students in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and musical theatre dance, plus hip-hop – the most popular class offered.

At the Breaking Ground Dance Center, Salemi “tries to teach all kids that they are all important, that they are all special.” She writes them personal notes on their birthday and before each performance. Photos of every student adorn the Wall of Fame, as you enter the studio. Along with multiple awards, trophies and plaques, Salemi’s students come to enjoy the sheer joy of classes every week. And, if they eat, breathe and sleep dance, they can join any one of several competitive companies; Mini (ages 6-9), junior, senior and performance ensemble, all of which emphasize working together as a team.

Dancer Lili Aronoff received the highest score out of 300 students at the Dancers, Inc. National Competition in Hershey, PA. Another student, Larissa Crecco, was chosen to join America’s Best Dance Crew, and Breaking Dance’s 7 member Junior Company was one of five finalists out of 500 at Dancers Inc. as well.

But, all of Salemi’s students, from ages 3 to 18, come to the Pleasantville studio for the sheer joy of dancing, to focus on flexibility, to have fun on a dance floor and for personal development. The three dance studios are equipped with state-of- the art dance floors, an infrastructure and padding that guards against injury. Teachers decide on their music, choreography, and costumes at each end of the year performance, based on a theme and set of Salemi’s choosing.

Students who are lucky enough to attend Breaking Ground dance classes are also given the opportunity to donate their gently used dance shoes to the Bronx dancing school, “Come Groove With Me.” In addition, Salemi makes sure that a benefit performance raises funds each year to insure that girls at “Come Groove With Me” will be able to continue dance classes, just as her students do.

While her graduates may attend NYU’s Tisch Dance Program or receive awards, Breaking Ground’s students are all treated as “individuals, not numbers,” as Salemi put it. The Pleasantville studio location “found her” five years ago and her quality dance education has been evolving ever since. The Breaking Ground Dance Center is truly breaking ground for young dance enthusiasts from all over Westchester.

Breaking Ground Dance Center
101 Castleton Street
Pleasantville, New York
(914) 747-3150
Available for parties
www.breakinggrounddance.com