Dance Motion emerged in 1987, in Phoenix, Arizona as a dream to provide opportunities for dancers in the school to excel beyond the recreational level of dance.

Since then, Dance Motion has developed into one of the Valley's premiere youth dance companies, featuring a cast of youth who regularly perform in professionally-staged productions.

Dance Motion has grown from a company of 25 dancers in 1987 to more than 100 dancers, ages 7 through 19, who have been selected from hundreds of aspiring dancers through yearly auditions. They are bound together by their love and dedication to dance itself, the fun and exhilaration that comes with dancing and performing, the lifelong friendships they form with their fellow dancers, and the nurturing guidance and instruction received from the Dance Motion staff.

The Dance Motion experience is an ongoing process - between student and teacher, performer and audience, and company and community - resulting in the creation of unique, unforgettable Dance Art.

Dance Motion Performing Company is committed to bringing arts to the community. Our outreach performances and educational programs bring dance to the thousands of community members every year, allowing those who would otherwise be unable to dream the dance, too.

Our Dance Access resident programs in public schools enhance curriculum through dance. We are currently working with Valley school districts so that we can share our Dance Motion educators with children who would not otherwise be able to obtain dance instruction.

Our Arts in Education programs give us the opportunity to give something back to the community. Before most of our general audience productions, we give free performances at the performance venue to school children. Moreover, free performances at schools, senior centers and other community location bring dance to thousands of individuals, maybe for the very first time.

We also spearhead efforts with other arts organizations and human service charities to stage benefit performances for some very worthy causes.

Finally, we work hard to give anyone who wants to dance the opportunity to do so. The Dance Motion Scholarship Fund provides the necessary funds to help dancers in need study with us. We also provide placement assistance to qualified students seeking careers and higher education in the field of dance.

Dance Motion provides top-quality dance training focused on technical excellence and performance skills. It's what we call artistic excellence.

We are committed to developing each dancer's potential by cultivating excellence in dance technique, skills, and presentation through superior quality, broad-based dance education and performance opportunities.

Our broad-based dance curriculum results in a well-rounded dancer, ready to take the stage for any type of performance.

Further, Dance Motion company members are regularly exposed to the work and choreography of dance professionals through master classes presented by professional dance companies and master teachers form around the nation.

Dance Motion is fortunate to operate out of Bender Performing Arts, a 14,000 square foot facility with five large dance rooms, four private music rooms, and two group lesson rooms for acting and voice instruction. Our staff has well over 200 years of combined teaching experience and provides instruction to students from age three through adults and services nearly 1,000 youth and adult dancers.

Dance Motion annually presents a series of three innovative and professionally produced and choreographed performances, including:

• An annual benefit concert "DancInspiration" in collaboration with dance companies around the valley to raise monies for local charities.
• A Dance Motion-sponsored Ballet performance during the Holiday season, chosen from our three full-length repertoire ballets.
• A "pull out all the stops" full length Spring Dance Theatre production performed to original scripts and choreography at some Phoenix's finest venues, including the Orpheum Theatre.

Dance Motion also dances at schools, care centers and other nontraditional venues in the community.

Kevin and Meri Bender are the artistic directors of Dance Motion Performing Company. These award-winning choreographers have extensive professional dance experience and have credited the company since 1987 to increasingly greater heights. Dancers since the age of four, both have pursued successful professional dance careers and accumulated extensive theatrical credits.

Kevin is known for his high energy and innovative choreography, while Meri is herself a product of the Dance Motion experience who went on to further study in dance, acting and voice.  Together, they bring a diversified expertise and background to their instruction.

They are blessed to be in the company of many other talented instructors - each possessing impressive dance backgrounds, mastery of particular dance forms, and superb teaching skills. Each instructor adds to the special chemistry that is Dance Motion.  To learn more vist the DanceMotion website at www.dancemotion.com. 

Offering Dance Classes and Music Lessons in Phoenix since 1974! Classes offered in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Hip Hop and Tumbling.  Music Lessons in Piano, Guitar and Voice.

Bender Performing Arts, 3141 E Beardsley Road #110, Phoenix, Arizona 85050 602-971-9170 Teaching in Phoenix since 1974.