Pro Dancer Launches ‘Unconventional’ Dance Studio for Underserved New Yorkers

By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A new type of dance studio is coming to New York City.

Busola George is an accomplished dancer who started SoL-I Movement Center to improve access to dance rehearsal spaces in Manhattan that are more affordable. Rehearsal spaces in the borough, she says, can cost dancers upwards of $40 an hour, which can add up quickly given the time needed to perfect the craft.

“The need I saw was at the foundation, the access to affordable rehearsal space, as well as the need for a community,” said George on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.

“SoL-I Movement Center is a studio that uses an unconventional shared space model to offer affordable rehearsal space to aspiring professional dance and theater performers as well as offer career advancing services, wellness classes, and professional training.”

Career guidance, mentorship and networking is what separates the center from other dance studios. George’s classes also add socialization and wellness techniques, including meditation.

“I’ve pivoted in the sense of adding kind of more services, more nuanced services, and also really zoning in on who my target market is,” she said. “I was able to realize how much community is needed for dancers and how they don’t really have that. That’s why some of the services that we have are going to induce a collaborative environment for dancers.”

George recently won the grand prize of $20,000 at the Brooklyn Public Library’s PowerUP! business plan competition.

Watch the Small Business Spotlight video above.