Run by family, like a family.
JWSD (short for Joyce Willett School of Dance) is a pair of family owned dance studios that have been led and guided by 3 generations of women in our family, passed from the hands of mother to daughter. Joyce Willett purchased her dance studio from her employer as a dance instructor in Windsor Park from Shirley McPhail, where her two dau
JWSD (short for Joyce Willett School of Dance) is a pair of family owned dance studios that have been led and guided by 3 generations of women in our family, passed from the hands of mother to daughter. Joyce Willett purchased her dance studio from her employer as a dance instructor in Windsor Park from Shirley McPhail, where her two daughters also took lessons, as a young mother of four with a passion for dance and children's education. She spread Joyce Willett School of Dance across Austin featuring three different locations when the city was smaller and there was much less competition than there is today.
Her daughters were raised by the studio and fed by the studio, as their children were after them - boys and girls alike. Her daughters have each taken the mantle of a JWSD location and run their studios with that same love for the kids and the arts that make a great teacher and often rather a less than great businesswoman! Their children are involved on multiple levels of the business, from teaching to managing, which is why JWSD is known to carry such a family feel to it.
Despite the small business feel to our communication and business approach, one thing you can rely on is that the training we offer is anything but small. Our dancers have gone on to dance behind endless pop stars, star in music videos, choreograph for movies and tv shows, dance on Broadway, and more. We have high expectations for what our dancers can achieve, because when given the tools and the support, with just enough passion for dancing and performing, we know that children will always exceed those expectations.
We hire talented and passionate teachers for our technique classes to create strong dancers who can build upon the skills given to them, their credentials could fill this page with names, shows, places, and jobs that would highlight their experience and commitment to dance.
More difficult to find are teachers who can work with small child
We hire talented and passionate teachers for our technique classes to create strong dancers who can build upon the skills given to them, their credentials could fill this page with names, shows, places, and jobs that would highlight their experience and commitment to dance.
More difficult to find are teachers who can work with small children with both love and serious goals for their growth - so our family raised quite a few instead! Every teacher that works with one of our tiny dancers has been directly and carefully trained by a member of the JWSD family to run both a strong and loving program. They are our extended family and we choose them very carefully!
Interestingly enough BOTH of our locations moved the summer of 2021 to new, beautiful, state of the art dance studios that are more than willing to discuss rentals with you! We host a few weekly groups, from Latin Dance Teams to Children's art programs, that have added to our community wonderfully. We also invite you to ask about private lesson or event rentals!