Empire Studios: A one-stop studio for heels, spice and passion
It’s a silver celebration! Empire Studios is currently celebrating 25 years of heels, spice and empowerment. The Auckland-based dance studio is filled with passion, big-hearted people and drive, and is a space which welcomes and encourages people and all their curves to feel comfortable in their own skin.
Growing up, the studio’s director Claire Baxter-Cardy, always felt her response to music was dance. Since establishing Empire Studios, she comes home every day feeling grateful that she can channel this feeling into helping other women also feel enriched with music and dance.
For Claire, music is at the core of dance and takes people on a journey. With its OneMusic license, Empire Studios can play any music from hip hop to RNB to light rock and are always keeping an ear out for fresh and really interesting tracks. “I’m on the internet constantly listening to stuff and creating playlists,” says Claire.
I often choose empowering tracks and just fantastic music in general. I like to use these for my classes.
Empire Studios choreographers continually think about what music will pull people in. Claire adds “they often try make the first 15 minute warm up really fun, silly and sexy with upbeat music and will read to the room to make sure people are enjoying themselves.”
This is all part of a bigger mission which the team of twelve at the studio take very seriously – that is, to constantly use music to help people express themselves and make sure dancers of all levels are happy with how they feel during a class. And as a OneMusic-licensed premise allowing them access to this music, they can proudly make this happen.
Claire says she wants Empire Studios to be a community and to be “connected to the people we are dancing with. It’s about fostering a space which sees them leave feeling good about themselves.”
This focus on community extends to beyond the studio too. It holds a special weekly event called Sunday Sweat Sessions, which are only $10 per session. All proceeds from these classes go towards women in the community working towards a performing arts programme.
“I think it’s always important to have an advocate for women, for fairness and equitable outcomes,” says Claire.
Claire embraces the need for different spaces for different women of all shapes, sizes and ages by having staff who are “people-centric, humanistic and empathetic, and make sure people feel seen.”
With classes varying in spice and difficulty levels, Claire proudly shares that “even the most beginner person has something they can master in that session.”
We allow people to have that confidence to go for what they want in life as everyone wants and needs different things.
On the dance floor, the Empire Studios ethos is to leave dancers of all levels feeling good in themselves and feeling like they’ve had a good workout. Off the dance floor, the team hopes this experience will leave people feeling like they have the confidence to march to the beat of their own drum.
Visit and attend dance classes at Empire Studios in Auckland: 2 Bond Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland 1021
Find out about the music licenses that are right for your business here.