Local dance studio owner and teacher Kenneth Owens gears up for his Third competition season in studio history this last weekend. He will start his competition season locally and then travel throughout the country as the season progresses. Grace Unchained is a Dance studio that teaches competitive dance and offers other classes for students of all ages. The stylings vary from contemporary to jazz and lyrical. The studio has its own “elite team” which participates in the traveling and competing.
Kenneth Owens is a local Omaha native who has always been a dancer and danced for local studios and even in show choir in high school. At the age of 22 is one of the youngest dance studio owners in Omaha with an award-winning troupe of dancers. He said that dancing, Learning, and teaching Is something he always has been passionate about. He said that it is an excellent way for people to understand and feel what he is feeling primarily through music. Owens enjoys the community of Omaha and said that if you had asked him four years ago, he would have pictured himself here.
His goal for the upcoming competition season for his studio is to inspire his students and others. He also said that his goal for the students is to show their talents on stage and show the world their connection while doing it. He does this by holding pep rallies to get them excited to work together as a team and he holds weekly motivational speeches for each of his age groups. Trophies he said are nice and shiny but what’s important is the memories they make together while dancing and showcasing their talents as a team.
“My goal is to let their passion shine through on stage. They’ve committed to the process, but I’m ready to see them enjoy their time on the stage with their friends and enjoy the memories they’ve made.”
He also stated that he leads by example and that he holds himself accountable as well by setting goals not only for them but for himself as well. He said the students must have someone to look up to not only through his weekly motivational speeches but to see a living example of someone setting and archiving their goals. Some of his personal goals were to graduate college. He had to do this while going to school fulltime and running a studio at the same time. He said it was stressful and intense, but he knew he had to focus and work hard to achieve his goals.
Owens said lastly that his goal is to bring new change to Omaha by adding new “Flava” that the city hasn’t seen before and reaching untapped potential in the Midwest. He thinks that he could do well anywhere else but claimed that the markets are saturated with everything else that he could bring. He said why not be the pioneer and bring change in Omaha. He also stated that Omaha has an emptiness of dancers here and that most of them see it as recreational. Owens said he wants local Omaha dancers to “dream again.”
“I want them to know that they aren’t training 20 hours a week for nothing, but they can create a future if they choose to.”
He also said that he hopes that in the next fee years that he can continue to inspire his dancers and that hopefully the go on and make it big and dance on Broadway or even go on to inspire other dancers as well.
Owen Rush 