“After literally her first session, she told me ‘I think these girls are going to be my best friends', and she was right! I was blown away by how kind and inclusive everyone was."
-Lana, Studio 301 Mom
About the Family
The girls her age had known each other for years but there wasn’t a hint of ‘clicky’. The older girls weren’t too cool to hang out with my daughter. It was the best decision we made and totally transformed my daughter from feeling low and isolated into a more confident and all together happier little girl.
-Studio 301 Mom
“I love how accepting people are. It’s laid back and we are comfortable. Other studios are more high-strung. I didn’t feel at ease or welcome [at these studios]. Studio 301 is definitely the opposite.”
-Studio 301 Mom
“Family environment even when it means tough love. Multiple performance opportunities vs just an End-of-Year show.”
-Studio 301 Mom
“At Studio 301 we get quality teaching at a reasonable price, and teachers who understand the importance of the girls actually enjoying their dance experience with lots of fun and friendship-building activities through the season.”
-Studio 301 Mom
This is How We ROLL
Studio 301 offers classes in Ballet, Baton, Jazz, Acro/Tumble, Tap, Musical Theater, Lyrical, Modern, and so much more! These classes are our dancers’ base. All classes are taught by our highly-trained instructing staff based on our NEW in-house-created curriculums that focus on proper technique, movement quality, and fun! With the knowledge from your technique classes, dancers are also able to participate in one of our many programs including Competitions, Story-Shows, and Company. Our studio follows guidelines from the Youth Protection Advocates in Dance to ensure our dancers are safe in all ways. Because of this, we are strict on making sure our dancers are showcased in age-appropriate costumes and are dancing to family-friendly songs with family-friendly themes. Studio 301 is an inclusive environment that welcomes dancers of all ages, backgrounds, experience levels, genders, etc. We accept beginners of all ages!
We know you will feel right at home at Studio 301!
Our Mission.
We’re here to guide you through your own, personalized dance journey! Whether you’re dancing to have fun, to perform on stage, to gain more confidence, to compete for awards, to make new friends, or for any other reason, we have your back! We take pride in our supportive and encouraging environment that allows our dancers to succeed and progress with confidence.
Our Foundation.
Studio 301 was started in May 2020 by Kenzie Buchanan at the age of 16. Her dream since the beginning of her life was to be able to teach and inspire the minds of young and old creators and movers. Studio 301 is now entering its 4th Season and absolutely can’t wait to see where it takes us!
Our Why.
At Studio 301, we believe that dance is for EVERYONE. Yes, we’re talking to you! We work hard to break barriers in dance, making our dance studio a space of acceptance and inclusion. No dancer is turned away. We want Studio 301 to be the place where you fall in love with dance!
301?
The Meaning Behind 301
301 Elizabeth Street is the address of Kenzie’s family garage. Although this might not mean much to the regular person, this is where the dream began. Kenzie grew up dancing both inside and outside of the garage with plans to one day convert the garage into her very own dance studio. Although Studio 301 classes are not held in the family garage, the original dream that started within its walls has come true in the form of smiling faces and many dancing feet in Chesapeake, OH.
Where It Started
Kenzie Buchanan, the owner of Studio 301, started dancing at 2 years old at Huntington Dance Theatre. Kenzie began training in strict ballet technique, but, through the years, continued her passion for dance by studying jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, modern, pointe, musical theater, tap, and more. She has choreographed many pieces for HDT and taught classes in ballet, jazz, musical theater, and hip-hop. Along with dance, Kenzie is also experienced in organization and choreography for award-winning cheerleading teams. After planning a dance studio for many years, Kenzie was finally able to live her dream at age 16 through the opening of Studio 301 in May 2020. Currently, Kenzie is a member of the National Dance Education Organization and is continuing her dance education by taking courses to become a certified instructor. Along with this, Kenzie is certified through many other companies in injury prevention, CPR, concussion prevention, and sexual assault/abuse awareness. She is also an alumni dancer in Bone and Fiddle Dance Collective, a professional Appalachian dance company under the direction of Summer Logan. With Bone and Fiddle and Summer, Kenzie has had the opportunity to perform in Cleveland Dance Festival, Cabaret as “Frenchie”, and more concerts. Kenzie puts all of herself into her work here at Studio 301 in order to create and inspire other creative minds.
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Sofia Holley
Competition Director, Tap, Musical Theater, Jazz, Acro
Sofia Holley started dancing at the age of 5. She spent her first six years at Elite Performance Academy and seven years at Ultimate Dance Legacy. She was a member of the competition teams at both studios. She has trained in ballet, lyrical, contemporary, modern, jazz, hip-hop, tap, musical theater, and acro-tumble. During her competition career, she received multiple regional and national awards for solos, duets, trios, and groups. Her love for performing turned into a greater love for choreographing and refining dancers’ technique. Sofia looks forward to bringing her talents and love for dance to the students at Studio 301.
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Emma Korstanje
Baton
Emma Korstanje is the the Feature Twirler for Marshall University Marching Band. This will be her second year in that role after being the Feature Twirler for the band at Huntington High School. Emma has been a baton twirler since she was 7-years-old and holds several competition titles. She now enjoys teaching others what she has learned. Emma is a sophomore at Marshall majoring in Excercise Science.
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Melissa Buchanan
Ballet
Melissa Buchanan started dancing at the age of 2 with Nancy Carter, where she continued for several years studying ballet, jazz, and competitive baton. Melissa’s later dancing experience moved her to Huntington Dance Theatre where she focused on ballet and the occasional jazz class. As an adult, Melissa continued to dance with HDT while also teaching and eventually taking on the title of Assistant Director. Melissa’s resume boasts numerous performances and performing roles. She has participated in classes taught by David Howard, Lorraine Graves, Ronnie DeMarco, and many, many more. Now, Melissa enjoys sharing her love of dance with the students at Studio 301 both in the classroom and behind the scenes.
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Angela Lin
K-Pop
Angela Lin started dancing at 7 years old at Huntington Dance Theatre. She began with ballet and later trained in pointe, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, and more. She has also performed in the Nutcracker and many other concerts produced by HDT. During her years in high school, she participated in numerous musical productions by her school, such as Lion King, Annie, and Wizard of Oz. During the past years, Angela has choreographed and staged a few different pieces.
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Kaley Scites
Baton
Kaley started twirling at 10 years old with her youth league program. She stayed with this program for four years until aging out and moving on to competitive twirling. With competitive twirling, Kaley was able to travel to many major cities across West Virginia, Tennessee, and Indiana winning multiple awards for groups and solos. Going into high school, Kaley joined the Lincoln County Marching Panthers colorguard for 3 years, winning countless awards at band competitions and performing in Disney World! In the off-season, Kaley participated in Winterguard continuing the winnings for group and solo routines.