Celebrating a Decade of dancing at Tutu School Raleigh!

Can you believe it? 10 years ago this June, the doors of Tutu School Raleigh first opened, bringing a new kind of magic to the heart of North Carolina! It’s incredible to reflect on the last decade of tiny twirls, sparkling smiles, and countless unforgettable moments.

The Beginning of Tutu School Raleigh

The possibility of Tutu School in Raleigh, first began over a phone call with my dear and long time friend Genevieve, where she shared a dream with me — That she had a vision launching a boutique ballet school tailored to young children.

In 2008, I traveled to San Francisco and visited that very first Tutu School on Bay St. about 6 months after its initial opening. It was thoughtful, beautiful, and an absolute unique opportunity for young children to get an enchanting introduction to ballet. 

In 2011, on another vacation to Northern California, I visited Tutu School again — Now the 2nd location that Genevieve had launched in Marin County. It was soon after that she shared she was going to begin franchising Tutu School.

In 2013, at the peak of my own professional ballet career with Carolina Ballet, a lightbulb moment occurred for me: I could bring Tutu School to North Carolina! I texted Genevieve that day, and the process began. 

In October of 2014, Tutu School Raleigh became the 5th Tutu School in the franchise system and the very first outside of California. 

Balancing Ballerina & Business Owner: The Early Years

I had been invested in the downtown Raleigh Arts scene, including living and performing in downtown Raleigh as a Principal ballerina with Carolina Ballet, for about 14 years at that point. I knew I wanted to nestle Tutu School Raleigh right downtown and found the perfect location at The Devon on Tucker Street. We began building out the space, and officially opened our doors on June, 15th 2015.

The opening of Tutu School was full circle for me — To be at the peak of my own professional ballet career and simultaneously able to introduce the world of ballet to the youngest aspiring dancers was a dream.

The Tutu Team!

Those early days were a whirlwind! I squeezed in teaching classes between my own rehearsals and leading Tutu Birthday Parties between weekend performances. 

From the start I was lucky to find incredible teachers to build our Tutu Team — Mayerlin Munoz Rodriguez, was the very first teacher I hired. She has been beloved by every little dancer she has worked with since day one and I’m proud that over the years she’s worn many hats. Mayerlin still teaches at Tutu School, and has grown into the position of Principal Teacher, supporting our entire team with her talent and experience. 

Also in 2015, Kimberlyn Graham, a long time colleague of mine at Carolina Ballet, joined our team as a teacher. She also brought unique gifts both in the studio interacting with students and in the relationships she’s built beyond the dance floor with Tutu families. Now 10 years later serves as Director to our entire collection of schools across NC. 

As we grew, many more incredible Magic Makers have left their mark in the studio and on the lives of the thousands of dancers that we’ve served. 

Growing Together: Spreading the Magic

The journey since that summer in 2015 has been an epic one.

We held our very first Bravo Bash recital in June of 2016, and have held 18 of these very special events since! 

We launched Tutu Camps that year as well; spending summer weeks and various other camp days throughout the year dancing, crafting, and making lots of magic.

Our member’s Special Events, ranging from Dance Parties, Craft Events, Storytimes, Meet a Princess events, Parents’ Nights Out, and more, have built a beautiful community beyond the weekly dance classes we offer where we’ve seen friendships blossom and flourish.

We navigated the pandemic with digital offerings, private pods, & outdoor classes all around Raleigh! We pivoted in every way we could imagine (as did we all, right?) and thanks to the the support of our families came out of it strong.

The foundation we had built with Tutu School Raleigh quickly scaled as our team opened Tutu School Cary in 2017 & Tutu School Wilmington in 2022! Our collection of boutique ballet schools is still growing too 😉

A Family Affair

We’ve never taken the support of our customers for granted. A core value at Tutu School is being invested in our families and 10 years later, we still have strong relationships with many of our Tutu families from that first year in business. 

Our Tutu photographer from Mason Dee Photography, Katie, has daughters who grew through our program in those early years. She now still serves our families capturing photos at our bi-annual recitals and other special member-only opportunities throughout the year. 

This past holiday season, we as a staff had the immense joy of watching one of our very first Tutu Toddlers who started in our program in 2015, perform as Clara in the Nutcracker with Carolina Ballet!

It has truly been a gift to reflect on a decade of relationships built with our dedicated staff, incredible families, and the wider community.

Cause for Celebration: BIRTHDAY WEEK at Tutu School Raleigh

We spent the past week of our anniversary sharing our appreciation, and inviting our students to join the celebration during what we called “Birthday Week!” 

All week, we enjoyed themed class activities in our festively decorated studio. Our students colored birthday coloring sheets that adorned our windows, and best of all, in each class students had a chance to “make a wish” for Tutu School! The wishes shared by our little ones truly warmed our hearts from “I wish for my Dad to dance at Tutu School” to “I wish to be at Tutu School forever!”

Our long time “sweet treat” partner, The Cupcake Shoppe of Raleigh (who has provided all the treats for our parties and events since the beginning), gave out free cupcake coupons to every student in honor of our birthday, and we raffled off special gifts including a Free Tutu Birthday Party!

It was a truly memorable week to share with our community.

Reflecting Back & Looking Ahead

In March of 2008 (well before this Tutu School journey began), Genevieve asked to profile me as a featured ballerina in the very first Tutu School newsletter, Pirouette, of that very first Tutu School in San Francisco. 

In the final question of the profile, I was asked: What would you tell little dancers and tiny ballerinas about pursuing their dreams? My answer: The pursuit of your dreams may be filled with challenges and lots of hard work, but as long as it makes you feel good inside, you are doing the right thing.

Reflecting on our 10 years in business, I’m certain I’ve been doing the right thing.

Opening Tutu School Raleigh (and the subsequent Tutu Schools in Cary and Wilmington) has been a true extension of my life as a ballerina and the belief I have in the power of expression through dance for children.

As we mark this incredible milestone of a decade in business, we want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to every family, every dancer, and every team member who has been a part of our story. Here’s to many more decades of movement, magic, and marvelous memories! (Plus, we’re not done bringing the magic of Tutu School to more communities around NC yet!)

~Lara