(upbeat music) - The folks at Rise Up School of Dance want you to know that it's never too late to break out your dancing shoes.

Joining us to explain how the school helps dance hopefuls overcome barriers are Heidi Cowan and Keaton Schrank.

Thank you so much for being here.

- [Both] Thanks for having us.

- So tell me about Rise Up.

Why was it started here in Utah?

- Yeah, so it was actually because our founder received free dance classes at the age of nine, and she couldn't afford dance.

And then the idea was planted to start a dance studio where anybody who wanted to dance could experience it, regardless of body type, socioeconomic status, or life circumstances.

- I mean, I love, Keaton, that it's also despite how old they may be.

Some people think, "Oh, I missed out on being able to do it, 'cause I didn't start as a kid."

But you guys open this to just about everybody, right?

- Yeah, absolutely.

We have dance classes available, ages three through adults.

We've had students in their seventies participating in dance classes.

We've had adults try it for the first time, or we've had adults maybe who danced in the past who wanted to come dance again, and this is a space they found they could do that.

- What has allowed Rise Up to, you know, help people, so many dance hopefuls overcome those barriers?

- A lot of our dance curriculum takes a holistic approach, and so we offer quality dance education, but we also like to focus on the rest of the self.

And we have social-emotional curriculum to help students grow confidently as they navigate the world and different life circumstances that they go through.

- And for people who feel like they can't afford it, you guys have assistance as well, right?

- Absolutely, yeah, so we offer needs-based scholarships to anybody who wants to dance, but may be experiencing socioeconomic barriers to that.

Since our founding 11 years ago, we have served 1400 students-plus, and issued over $300,000 in scholarships for anybody who wants to dance.

- That's amazing, and I bet a lot of that, or some of that comes from support from the community as well, people donating to this great organization.

Well, thank you so much for joining us and for being here.

If you would like to learn more about Rise Up School of Dance, how you can participate, or even how you can support, you can head to the website that's on your screen, RiseUpSchoolOfDance.com for more details.

Thank you so much for watching "Contact."

I'm Liz Adeola.

(upbeat music) Philanthropy, Arts, culture.

It's what brings us together.

Hi, I'm Liz Adeola, the host of Contact, a show that connects you with local events and organizations that serve your community.

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