The Story

Once upon a time, in a land quite near to where you are, a young lass named Rachel Handren accepted a job at Northwest Como Recreation Center to help with their before-school and after-school daycare program. It was at this Recreation Center where a supervisor discovered Rachel's unique history with dance and requested her skills and knowledge to teach classes for the Northwest Como area of St. Paul, Minnesota. With her influence at Chelsea Heights Elementary School and S'more Fun, she was able to convince a few kids to try out some dance classes. And thus began the start of what feels like a fairy tale!

She started her first classes in the fall of 2012 with a mere 24 students registered for a combination Jazz/Ballet/Hip Hop class and a Creative Movement class. While these classes were fun and entertaining, she knew she could do more!

The next year, she taught several workshops during the summer, during Northwest Como sponsored teen dances and during other recreational events as well as expanding to teaching a boys hip hop class. These classes also began performing for small audiences in the gymnasium of Northwest Como and gained popularity. While these classes were fun and entertaining, she knew she could do more!

With more classes developing, Rachel saw potential in her students to compete in regional events and competitions. The first year of competitive dance was comprised of a mere 15 students, growing to 30 the next season and 50 during this last 2019-2020 season. These teams went on to achieve some significant awards including 1st place, judges choice awards, overall high scores and a National Teacher of the Year award as well as over $5,000 in scholarships. While the awards and accolades were impressive and exciting, the most rewarding part of all this success was witnessing all students grow in confidence, talent, empathy and teamwork by leaps and bounds!

Unfortunately, when COVID-19 hit the U.S., all classes came to a screeching halt and had to be suspended part-way through the spring recreation season and just a couple of days before the second competition of the year. Everyone was devastated and anxious about current events and Rachel was at a loss as to what she should do. She begged and pleaded with supervisors to offer dance classes and began teaching virtual classes shortly thereafter. While these classes were fun and entertaining, it just wasn't the same and she knew she could do more!

With class cancellations and an uncertain and uncontrollable future, Rachel decided to take matters into her own hands to create a dance studio where she would have the freedom to run her classes as she always dreamed.

The Vision

She dreamed of creating a dance studio known for an inclusive family-oriented environment with high standards and morals through mentoring. She wished for more community involvement in service projects, community outreach and events to teach her students social responsibility. She dreamed of lock-ins, retreats, camps and other events to help kids achieve their goals and learn efficient means of teamwork and camaraderie. She dreamed of introducing students to prominent names in the dance industry to help them see what the world of dance is really like. She dreamed of creating a facility where students can feel safe, comfortable and protected no matter who they are.

And, with all of this in mind, that is how, in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, 360 Dance Center was created and named in the fall of 2020.

The Mission

Our mission at 360 Dance Center is to provide an inclusive, safe and family-oriented dance environment to students of all ages and backgrounds by instilling a love and appreciation for performing arts through mentoring and community outreach. We will put dance at the center of what we do and go full circle for every student, parent or family that enters our doors by providing every service we safely can.

For our recreation dancers, we will provide a nurturing environment that grasps our students' interest in the world of performing arts by supplying history of each style, practice in technique and fun in performance whether through a small scale audience or performing in an annual recital.

For our competitive dancers, we will expect and demand a high level of integrity, responsibility and leadership. We will train our competitive dancers to be effective role models, healthy and nourished athletes and provide tools to guide each young adult towards a successful future.

For our adult classes, we will provide an inclusive and welcoming environment to any who want to experience a particular skill, style or fitness course whether it is their first time or 50th time.