Our Story

“We don’t teach kids to make great dancers, we teach dance to make great kids.”

Our founder and director Vanessa Terrell grew up dancing in the Cedar Rapids area. After earning her dance degree at the University of Iowa, she returned to her hometown to share her love of dance and passion for helping raise up the next generation of leaders. Since its founding in 2016, The Pointe School of Dance has become the destination for dance education that focuses on the whole student in the Cedar Rapids area. As the area’s only YPAD Certified and More Than Just Great Dancing studio, local parents know that the staff at The Pointe is qualified and dedicated to teach correct dance techniques, exciting routines while ensuring that every classroom experience is safe, healthy, and positive for their child.

Educate

We believe fully in the value of dance education and strive to teach each student correct technique, exciting and age-appropriate choreography, and performance skills.

Enrich

Our staff and students are so fortunate to be able to dance and perform, and we hope to enrich our community with outreach programs and great performances so the gift of dance can be shared with as many people as possible.

Enrich

Empower

We believe that dance can have a powerful impact on all students. Dance classes teach poise and encourage self-confidence, and performance experiences give dancers a sense of personal pride and accomplishment.

PSD Values

On one of the lobby walls, one of the first things visitors to our dance studio see is this culture & values poster. We believe in the power of dance education to be a positive activity in the lives of kids and adults – and are dedicated to bringing this positive influence to as many students in our area as we can.

We are a proud More Than Just Great Dancing studio – affiliated with the nation’s best dance studios and adhering to a higher standard in quality curriculum, business management practices, and community involvement.

The Pointe is also Iowa’s first and only YPAD Certified Dance Studio – ensuring that dancers who take classes at The Pointe are in a safe, healthy, and positive environment.
YPAD is a nonprofit organization (check them out – Miss Vanessa serves on their Advisory Panel – www.ypad4change.org) that works to keep dance safe, healthy, and happy for youth in dance. Dance is an unregulated industry – with no legal requirements for background checks, education, or certification for instructors. At The Pointe, ALL of our staff who work with kids are CPR certified, background checked, and YPAD certified!

A team who cares about your child

See what sets our team apart from all the rest.

Check out our programs

We’ve got a class for every age and level. Click one of the pictures below to start you dance journey!

Early Childhood Dance

Ages 1-6

Beginning & Teen

Ages 6-18

Graded Technique

Ages 6-18

Adult Classes

Ages 18+

Homeschool Classes

Ages 6-18

A Chance to Dance