Desert Star Dance was founded in 2003 by Ann Olsen Bode. Ann has an extensive résumé as both an entertainer and in production. As a professional dancer, she had an illustrious and full career. Her credits include TV, feature films and live theater. Ann travelled the world dancing and was a featured singer/dancer in several large Las Vegas production shows. She went on to become a dance and casting director for Las Vegas, Reno/Tahoe, as well as many international production shows. Ann’s true love is teaching! She was the artistic director for several other dance studios in Arizona before deciding to embark on her own endeavor, Desert Star Dance. What a great choice as Desert Star Dance has been in successful operation for nearly two decades and trained 1000's of dancers! Ann's team is an amazing group of professionals with excellent credentials. Desert Star Dance's faculty is a loyal and experienced group of instructors, dedicated to the nurturing and education of children through the arts.
At Desert Star Dance, we believe in dance as an art form, a source of entertainment for performers and spectators, and an effective vehicle for personal growth. In today’s world, everything seems like competition. At its essence, competition is the opposite of creativity. Although our performing groups participate in some dance competitions for the experience, our main goal is to share our joy and love for dance and to entertain an audience through our art form. We look for unique ways to perform and entertain outside of the competition realm and to contribute to the positivity and well-being of our community. We value the sanctity of our students and encourage them in all ways including enhancing their self-esteem, promoting personal development and teaching respect for others. Dance can teach so much more than just physical movement! It teaches teamwork, confidence, interpersonal relationships and many other life skills that transfer over into all aspects of a student's success.
At Desert Star Dance, we value and encourage generosity and community involvement. We enhance our environment through give-back projects. We encourage philanthropy in young people and are partners with the local non-profit group Kids Help Kids. KHK raises funds through events and activities for local charities that serve children. Desert Star Dance has participated in fundraising events that have benefited Save The Family, Sunshine Acres Children’s Home as well as Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Arizona.
