Roxanna Johnson opened Dancin With Roxie in 2005 after graduating college. The first location was in her hometown, Hampton, Iowa and in year two, she opened up the second studio location in Clear Lake, Iowa.  

Since that time, the studio family has continued to expand, including the addition of Roxanna’s sister Richelle Morrissey, who opened up the third Dancin with Roxie studio about five years ago in Ankeny, Iowa.

The dancers on the DWR competitive teams come from all three studio locations to compete together as one team. “Our team members practice separately in each studio location on a weekly basis but only get together a few times each season to practice as a full team,” explained Owner Roxanna Johnson. “While the distance can create a few hurdles in our practice time, we have found that the benefits of combining our dancers into one team far outweigh the distance. Our dancers are exposed to different instructional staff, as well as exposed to different dancers and experiences unlike any other offerings in our area.”  

As a result of these experiences, Dancin With Roxie has built a team of some of the most accomplished and decorated dancers in the State of Iowa.

Dancin with Roxie is well known for having and emphasizing well-rounded dancers. Their athletes always work in a variety of styles from Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, and Tap. They also train strong skills as well as the quality of movement and storytelling.  

The program has earned several national titles over the years and they are here in Orlando this weekend with four bids to The Dance Worlds 2019 that they earned at NDA All Star Nationals in Grapevine, Texas.

“We are very excited! As studio owners and teachers, we have always had the dream to just come to be in the audience at Worlds, so we are even more excited to be coming to compete--especially with the first team we have ever put together to compete in the All Star arena.  We are so proud that this first-year team received four Worlds Bids and two Summit Bids at their first ever NDA competition.”

Here is what to expect in Dancin Roxie’s 4 World’s Routines!

Senior Small Contemporary/Lyrical:

“We are competing a routine called An Evening in the Senior Small Contemporary category,” explained Johnson. “This routine was choreographed by Shelby Feddema whose choreography was featured on World of Dance.”

Johnson also added that their favorite part of this routine is how they are able to connect with one another as they are portraying a story about a night that they found the love of their life and they slipped away. DWR has 8 dancers in this routine that range in age from 14 to 18.  

Senior Large Contemporary/Lyrical:

Their Senior Large Contemporary/Lyrical routine is called Survivor! “Survivor was choreographed by Katie Stoltman and tells a very relatable story of overcoming a personal challenge,” explained Johnson. “This routine is often an audience favorite when performed not only because of its relatability but also because of the emotion expressed by our dancers during this performance.”

Senior Small Jazz:

“In The Air” is the name of Dancin With Roxie’s Jazz routine. The routine was choreographed by Katie Stoltman and was inspired by the feeling you get when you have been working hard and you feel it coming to culmination – just like working all season to compete for the first time at The Dance Worlds! “We costumed our dancers in 2 layers blue to portray the chill you get when you take breathe of fresh air,” Johnson added.

 Senior Large Pom:

“All Aboard” the excitement train because we can’t wait to see DWR’s Pom routine! Their Senior Large Pom routine features dancers from ages 11-18, which is something the studio is very proud of. “We have dancers with a lot Pom experience and some with none at all so we have had to work really hard to get the dancers to this level,” explained Johnson.

Tune in to FloCheer LIVE all weekend long to watch the four teams from Dancin With Roxie make their Worlds debut here in Orlando, Florida!

“Our first-year team has grown in so many ways this season!  We have seen them tackle the hurdle of practicing hundreds of miles apart, grow as athletes, and make the best of friendships.  We cannot be prouder of their accomplishments thus far. Our hope for this team is to see them put their best ability forward during the championship and soak up the overall experience!”

If The Dancin With Roxie Coaches Could Tell Their Teams One Last Thing Before Their Performances…

"We would tell our dancers to give it their all!  They have a tradition of always saying, “no regrets” before they go on stage and that is how they dance--without any regrets. We always want their ‘last time to be their best time” and have worked hard to create that culture on our team.  But most of all…. we want our dancers to know how very proud we are of them!"

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