Steps in the right direction

Swampscott native opens own studio, shares passion with community
By Michelle Nigro (FYI: also a alum of the NEPC)
Wicked Local Swampscott
August 9, 2012

Swampscott —

Trying to teach 18 active kids under the age of 8 how to dance on a Saturday night may seem like a nightmare to some 24-year-olds. But for Swampscott native and former Patriots cheerleader Danielle Lannon, it’s just another day at her dream job.

Lannon, 24, is the owner of Studio 21 — a dance studio located at 21 Elm Place in Swampscott. Lannon has been dancing since she was 3 years old, and since moving on from her gig as a Patriots cheerleader — she was a member of the team from 2007 to 2009 — she’s been sharing her passion for dance with the community she grew up in.

“I just love to dance, I love performing,” Lannon said. “That’s my favorite part of dancing.”

Lannon’s mom, Susanne, is the front office manager of Studio 21 and knows just how dedicated her daughter is to the business and dance.

“That’s always been her passion: dance,” Susanne said. “Just to see her live that and fulfill that is unbelievable. It just makes me really happy that she’s doing something that she loves.”

Lannon said the chance to start her dream career fell into her lap at the age of 22, and it was simply an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. Two years ago, after Lannon had just stopped working at the dance studio she taught at during college, she had no idea what she was going to do next.

“I had a month of nothing, didn’t know what I was going to do, where I was going to go,” said Lannon.

Lannon started teaching Zumba at Burke’s Tumbling Academy, a Swampscott gym owned by Lannon’s friend Jen Burke. Lannon remembers Bruce Paradise, the landlord of the building where Burke’s gym is, asking what Lannon wanted to do for a career.

“I said, ‘Oh, I’ll probably own a dance studio, but that’s years down the road when I save up money and all that,’” Lannon said.

Lannon said Paradise told her he had an aerobic room in the back of Paradise Gym that was rarely used, and after hearing her dream of owning a studio, Paradise decided to offer it to Lannon. He walked her through the space asking, “How’s this? Does this work?”

“The next day I shook hands and started planning the studio and just started to go for it,” said Lannon.

Despite renovating, decorating and opening in just two short months, Lannon said the studio came out exactly how she had hoped. With the help of family and friends, Lannon opened Studio 21 on Nov. 29, 2010.

“It was a Monday,” Lannon pointed out, adding that it’s a day she will always fondly remember.

Susanne pointed out that her daughter is just like her father.

“They both know what they want and just go after it,” Susanne said. “If she wants something, she does it. No one is going to stop her.”

An idea comes to fruition

Today, when you walk into Studio 21, a light pink waiting room greets guests, and framed photos of Patriots cheerleaders from Lannon’s time on the team are displayed on the walls. A hot-pink bathroom and turquoise walls inside the dance studio make just about every little girl who dances at Lannon’s studio feel like a ballerina.

Opening her own business was tough at first, Lannon said. The studio only gained about 10 students during the first few months. Dance schools normally start their sessions in September, Lannon said, explaining that once a dancer joins a studio, it’s uncommon to leave midway through the year and join a different studio.

“It wasn’t the best of timing to open in November, but it was a dream, and it was an opportunity that I couldn’t really turn down,” Lannon said. “But I was definitely nervous.”

Even so, Studio 21 grew to 45 students by May of that year. And by the end of her second year in business, the studio had 79 students.

Lannon partly credits the town she grew up in with helping her business achieve its success.

“Swampscott’s been great to me,” Lannon said. “The best advertising is word of mouth. So if you’re in a community where you haven’t really established yourself yet, or don’t know anybody, it’s definitely harder.”

Maureen Locke, a Swampscott native, has sent her daughter Emma, 6, to Studio 21 since it opened in 2010. Locke said Emma is willing to try any class Lannon teaches, and Locke is happy to send her daughter to someone who is not only a teacher but also a role model, she said.

“[Danielle] is not just going through the motions,” said Locke. “Dance is in her blood. She is a wonderful role model. If you set your mind to something, you can do it.”

Lannon started making a name for herself in the community when she took over the Swampscott High School dance team in 2008. She managed to turn a team of eight girls that performed twice a year into a team of 21 that competes in dance competitions and appears throughout the community regularly.

“Now the whole town knows about the dance team,” said Lannon, “I’ve just been trying to get them out in the community and respected and appreciated by the school.”

This year, the dance team performed at nursing homes over the holiday season and held a fundraiser called Dancing with the Staff that sold out the SHS auditorium.

Lannon said that she learned many years ago just how much of an impact one person can make in a community — given her experience as a Patriots cheerleader and working with nonprofits through the Patriots organization. It was that knowledge that led her to aspire to promote dance within Swampscott.

Lannon said that she has plans of instilling the same community-minded mentality into her dance students as her studio continues to grow.

“It’s a great town,” Lannon said. “I love it here, and I love the community and everybody in it. So it seemed like a good town to establish my business in.”

Lannon joked that she feels as if she is married to the town, adding, “It’s not a bad thing, though.”

Studio 21 offers classes to ages 3 through 18, with approximately five classes held every day during the school year. Despite the fact that her student body continues to grow, Lannon is the only teacher at the studio.

Susanne said that she believes her daughter is a wonderful dance teacher, and Lannon is full of spirit, given her young age.

“I think [people] should teach when they’re young,” said Susanne. “If not, you’re not actually getting that passion and creativity from the person who’s running it.”

On top of teaching every class at her studio, Lannon holds two SHS dance team practices a week and three Zumba fitness classes at her studio.

Lannon said that even in the mornings, which are her only free times, she is always planning her dance classes, choreographing dances and even reading books about dance. But it never gets old, she said.

“Dancing is my number-one passion,” she said. “But aside from that I just love kids. I love working with kids, teaching and sharing my passion with them and getting the kids to create their own passion for dance, so it’s something we share.”

As Lannon approaches her third year of business, she still can’t believe that she’s achieved her dream. Lannon said she gets excited each day when she goes to unlock the door at her studio and sees her business sign, knowing she took a chance and came out on top.

“People ask me all the time how I’m not completely exhausted after a day,” said Lannon. “I really love going to work. It’s my dream job, and I’m living it.”