The Dance Athletics Studio building exterior — modern barn-style architecture in Clarksville, MD.
Our story

Built in Clarksville.
Built for dancers.

A boutique studio founded by two sisters who came home to teach the next generation of Howard County dancers.

2024 — present

Dance Athletics Studio opened in 2024 because our community — Clarksville and the dance families of Howard County — deserved more than a strip-mall option.

We grew up training in Maryland. We left to dance in DC, in college and on national stages. We came back because Clarksville is home, because our parents are here, because the kids who train at River Hill, Atholton, and the local elementary schools deserve world-class training in their own backyard.

Everything about this studio — the building, the floors, the curriculum, the small classes, the same teacher all year — is engineered around one belief: dance can change a life. We watched it change ours. We're here to do that for yours.

The founders
Kayla Clancy, Director of Dance Athletics Studio.

Kayla Clancy

Director · Founder

Maryland native. Trained classically through college, professionally in DC, and now back home directing the studio she always wished existed for kids in Clarksville.

  • B.F.A. Dance Performance & Choreography, Towson University
  • Named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch" — 2022
  • Member, Gridlock Dance — Washington, D.C. contemporary company
  • Co-coach, River Hill High School Poms Team
  • Former dance convention & competition manager
Gabby Clancy, Assistant Director of Dance Athletics Studio.

Gabby Clancy

Assistant Director · Founder

Maryland native. Captained Elon's first Division I Hip Hop National Championship team. Brings collegiate dance team and exercise-science expertise to the studio's youngest dancers and most ambitious teens alike.

  • B.S. Exercise Science (minors: Dance & Biology), Elon University
  • Sole captain — Elon Dance Team's first Division I Hip Hop National Championship
  • Two-time NDA (National Dance Alliance) All-American collegiate dancer
  • Co-coach, River Hill High School Poms Team
The space

A studio engineered for training.

Brand-new construction at 12161 Clarksville Pike — designed from scratch as a dance studio, not converted from anything else.

  • Sprung floors in every studio room
  • Full mirror walls and adjustable ballet barres
  • Natural light + acoustically tuned spaces
  • Lobby for parents, lounge for tweens, gear cubbies for everyone
  • On-site parking, easy carpool flow off Clarksville Pike
Five young students at the ballet barre inside the Dance Athletics Studio.
Mission
Artist

We grow artists by teaching real technique, real musicality, and real performance — never paint-by-number choreography.

Athlete

We grow athletes by treating dance as the high-performance discipline it is — strength, flexibility, conditioning, recovery, smart progression.

Individual

We grow individuals by helping every dancer learn what they're capable of — discipline, confidence, friendship, leadership.

Come see for yourself

Book a tour or a trial.

We'd love to show you the studio, introduce you to the staff and help you find the right class.

Get started