We opened for business as STEPS Dance Academy in 2002 with a little money and a lot of big plans. Mandy Mangum of Deer Park had been involved with dance for over 20 years as a student, performer and teacher. She married me, Todd Baker, in 2001 and together we began working toward our goal of total world domination....oh, and starting a studio, too!

Many late nights were spent trying to deciding how we would diferentiate ourselves from the many studios in the Houston area. Between my experience in the brokerage industry and Mandy's dance instruction background, we knew that servicing our clients and students should be our number one priority. We found a space right next to Shipley's (yes..we gained a few pounds because of this) and began sinking every penny we had into providing a valuable service to the community and a business that we could feel proud of.

So here we are 8 years later with a few changes; from STEPS Dance Academy to STEPS Performing Arts Center; from our old-school pink ballet shoe logo and lyre to the sleek black ballet shoe and edgy lyre; from 2,800 square feet and one studio to over 8,000 square feet and 5 studios; from 28 students to over 350. It has definitly been a strange and wonderful ride. Our goal is to continue to improve our services and facility to better serve our clients.

We truly have a great group of students and parents at the studio. We hope that message has been made clear to them and will continue to be clear. We are in the people business, after all, and we love every minute of it.