Writer / Melissa Gibson
Growing up, Meaghan Molsberry attended Wayne Township schools, but her church, friends and community were located in Hendricks County. She remembers exploring Avon and attending events in the area, as well as the first Avon High School on U.S. 36 and the rapidly expanding community over the years.
However, most of her childhood and young adult life was spent inside the walls of a dance studio, and she loved every minute of it.
As an adult, Molsberry was working at a dance studio off 38th Street with plans to go to college and become a nurse when a chance opportunity popped up. A friend in the dance world called asking for her help at an Avon location.
“I started working with this dance teacher and fell in love with the studio, fell in love with the kids and it wasn’t planned. I guess I had always dreamed of potentially owning a studio of my own in the far-off future, but when she made an offer for me to buy the studio, it was like, God has a path for you. He puts you on it and you figure it out,” Molsberry said. “I knew that this was the right place, the right community, the right group of people and this was my calling.”
She’s owned Premier Academy of Performing Arts in Avon since 2014.
When asked what her favorite part of the job is, Molsberry said there’s not one person or one moment that comes to mind, rather, the experience as a whole.
“Sometimes they just touch you in an indescribable way. My kids do a paper in school and I’m the famous person they chose to write about. They come back after high school and think I won’t remember them but I do,” Molsberry said. “All these moments are wrapped up. Sometimes it’s tiring and exhausting but this is 100 percent what I’m meant to do and what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
At Premier Academy, all experiences, ages, backgrounds and abilities can find a home.
The studio offers ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical/modern contemporary, preschool, adult, competitive dance and Darby’s Dancers for young dancers with disabilities.
“Our adult program is thriving, our Darby’s Dancers is growing, there’s a thriving homeschool program and we work hard to make sure people have dance classes for all levels, ages and abilities,” Molsberry said.
They offer other classes outside of dance as well.
With the ever-growing success of high school bands in Hendricks County, Premier Academy offers twirling and baton instruction; they offer a Brownie Badge Bash for young participants to earn a dancer’s badge and more.
In addition, the first Premier Academy National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA) was launched over the summer, recognizing talented dancers, young leaders and their commitment to grow not only as dancers but as leaders within the studio and community.
Molsberry’s goal — to encourage creativity, inclusion, acceptance and a place to belong for everyone.
“We try to be as active in the community as possible. We’ll go to Ghosts and Goblins each year and other community events. We want to be more than a dance studio, we want to serve the community in a variety of ways,” Molsberry said.
Visit premieracademyofdance.com for more information.
