What’s it like to motivate, inspire and teach dancers from competing high schools to become better versions of themselves? 

Rise Dance Arts & Company is a dance studio that used to be Limelight Dance Company in Wichita. Rise has several Maize and Maize South dancers who compete for the company year-round throughout the Midwest.

Owner Hydi Diaz wanted to start a dance company that would be a good space for dancers to learn and grow.

“It was my hope when I opened the studio that we would be able to create a space for our dancers to grow, not just through their dancing abilities, but as people,” said Diaz. “I think with that, we will create something special. A safe place for our dancers to learn, grow, make friendships and be successful.”

Since their start in 2020, she has built the Rise Dance Arts & Company from scratch, winning multiple awards for their dancing abilities nationally.

“The studio has won multiple coveted awards in our short time being open as an independent studio such as: the Al Gilbert Tap Technique Award for 2021 and 2022, Battle of the Stars finalists, lots of Choreography Awards, Judges Choice Awards, Top Studio Award, Grand Champion (highest scoring routine) at multiple competitions, Entertainment Awards, Studio Technique Awards, many scholarship and title winners and more!” said Diaz. “Most of our coaches coached at the Northwest YMCA before Rise. While with Limelight Dance Company, they won Starpower Nationals multiple times, won Choreographer of the Year, several Judges’ Choice Awards and many other prestigious titles.”

She has come a long way with her being a leader, focusing on individual performance and spending the time necessary with each of her dancers. This includes helping hundreds of local dancers grow and be more confident with themselves and dancing.

“That is my favorite part about coaching! I love seeing my dancers grow from year to year and become more confident in their abilities,” said Diaz.

Maize South dancer Ava Hoover couldn’t agree more with Diaz’s teaching abilities and how she’s improved her own dancing.

“I moved up front in my dances and made improvements in my dancing skills,” said Hoover. “I get compliments almost everyday now at dance because I practice all the time.”

At Rise, they believe that anyone could dance with a little bit of practice and the right attitude about getting better at their craft.

Diaz’s mentorship helps the dancers in a physical and mental way to motivate and inspire them to improve their dancing in multiple ways.

“There are lots of ways we motivate and inspire our dancers at Rise. We ensure that our dancers are taught by positive role models. That is where it all starts,” said Diaz. “We have wonderful instructors who take care in teaching our dancers. All of our instructors were dancers themselves and love sharing their passion with their students. Through their classes and rehearsals, our dancers continue to practice hard to reach goals set by their coaches or themselves as athletes.”