Romeoville The 2025–2026 season is upon us, and my heart is so full of joy and hope for the future of our beloved Studio. After much prayer and deliberation, I have discerned that it is time for me to retire.
God led me to open Joyful Dance Studio in 2009 when my daughters were only two and four. The dance studio has been a ministry where children have come for years to find laughter, friendship, creativity, fun and learning. We truly do put our faith into action when we praise Him with the gifts He has given us and in our case, that’s dancing!
During the lockdown era, I watched as so many of my fellow studio owners close their doors for good and I thanked God every day for the ability to adapt and push forward and stay open so the kids could keep dancing. It was well worth it but if I’m honest, I know I paid a high price with my health and the stress of it all. Those health struggles have continued and although I realize I’m not in my 90’s, I’m also no spring chicken.
Your children deserve to have a wonderful, energetic, lively experience that this current body of mine can not give them. With that being said, I am very pleased to announce the future of Joyful Dance Studio!
As of July 11, 2025 the new owner of Joyful Dance Studio is Hadlee Willy. I couldn’t be more confident or more at peace with this decision. Hadlee has been my student since she was 2, she has been trained as a classroom assistant, a student co-teacher, and an independent student teacher. Her mom Amy has been my accounting assistant for many many years and she knows exactly how I do things and has made things a million times better just by being her and doing what she does. Ms. Brandi, will also stay in place just as she has been, teaching Littles and running the front office in her fabulous way.
Brandi and Amy (and Hadlee) have already been helping me run the studio these last couple of years so that I could step back to focus on my health so the only change is that my name will not be on the paperwork, the mail will now go to Hadlee’s address.
Next week, the whole team including me and Ms. Toni are going to Las Vegas to a dance teacher convention! Personally, I am so excited to see Hadlee step into this new chapter and see what God has planned for her to do with the studio! I will always be available to her and the team forevermore to assist with the transition or answer questions down the road.
Thank you to every single family that has walked through the doors, every child that has stepped foot on the floor, every little adorable face to kiss themselves in the mirror, every little foot I helped slip on a shoe. Thank you to every parent who helped behind the scenes, all the women who stepped up to teach when it was out of your comfort zone, all the dance dads and prop dads through the years, my former office helpers were the best and so sweet. So many people have helped make our studio what it is today.
Thank you to my sweet mom for being my number one fan for 31 years of dancing. But mostly, thank you to my husband for being by my side through thick and thin, for cooking dinner all those nights I was in class, for working all day and then holding down the fort without complaint, I love you and I tell our girls all the time, “find someone who will love you like your dad loves me”. I know you will always be for me no matter what God has me up to next.
No matter what I will always be JOYFUL that this dance studio will forever be a part of me and I’ll never stop praising His name with dancing!
Joyfully,
Shana Hartley