Today we’d like to introduce you to Heidi Cowan.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The founder of Rise Up School of Dance, Alyssa Bertelsen Ruesch, won free ballet lessons at the age of 9. Her family could not afford for her to take ballet classes so she would not have been able to dance without these free classes. This planted a seed in the her heart, at 9 years old, to one day have a nonprofit dance studio where anyone who wanted to learn to dance could, no matter their life circumstances, socio-economic status, or body type. In 2015, she started knocking on doors in the neighborhood to tell kids that they could take free ballet classes on Saturday mornings in offices at their local church.
Ten years later, we have taught over 130 students, give out non competitive dance scholarships (about $72,000 was given in scholarships in 2025) and have created a safe environment where every student feels seen, known, and loved, and where all are seen as human first, dancer second. We also teach social emotional wellness to equip our younger students with what they need to live their lives confidently and make an impact in their communities.
The current Executive Director, Heidi Cowan, has been a part of RUSD since the beginning and has experience the RUSD community as a parent of students, a student herself, and as a board member since the very beginning. Alyssa stepped down in the fall of 2025 to focus on her growing family but still remains in the community as she now serves as a board member herself.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest is finances. 1/3 of our revenue comes from tuition. The rest is philanthropic giving and grants. As our studio has grown, so have our expenses. It’s also hard to get our name out there without a marketing budget.
Space has also been a challenge. Our studio is still in the same church and they have been wonderful, allowing us to use office spaces, then renting garages on the property that we turned into two studios, to now having remodeled offices in their building so that we now have 3 studios, a lobby for parents, and even a staff room for our teachers. We haven’t outgrown this space yet, but we’re definitely getting close!
Another obstacle was the pandemic… as I’m sure it was for everyone. RUSD did the best we could by providing zoom dance classes, and small, spaced, in-person classes. And we somehow made it through!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are the ONLY dance studio on the west side of Salt Lake City. We are also a nonprofit dance studio. One of the major things that sets us apart is how we strive to make sure that every person that walks through our doors feels seen, known, and loved. It is crucial to view each other as human first, dancer/teacher/parent/employee second. Life happens and it makes a huge difference to know that you have a safe place where you can come, be yourself, and do something that is good for your mind, body, and soul.
It’s important to us to provide quality dance classes and that’s why we have created our curriculum to follow ABT’s curriculum and have two teachers on staff who are ABT Certified. We are proud to say that we provide high love and high accountability. I’m very thankful that the rest of the ballet world is starting to see a shift in recognizing the importance of mental health, but I truly believe that RUSD lives it out on a daily basis.
What’s next?
We recently had a big change that included being able to perform Nutcracker in Kingsbury Hall! That was an experience that many of our dancers have never had before. It was a truly wonderful thing to see our dancers on that stage dancing their hearts out.
For the future, I would love to see Rise Up fully funded by donors and working with the community and other ballet/dance studios to really make a difference in the Salt Lake community by being able to continue to provide quality dances classes for all.
In my dream world, I would love to have a building where we can have studios with tall ceilings and space to open even more classes than what we already have. And who knows,,, maybe multiple locations across the Salt Lake valley.
Pricing:
- $10 provides 1 pair of ballet tights
- $25 provides dance wear for one student
- $50 helps fund class instruction, music licensing, & equipment
- Currently trying to get 1,000 people to give $15 a month to help cover costs to operate the school
Contact Info:
- Website: https://riseupschoolofdance.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riseupschoolofdance?igsh=MTU3anpnMHJuZ3EwYg==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Qvta9anwb/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rise-up-school-of-dance/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@riseupschoolofdance6703?si=ip6guHfPJGmqqwJr
