Dominique's Studio marks quarter century

Berwick resident Dominique Besse Thomas was supposed to be a florist.
While dance had always been a part of her life and she had extensive training, she just didn’t see how she could make it work as a full-time job.
“In 1995, I went to floral school and moved back home to open a flower shop,” she said Monday. “Dance was always my side gig or hustle. I’d give private dance or cheer lessons for many around the South and never really thought I could profit from teaching dance and fitness. So my plan was to open a flower shop, use my floral degree and teach dance/cheer on the weekends.”
A meeting with her cousin, Victor Cutrone, who was visiting from New York City, changed all of that.
Her cousin showed her how she could make more money quicker as a dance studio owner than in the floral industry.
Fast forward to 2020, and she now is celebrating her 25th anniversary as owner of Dominique’s Studio of Dance.
“Saying that I am celebrating 25 years in our area is baffling,” said Thomas, who actually has been teaching dance for 28 years total. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but I guess it has. … The 25 years that I have been teaching in St. Mary Parish have been so fulfilling and rewarding. I have met some great students and families, and we’ve become one big dance family.”
During her early years in business, Thomas had six teams that traveled to competitions.
However, the birth of her two sons made her realize that she had to slow down a bit and stop competitions. Hurricane Katrina also played a role because for a while, competitions were held further away for the type of competitions they were seeking.
In turn, she decided to focus on “deepening the connection with my students and their families by offering smaller class sizes and expanding my lesson plans into other forms of dance,” just as she had learned during summer lessons at Giacobbe School of Dance in New Orleans, which is now known as Delta Festival Ballet.
While she said dancing hasn’t changed much, she said that people have.
“People want instant gratification and want to be the best right away,” Thomas said. “Dance doesn’t work like that. You still need to practice and be disciplined.
“No matter what, you still need the basics: ballet. Even if you want to only do tap or hip hop, you still need ballet. Many people don’t take the time to realize that because our world moves so fast and dance videos are popular now, but once you take a true dance class, in person, you realize that ballet terminology is needed even to do jazz or hip hop.”
In addition to dance lessons, Thomas also offers fitness instruction.
To help her out, she has hired help, including former students. Her staff is as follows: Stephanie Guidry Stanley, Alisande Fach, Kimmy Guarisco, Toni Berthelot Fontenot, Kohorhee Johnson, Dylan Robinson, Sharon Hayes and Grace Guarisco. All are former students except for Hayes and Guarisco. Guarisco was one of multiple teachers she has learned from throughout her career.
As for her other former students, many have turned their love for the arts into a career.
“The most rewarding part of this job is receiving texts or phone calls from them thanking me for helping them follow their dream. … I’m very proud of each and every student that I have ever taught,” Thomas said. “They are like my very own children and seeing them grow into productive adults is a reward like no other.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school has had to put its 25th production, which was set for May 9, on hold. Thomas said she had 6.5 weeks left of lessons for her show at the time in-person activities were halted.
She has multiple scenarios set up depending on what she is allowed to do.
“Just like with a live stage production, you never know what’s going to happen, so I guess I’m prepared in that department,” Thomas said.
Thomas has had experience with postponing a show as she had to before when the National Guard were stationed at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium during a high-water event.
“The biggest issue isn’t the kids remembering their routines,” Thomas said. “It isn’t putting the production numbers together. It’s making sure their costumes fit after 2-6 months of growing! Luckily, I planned ahead and all costume work was completed before the virus. Now it’s praying that they still fit in August or October.”