How Getting Fired Led Slava Visnakovs, A Latvian Millennial Formed His Own Company In Pursuit Of The American Dream
Interviewed By Maryan Aiken
“My wife and I were unexpectedly fired from our previous jobs and faced the tough decision of whether to return home to Latvia as failures or to pursue the American dream.” Slava Visnakovs. Founder & CEO
Name: Slava Visnakovs
Official Title: CEO/ Head Dance Coach
University: Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy
Major: Dance Teacher & Choreographer
Company Name: Dancing Like A Star
Company Established: 2019
Number of Employees: 6
Company Address: 4120 Chattahoochee Trace, Duluth, GA 30097
Company Phone Number: 404-740-3513
Website: dancing-likeastar.com
Social Media Handles: IG: dancing.likeastar. FB: Dancing Like A Star Academy
Charity Involvement: Gift Wrapping Stars, Dancing Stars of Atlanta for Alzheimer’s Association
Location: Atlanta, GA
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COMPANY OVERVIEW
Dancing Like A Star DanceSport Academy is an elite Metro Atlanta-based ballroom dancing and DanceSport Academy. We offer individual and group classes for kids and adults regardless of their initial dancing skills. The company was launched in 2019 by world-class professional dancers, coaches, and choreographers.
With over 30 years of experience combined as successful competitive dancers, ballroom dancing instructors, DanceSport choreographers, and event organizers Dancing Like A Star Academy team are ready to serve dancing enthusiasts in the Metro Atlanta area.
Dancing Like A Star DanceSport Academy’s vision is to become the leading ballroom dancing and DanceSport educational center in Atlanta by providing different types of dance programs for all occasions in different difficulty levels and all age groups. Our team of professional dancers believes that dancing changes your lives in a better way. Dancing brings inspiration and a feeling of fulfillment.
At Dancing Like A Star DanceSport Academy, we will teach you how to awake the awareness of the body while start loving your unique self. Through the beauty of ballroom dancing and DanceSport classes, we will show you how to explore the limits of both physical and mental possibilities, while achieving artistic and creative goals. Lastly, you will learn how to let go of the unrealistic perfectionism in life and express yourself with the language of the body movement.
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ABOUT SLAVA
Slava was born in Latvia where he started dancing at the age of 7. During his dance career, he was taught by the World’s best and most respected dance teachers such as Colin James, Klaus Kongsdal, Brian Watson, and many others. Under their guidance, he became the three-time Latvian Champion, Blackpool Dance Festival Champion, Two Times Winner of German Open Championships, and prize winner of countless international and U.S. ballroom dance tournaments.
In 2014 Slava has graduated from RPIVA with Bachelor’s degree in Dance Pedagogics. During his study years, he has mastered the world’s top dancing styles that he now successfully incorporates into his teaching methods. Some of them include ballet, modern and contemporary dance, jazz, and folk dances.
Since 2013 Slava has raised several Latvian National champions and medalists in all age categories. He has also led finalists of the European Youth Championship and Junior 2 World Championship. As a result of all these coaching accomplishments, Slava became a highly demanded dance teacher in the Baltics with students from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Byelorussia, and Poland.
Since 2019 Slava lives in the USA where he is an active member of the National Dance Council of America. He is a Certified Professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer who leads the new generation of champions at Dancing Like A Star Academy.
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Q: What’s your company's service/product offerings?
Dancing Like A Star Academy provides world-class dance instruction in an environment that is as welcoming as it is stunning by always making it a priority to have fun and achieve our students’ goals and desires. We pride ourselves on creating an exciting one-of-a-kind dance sport program designed to nurture a child’s self-esteem, performance skills, creativity, and self-expression. We offer a variety of fun dance classes for adults as a hobby after a workday or weekends, and parties to be enjoyed, which provide a wonderful opportunity for socializing with diverse groups of people from all walks of life. Our company’s trademark has become a personalized “Dancing With The Stars” program where anyone can learn to dance very rapidly partnered with one of our teachers and enjoy the thrill of shows and competitions, traveling around the world, having great fun, and joy while expressing themselves on the dance floor.
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Q: How did the idea for your business come about?
The idea to launch Dancing Like A Star company came about out of a sense of determination and resilience. My wife and I were unexpectedly fired from our previous jobs and faced the tough decision of whether to return home to Latvia as failures or to pursue the American dream. We ultimately chose the latter and have worked really hard. It has been a challenging but rewarding journey, and we are proud of what we have built so far.
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Q: What qualifies you to be a professional dancer or a competitor dancer?
A person who is a professional ballroom dancer is likely someone who is skilled, graceful, and confident on the dance floor. They may have a strong sense of rhythm and musicality, and they may be able to execute complex dance steps and movements effortlessly. It’s definitely a charismatic person with a strong energy and stage presence, who can captivate an audience with their performance and artistically and creatively move people’s hearts. I am sure everyone can be a competitive dancer, but not everyone can be a dancer-artist.
Q: How long have you been teaching as a dance instructor?
I have been teaching since I was 16 years old, and I have several chapters throughout my teaching career. Firstly, I was teaching just to support my own professional career. Then I became a coach who was focused on raising champions and students with great achievements and results. Currently, my primary goal as a dance instructor is to help people find personal fulfillment and sense of achievement throughout dancing.
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Q: What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
One of my key driving forces to become an entrepreneur is my desire to create opportunities and be in control of my own life. As a dancer, I have spent most of my conscious life performing and entertaining others. While I have enjoyed this work, I have always felt a strong desire to take on a more proactive role in the creative process. Becoming an entrepreneur allows me to take ownership of my own projects and ideas, and to have the freedom to shape my own future. It also brings me a sense of satisfaction knowing that I am able to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.
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Q: Lessons that you’ve learned that shifted your mindset to optimize how to practice your leadership/business?
One of the key lessons that has helped me optimize my leadership and business skills is the importance of effective communication. When I first arrived in the USA, I was already a seasoned professional in my field, but I struggled to grow my business until I learned how to effectively communicate with both existing and potential clients. I realized that I needed to shift my mindset from being hesitant to "sell" my services to being proactive in understanding and meeting the needs and desires of each individual client. This shift in mindset allowed me to better serve my clients and ultimately drive the success of my business.
Q: How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
To market our business, we use a combination of tactics, including social media marketing, email marketing, and event marketing. We also started to collaborate with local businesses and organizations to host dance workshops and classes, which helps to increase brand awareness and reach a wider audience. One of the most successful tactics we have used is creating engaging and visually appealing content for our social media platforms. We regularly post videos and photos of our dance classes and events, and make sure to include testimonials and 5-star reviews from our students. This helps to showcase the positive impact our dance lessons have had on their lives and encourages others to try our classes. Overall, we position ourselves as a boutique dance studio, so our marketing efforts focus on highlighting the unique and transformative experience that our dance lessons offer and leveraging the power of word-of-mouth and social media to reach and engage with potential clients.
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Q: What are the benefits of taking dance lessons for adults and children?
What makes it special is that ballroom dance is very inclusive and accessible for learning absolutely for everyone, providing a variety of physical, social, and personal benefits. For adults, taking dance lessons can be a great way to exercise, relieve stress, and meet new people. While other dance genres might require special physical conditioning and professional commitment, ballroom dancing can become a fun hobby which you can start at any age. It improves cognitive function, boost confidence, and reduce stress and anxiety. For artistic people it can become an amazing creative outlet and way to express deep feelings and emotions. For children, dance lessons can help them develop coordination, control, and musicality, as well as important life skills such as teamwork, discipline, and self-presentation. Dance can also be a great way for kids to express themselves creatively and build confidence. Overall, dance lessons offer a unique and enjoyable way for both adults and children to improve their physical and mental well-being.
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Q:What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
The freedom and possibilities. Being able to wake up with my daughter or to support my family when they need help. I love that every day I am one call away, one connection away, one meeting away from changing my life or someone else’s. Seeing your friends in business WIN because I know my effort had something to do with that. Plus there are millions out there for us to go get and that is my intention to be the example of success. Not just money but to have the health, family, friends, and influence to reach the masses.
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Q: What’s been the most memorable client that your company has served and explain why?
It was around two years ago, as many of us, I had post-lockdown anxiety, and struggled to find a more meaningful purpose in my professional career, besides teaching people how to dance. I got a boy in a wheelchair in my dance class. Despite his physical limitations he was incredibly engaged and enthusiastic about learning to dance. We had never worked with a disabled student before, but I felt a strong desire to help him. So, I spontaneously offered to work with him one-on-one and prepare a show dance for our studio event. The end result was truly amazing. The performance received a standing ovation and there were tears of joy and emotion in the room. It was a powerful moment for me, as I realized the impact that our dance classes can have on people's lives. Not only did we help this young boy achieve his dreams, but we also touched the hearts of everyone in the audience. This experience inspired us to expand our offerings and provide more dance therapy programs for people with disabilities, such as Alzheimer's disease, or other physical or mental challenges. This one client truly changed our vision and helped us see the potential for our work to make a real difference in people's lives.
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DANCING LIKE A STAR
Let us help to take your first dancing step, and we promise you will be mesmerized. Become the star of your own story of success
4120 Chattahoochee Trace, Duluth, GA 30097
404-740-3513
Instagram: dancing.likeastar. Facebook: Dancing Like A Star Academy
Q: What projects are you working on this year that you’re most excited about?
There are a few ones worth mentioning. Firstly, it’s a dance therapy program focused on people who use wheelchairs. We want to redefine the boundaries of ballroom dance and give back to the community by bringing together disabled and non-disabled people through performance, movement, and dance education.
Secondly, I am excited to finally put together this year a “cabaret” dance production and present this show for corporate and private events, as well as find a partner who could help us to organize a unique dinner-dance experience in Atlanta.
Q: What is your ultimate vision for your company?
Ultimately, I want Dancing Like A Star to become a universal dance academy, the biggest dance center in the Southeastern States of America offering various dance programs in different dance styles and genres. Let’s call it a “dance home” where everyone could find a safe and inspiring place to evolve, grow, learn, and express themselves. We will definitely either collaborate or launch our own non-profit in order to actualize charity projects and ideas we have in mind.
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Q: What do you enjoy most about your profession?
One of the things I enjoy most about my profession as a dance instructor is the opportunity to be creative and connect with people on a daily basis. No two days are the same, and it is incredibly rewarding to see my students succeed and reach their goals. As a coach, I am able to inspire and support my students, even when they may not believe in themselves. It is a unique challenge to create a vision for each student and then work towards bringing it to fruition. I believe that dance instruction is one of the few professions that cannot be easily replaced by artificial intelligence in the future, as it requires a human touch and connection, as well as creativity and skill.
Q: What business-related book has inspired you the most?
The most inspiring and influential for me so far were “Selling Boldly”, “How to Win Friends & Influence People”, “Think and Grow Rich”.
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