Exploring Life and Business with Aleah Durkee and Abel Layug of Facility Dance Alumni

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aleah Durkee and Abel Layug.

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?
We started out as dancers at The Facility Dance Studio back in 2018. We rapidly became more involved with the studio and took on more responsibilities and projects. When the pandemic hit, we kept going and never stopped finding safe ways to continue dancing. We had online classes, and we were one of the first studios in San Diego to offer outdoor classes.

By the end of 2020, the original owners of the studio decided to take a break from the business and focus more on their families. We did not want to see the community we had built die out, so with the owners’ blessing, we continued on and created Facility Dance Alumni. We kept a majority of our original instructors, created a new website and logo, revamped our social media, and invested in high-quality equipment for outdoor classes. When California allowed us to operate back indoors, we found a great studio to rent out space – Dance Headquarters. Our main focus when moving back indoors was the safety of our teachers and students. The studio has HEPA-filter air conditioning, is very spacious, and is always thoroughly cleaned. We have had a lot of success with Facility Dance Alumni. Our classes are doing great, we have had workshops with big names in the dance industry such as Nicole Kirkland and Aubrey Fisher, we recently had a performance, we added a monthly open floor for the bboy/bgirl community, and we have a lot more ideas and projects in the works.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We’ve ran into our fair share of obstacles along the way. Adapting to all of the changing rules and policies around COVID-19 has definitely been our biggest struggle to this day. Dancing outdoors was also a bit of a challenge with dancing on the grass and concrete and dealing with the unpredictable weather. When we first started outdoor classes, we had a small speaker and no lights. When it got dark, we would use our car headlights. We eventually upgraded to a high-quality speaker and professional lights, which helped a lot. Another struggle is that there are only two of us running everything. But we are both very hard-working, committed, passionate people who always get the job done no matter what.

We’ve been impressed with Facility Dance Alumni, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are known for having great, amazing dance classes for both adults and children. We are a community and a family. We welcome anyone and everyone, no matter your skill level. This is a place where you can come and feel comfortable, welcome, free to express yourself and learn and grow from a supportive group of people. We are very proud of the brand and community we have created. We offer multiple different styles of dance for all levels throughout the week – Hip Hop, Burlesque, Jazz Funk, Contemporary, Heels, Open Floor. Our instructors are all very talented, kind, humble individuals who love what they do. If anyone is interested in taking classes, they can find more information on our website – facilitydancealumni.godaddysites.com – and social media @facilitydancealumni on Instagram and Facebook.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
We hope to have our own studio space again that we can call our home. We want to add more classes and instructors. We want to add more styles and a variety of dance. We want to continue to put out more content on our social media platforms. And all in all, continue to grow our community and provide everyone with a home to dance.

Contact Info:

• Email: facilitydancealumni@gmail.com
• Website: facilitydancealumni.godaddysites.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/facilitydancealumni/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/facilitydancealumni

Image Credits:
Matt Nugent Jamil Jones/All Day Dolo