Along a busy stretch of Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley, between South Pines and Bowdish roads, the Spokane Elite Dance Studio is almost unmissable. The building's facade is painted an eye-popping lime green, and large front windows provide passersby a quick peek into the studio's well-decorated lobby.
Inside the building, Studio Director Maggie Kazemba and 20 other instructors dedicate their time to teaching kids ballet, hip-hop, lyrical, jazz and tap, ensuring that they become competent, well-rounded dancers. That care and dedication in youth dance education is likely why readers voted Spokane Elite Dance Studio as the region's top dance studio in the Inlander's 2025 Best Of contest.
"We pride ourselves in being a community that helps enhance the creativity and the confidence of kids through dance," Kazemba says. "Dance is our medium, but it's really just about that community element and about making these kids the best humans that they can be."
Although most of her time today is spent in the studio, Kazemba has dedicated herself to dance education in the Inland Northwest for close to two decades. She began teaching dance in high school and in 2008 began an eight-year tenure as the head coach of the Spokane Shock Dance Team.
Two years after opening Spokane Elite Dance Studio in 2010, Kazemba moved the studio to its current Spokane Valley location. Soon after that move, her 80-student studio quickly doubled in size. Now the space has close to 600 young dancers on its class rosters.
"These kids are not just numbers to me, I know the names of almost every single dance family here," she says. "I take pride in that, and think it is so important to me to know who these families are."
Not only does Kazemba know these families, she knows how to keep them engaged and excited about their kids' dance education. Each spring, Spokane Elite hosts an annual recital at the First Interstate Center for the Arts, where she aims to tell a story through her students. This year, students are defying gravity in a show inspired by Wicked and The Wizard of Oz on May 24.
"We want the kids to have the opportunity to be part of something that feels like a big production to them, and I go all out into making sure that it feels like a real performance," she says. "For the families it's more than just their kid up on stage, it's the entire production of it. So they feel invested from the beginning to end."
2nd PLACE: Spokane Ballet Studio
3rd PLACE: Sanctuary Dance Company, Pullman
