My daughter and I came to watch the Ritmos showcase 3 years ago…to see what Ritmos was all about. After watching all the dancers in their costumes and girls in their heels that night my daughter said she wanted to do this! She wanted to be here, with these kids, she wanted to work with Massy and Dave…Living 45 minutes out from the studio, working a full time job as a nurse and having two other kids…it was going to be a huge challenge for us…needless to say 3 years later we have been doing this every week, we made it happen and made it work! I can honestly say it was the best decision we ever committed to for our girl.

I remember her first class like it was yesterday…She was so nervous about starting something so new and different at 13…she was scared that she was older and the other girls had been doing it longer, and she wouldn’t be able to catch up, or they had already had friendships and she wouldn’t fit in. I honestly thought her first class would be her last…an hour and a half later and she was so happy, talking about how the other dancers were so welcoming to her and how she loved Massy and Dave and that she had so much fun and couldn’t wait until next week….Fast forward 3 years later and she calls Ritmos her “Dance Family”! Some of these girls have become her very best friends, on top of that she has met some of the most respectful and wonderful young men I have ever came across in my life! As a parent it makes me so happy for her and grateful for this opportunity she was given.

Over the past few years the team has traveled to Boston and to other local venues performing at times in front of thousands, these kids have developed such strong bonds and have made so many memories together, they have gone to birthday parties and movies and just tonight she said, “Mom, I absolutely love the new girls this year! They are so great!” So this tells me the culture and the morale Massy and Dave instills in the studio has not changed from when she started years back. The sacrifice we made as parents was well worth all the nights she has spent in the studio…The steps she has learned and the technique is unreal, I am blown away at how far she has come, I still cry every winter and spring show! I have no words to describe Massy and Dave….other than truly amazing, they treat these kids as if they were their own and you can see it in their faces that they love what they do. Ritmos has brought my daughters confidence to another level and made her fall in love with something so special. I will be so sad when there are no more showcases for me to come and watch, and I will miss our late night dance dinners in the car after she goes off to college next year. But I will never regret taking that 45 minute ride to the studio each week for my kid, because I know that when she moves on….all the life lessons and love that Massy and Dave have taught her she will have close to her heart forever and she will be able to look back and be thankful for all of these moments.