For as long as she can remember, Linda Johnstun has had a drive to dance. When she was 12, she was dancing six days a week. After many years of dance and a deep passion for the art, Johnstun decided to open a dance studio. Now, 48 years later, Linda Johnstun’s Dance studio is still going strong with teaching dance all ages.
Johnstun’s first studios were in Sunnyside and Green River. Now, she is located at 58 North Carbon Avenue, where she has been for 19 years. Throughout her many dedicated years of teaching, she has often been asked by her students when she is planning on retiring. “When my feet fall off,” she always answers.
Linda Johnstun’s School of Dance is and will always be a traditional school with ballet as the core. Johnstun learned dance with a focus on ballet from the Royal Academy of Dance and strives to constantly improve her base of knowledge in all aspects of dance and instruction. Kinesiology (the study of movement) has evolved over the decades and the school strives to keep up on the latest knowledge available to help students learn, grow and stay current.
There are currently 32 classes being taught ranging in age from three through adult at the dance studio. Johnstun strives to keep the cost reasonable for her students with discounts for multi-student families, shoe exchange and other services.
“My focus is on nurturing the girls and helping them learn respect for themselves through dance. I set the tone and it is also the quality of education that does as well,” she explained.
The school is also home to the Non-Stop Dance Company. Tryouts are held for those who are interested and the company contains three levels of dancers. These include the Junior Non-Stops, Non-Stops and Senior Non-Stops. This impressive company has performed in Nashville, Disneyland, on multiple cruise ships and at Utah Jazz games
.Johnstun wants to thank the community, students and parents for the opportunity to teach them the art of dance. “Through dance, I think I help raise the children who have chosen to be part of my studio and I love every one of them,” explained the dance teacher.
Johnstun is now teaching the grandchildren of some of her early students and feels honored that she can have kids who start dancing when they are as young as three years old. Then, she has the chance to work with them until they head off to college, to start families or to kick start a career.