Mother, daughter duo share passion for Pinellas Studio of Dance: ‘A second home’

For more than 25 years, a mother and daughter have spent countless hours at the Pinellas Studio of Dance. 

"When I started dance is when she became involved with the studio," Larissa Loren Walker Haynes said. "I was dancing here until I was 18."

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Lisa Walker, a co-owner of the studio since 2016, remembered her daughter being too young to take classes. She begged Wendy Selleck, the long-time owner and current co-owner, to let Larissa just attend the class. 

Pictured: Larissa Loren Walker Haynes and Lisa Walker. 

After the class, Selleck pulled Walker aside and simply said "I’ll see her next week" – The rest is history. 

"It’s become a second home to me," Walker Haynes said. "Did I ever imagine that she would own a studio and I would teach for her? Absolutely not. Just because it was, you know, she was just a backstage mom. She was there to take care of me and take care of my friends, and it never clicked until I moved away to college, and she said 'hey I'm taking over the studio.'"

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During college and after graduation, Walker Haynes danced professionally overseas, but she missed home. She said she always knew she would come back and teach one day. She’s now been teaching at the studio for nine years. 

"Just something about it, there's no such thing as perfection. There's something to strive for. There's always a way to improve and get better," Walker Haynes said. "I think that that's really exciting, just knowing that there's always somewhere to improve, and there's always somewhere I can help a student improve. It's really inspiring."

Walker Haynes currently teaches 19 classes. While there are ups and downs to working with family, the pair cherish the time they get to spend together. 

"Sometimes I think, you know, did this really happen," Lisa Walker said. "You’re kind of in awe of what your children can do. We just gave a small child what she wanted at the time and continued to give her that as she grew up. Now, she gives back to us by performing and teaching." 

Pictured: Larissa Loren Walker Haynes and Lisa Walker. 

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For Walker Haynes, the adjustment from student to teacher is always a learning experience, but she pulls from her experience taking these same classes as she teaches her students. 

"Looking at the big picture and just knowing that I can tell my students that I started here, and I went all the way through this program, and I've done all of these cool things," Walker Haynes said. "It's nice to be able to tell my students that you can start somewhere small and still do big things." 

For more information on the dance studio, visit www.pinellasstudioofdance.com.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered through interviews with Lisa Walker and Larissa Loren Walker Haynes. 

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