Nicole Oxendine fosters inclusivity, confidence and opportunities for young dancers in Durham at Empower Dance
By Anna-Rhesa Versola | Photo by John Michael Simpson
Nicole Oxendine founded Empower Dance Studio in 2015, the same year that Misty Copeland became the first Black prima ballerina for the American Ballet Theatre in New York City.
Nicole understands what it takes to succeed as a dancer and as an entrepreneur. “Coming from a ballet perspective, with barriers to access and body image – where you’re looking at yourself in the mirror and, especially if you’re in any way different, that can be extremely highlighted – that is a core reason why Empower was created, because I experienced that as a dancer,” Nicole says.
She opened her first studio on Parrish Street while teaching dance at Hillside High School and at North Carolina Central University. During the pandemic, she flexed her creativity to grow online and doubled her physical space to 3,000 square feet on Market Street. This year, in May, her company moved into 9,000 square feet of space at the Golden Belt Campus.
Empower offers a variety of dance forms with foundations in ballet, including modern, jazz, tap, contemporary, acro and lyrical. Four separate studios provide dedicated spaces for the youngest dancers, rehearsals, formal ballet training with room for a baby grand piano and a professional-level space where Nicole can offer master classes, like a recent lesson by a member of “The Lion King” cast.
“We’re really close [to the Durham Performing Arts Center],” Nicole says. “Why not host a class where you can invite the [Empower] dancers and they can learn about the industry of dance from someone who’s actually doing what they might want to do if they want to dance on Broadway?”
Nicole and her team want to provide more opportunities for students to experience that world. A dance recital in June was held at the Carolina Theatre, and ticket sales benefited Empower Dance Foundation, which works to make dance classes financially accessible for all students. The nonprofit was formed in 2017, Nicole says, with the goal of eliminating barriers – including economic inequality, inherent racism and a lack of representation – for children who wish to pursue their interest in dance and performance. The emergence of professional dancers like Misty Copeland has inspired children of color to see a dance career as a possibility for themselves. Empower Dance Foundation is able to offer financial aid, including tuition scholarships, thanks to support from local businesses, organizations and individuals. Private donations help support the boys dance program, summer intensives, community outreach and a leadership academy.
In the Beginning
Nicole first started dancing at age 11 through a liturgical dance ministry at Life International church. “I was studying ballet, but we were doing gospel music or Christian music at the barre,” she says, adding that the program director was adamant about proper technique. “Yes, you have to have the feeling and the emotion in the movement, but also know the placement of the arms and understand what the technique is.”
By the time Nicole was dancing at Hillside High, her heart was set on following her feet to Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. “If you know anything about Hollins dance, it’s a big deal in the dance world,” she says. It’s where she trained under Donna Faye [Burchfield], who served as dean of the American Dance Festival from 2000 to 2010.
ADF opened a whole new world for Nicole in high school and college. She worked in the administrative offices as an intern. She took classes with professional dancers. She saw top-tier performances before DPAC was built. After graduating with a bachelor’s in dance and psychology, Nicole returned to Durham and visited her high school dance teacher, who asked, “You want to come teach here?” Nicole responded, “OK, I’ll do it for a year.”
Fifteen years later, Nicole was still teaching and ended up writing the dance curriculum for Durham Public Schools. She carved out three years to pursue a master’s degree in dance therapy and counseling from Columbia College Chicago and felt better equipped to help her students when she resumed teaching at Hillside in 2012.
On Reflection
“We’re all carrying things in our body,” Nicole says, and that reveals insecurities and self-esteem. “How can we move to not carry this tension? What if I were to lift, stand, engage and reach out? Before you dance, before you reach out to connect with [an audience], you have to ground yourself in this space.”
Nicole says she wishes she had an Empower when she was growing up. “I didn’t see any dance companies that represented me, and I was like, I won’t be a professional dancer because I don’t see anybody who looks like me,” she says. “If I just had that confidence boost; if I just had that someone… I look back, and I’m like, ‘I wasn’t a bad dancer.’ I thought I was a bad dancer, because that was the mentality that I had.”
She remembers the pressure she felt to be exceptional. “Ballet technique has to be astounding in spaces where I might be the only one in the classroom,” she says. “So that was very hard. I quit dance for a while. I wasn’t getting selected to be in pieces, because I didn’t quite fit. What did that do for my self-esteem?”
For that reason, Nicole says she remains committed to the emotional and physical well-being of her students and to providing opportunities for young dancers to see themselves reflected in the community and in their chosen career paths.
“I never thought I’d be a dance studio owner,” she admits. “That wasn’t in my life’s five-year or 10-year plan, because I never saw that that was something I could do. It’s so important for this next generation of children of all backgrounds to see that you can actually have a career in this, and it can look like whatever you want it to look like. Some of my students have started their own studio, and they work in different studios. I love these kids, and take care of them as my own.”
