Business Profile: NY Dance Faktory, Cortlandt
Since she was four, Putnam Valley resident Cindy Hadjidion has been enthralled with dance.
She formerly performed professionally at such locations as Walt Disney World and Six Flags Great Adventure and at halftime at New York Giants games. Several years ago, she produced a Hip Hop instructional video for children titled “Funk Faktory.”
The New Jersey native has taught several forms of dance for two decades, but one thing she had not previously done was to own her own dance studio. On July 1 Hadjidion opened NY Dance Faktory in Cortlandt.
“Finally, I decided to open my own (studio),” she said last week. ”It’s in the midst of a lot of places that I’ve been teaching.”
Hadjidion also said she chose the Crompond Road location because it is near her home.
“This particular building just seemed like it was perfect for us,” she said. “The place was completely empty so we got to decorate from scratch. I wanted it to be adult and kid friendly, male and female. Everything is zebra print and reds.”
The NY Dance Faktory’s slogan is “Geared to move you.”
“We want to move you, both inspire you creatively and physically,” she said.
The studio features a wide range of dance and fitness classes, many of which are taught by Hadjidion. Classes are offered to those three years old to adults and beginner to professional. Some of the classes are ballet, tap, jazz, Hip Hop and, in the area of fitness classes, Zumba and cardio dance. The studio also has a youth competitive dance team and another youth team that only performs in Hip Hop contests.
Now is the right time for her to open her own dance studio, Hadjidion said. “I feel like this was the perfect time for me because I’m taking all of the years of experience that I’ve learned through not only dancing and learning, but also from teaching at so many places,” she said.
Her husband, Nick, who works in the health care field, is her “silent partner,” Hadjidion said. “He’s been a major supporter. He’s here every day.”
Though she enjoyed perfuming professionally for six years, Hadjidion said her real passion is teaching dance.
At her new studio, Hadjidion teaches “pretty much everything on the schedule”
“The knowledge and experience that I have with me now after two decades of teaching I feel completely at home running the business right now,” she said. “My first goal is that I want a place where the dancers can feel like they’re at home. I want them to learn dance. I want them to grow as a dancer.”
She added that she wants her dancers to bond, learn teamwork and be happy for the success of one another.
Hadjidion said she is not competitive with other local dance studio owners. “Dance studios are like pizza places. They open up on every block. They’re all getting customers. Why? Because the pizza’s good and because everybody goes there for a different reason,” she explained. “I want to create a positive atmosphere, even in a community. We’re all here doing the same thing, we’re trying to mold our kids into better dancers, better children and hopefully teach them to be happy for each other and push each other up.”
NY Dance Faktory is located at 2141 Crompond Rd, Suite 2, in Cortlandt. For more information call 914-930-1665 or visit nydancefaktory.com.
