Parents and their daughters bustle into the lobby. One mother sits on the ground, her child’s pantyhosed leg outstretched in her lap as she wrestles on a ballet shoe. Another gathers her daughter’s blonde hair into a ponytail, slicked back and tied off with a bow in an attempt to tame the rogue strands in place.

On the other side of the room, a toddler streaks across the floor in a pink blur of tutu and glitter, shrill giggles trailing behind her. The space bursts with shrieks and leaps, energy rampant and waiting to be channeled into dance class. The studio owner, Lauren Crawford Reynolds, watches with a mix of resignation and affection as her students run inside Rapture Dance Company. As she sees these little dancers each week, they have grown to feel like her own children. 

“Rapture is a feeling of intense joy and bliss, and that is what I want our kids to feel when they dance,” Reynolds said. “I feel a lot of happiness watching my kids grow and succeed as they go across the floor and seeing things that maybe didn’t translate last week, but they’re starting to translate this week.”

Girls rush into class, hurling water bottles against the wall as they hurry toward the barre, glancing at the large mirrors that reflect their eager movements. Reynolds, along with her staff of 11, offers classes in a wide array of dance styles, including tap, jazz, ballet and contemporary.

Located in Cold Spring, the studio has a cozy atmosphere, complete with a kitchen area—perfect for long days when girls need to unwind between classes. For Reynolds, creating a space to foster creativity and growth was essential. Every detail is crafted for the students’ well-being, from cubbies for storing worn dance shoes to sprung floors for protecting joints.

“I wanted families to walk in and feel like they’re bringing their kids into a second home environment,” Reynolds said. “I want it to feel warm and inviting and somewhere that families come and sit and work on homework.”

Since childhood, Reynolds dreamed of opening a dance studio. She was intrigued by the idea of owning a business, something her family had done when they started their own insurance company. In 2015, she graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance and a minor in entrepreneurship. Taking all the lessons learned from her family and her time at NKU, she quickly got to work. 

A year later, she had successfully transformed a former funeral home into Rapture Dance Company, growing each year into the establishment it is today.

“I wanted to do something that I loved, but I also wanted to do something that was going to impact my community that I’ve lived in my whole life, which is how I ended up here,” Reynolds said. 

Now, Rapture is a community space that serves dancers of all ages, from toddlers taking their first wobbly steps to teenagers mastering competitive routines. In the lobby, parents can watch their children through one-way mirrors or a live broadcast of the class on television—a level of transparency Reynolds believes is crucial.

For those who choose a competitive path, Reynolds and her staff work hard to support the girls in their ambitions. For those who dance purely for the joy of it, she bolsters them as well. 

However, Reynolds aims to teach more than just technical skills. An integral attribute she hopes to instill in her students is self-confidence. 

“Of course, dance is an extracurricular activity, but if it becomes something like it did for me at such a young age, I want them to be able to grow and flourish with that in a way that they want to and knowing that they can take it and go with it in different avenues,” the artistic director said.

Chloe Stewart, a junior at Campbell County High School, has been dancing at Rapture for nine years and works as a teacher’s assistant. She leads warmups with the students, stretching and showcasing dance movements for the girls to imitate. Reviewing the basics and working alongside instructors like Reynolds has allowed Stewart to refine her skills even more.

“I wanted to relearn the foundations of dance while helping younger dancers,” Stewart said. “I have known Lauren for years, and I have adored every second spent with her. She has made sure Rapture is an amazing studio full of love and discipline.” 

For many students, the studio is more than a place to dance—it’s a family. Sophia Ramundo danced at Rapture for six years, filling the mirrored rooms with the clicks and clacks of tap heels or munching on mac and cheese with her friends between classes.

“I’ve taken a lot of the lessons that I’ve learned through dancing and that the teachers have taught us into normal life,” Ramundo said.

Now a student at the University of Cincinnati, Ramundo missed the sisterhood that came with a dance studio. It wasn’t until she entered a nursing program that she was able to find that bond again, but the memories of Rapture still influence what she does today. 

“I know how to collaborate with others more, which is something that’s very important in nursing and also life in general,” Ramundo said. “I know how to take corrections very well because you take corrections all the time in dance.”

After years of teaching, Reynolds watches as her students—once tiny dancers clutching the barre—graduate and move on, just as Ramundo did. Every year, seniors get to choreograph their own dance, a beautiful challenge that Reynolds relates to as a teacher who must constantly compose dances herself. 

“I always tell them, ‘Your piece will never be finished.’ You’re gonna always want to tweak it, develop it and keep it growing, because that is just art,” Reynolds said. “Just be okay with that.

Running a company has taught the owner of Rapture the importance of adaptability and growth. Just as her students refine their movements and choreographies, Reynolds navigates the unexpected with the graceful poise of a dancer.

“At the end of the day, I’m my own boss,” Reynolds said. “But it’s also very challenging because I’m also the person that everyone comes to when there’s something that needs to be fixed. You have to constantly be able to ebb and flow and be ready for whatever.”