Dancing Family Runs Starbound Dance Company

Robyn Ferrell's mother, Donna Autry, had been teaching dance for more than 25 years when she and her daughter decided to open their own studio.

“We all do a little bit,” Ferrell said of the family-run business, , which opened 10 years ago in High Ridge.  

Robyn and her sister Kim Autry both teach at the studio, while their mom runs the desk and their dad Jim Ferrell handles the finances.  Robyn’s husband Gregg Ferrell is a photographer who pitches in by taking recital photos.

Starbound offers all forms of dance: tap, ballet, jazz, pointe, acrobatic and hip-hop. Kim specializes in ballet, while Robyn, a former professional cheerleader and Muny dancer, does a little bit of everything.

Starbound has classes six evenings a week and will soon be adding PiYo and Turbo Kick exercise classes for adults. Robyn joked that dancer’s parents have suggested adding a nail salon, but they’re also excited about the exercise classes being offered and eager to join in the fun.

The studio’s program is designed to hone a dancer’s skill over the course of a year, then toward summer, the best dancers are invited to join a dance line to compete. The dance lines are arranged by age and skill.

“Competition has different categories,” Donna explained. Dancers can compete in styles like musical theater, song and dance, jazz or tap. “A lot of it is about what they’re best at.”

“We do four regular competitions around the area,” said Robyn. She said her dancers have gone as far as Disney World and New York to compete, but lately, they’ve been staying closer to home to keep costs down. She said they do fundraisers each year to defray the expense of classes, costumes and travel.

Starbound’s building, once an indoor archery range, has a roomy lobby for parents to wait during classes. Each of the three studios have closed-circuit TV so parents can watch their kids practice without getting in the way. Robyn said the TVs set her studio apart; many dance classes don’t allow parents to observe.