When Kristi Mosbey’s professional dance career brought her to Chicago, she performed with various companies across the city. While she knew a performance career wouldn’t last forever, she hadn’t anticipated staying in the dance world, especially as a teacher.
Needing extra income while preparing for grad school, Kristi began a dance program in Chicago’s Kenwood community. She rented yoga studios and church spaces for her first classes, which consisted of only a few students. She soon caught the interest of the broader South Side community, and her class sizes grew from nine students at the start of the first season to ending the season with sixty-two students.
“I think fear was why I didn’t go for something like this to begin with because I thought, it’s gonna fail,” shared Kristi. “But then once they started coming, I was like, I can actually do this. I can do this.”
In 2011, Kristi opened Kenwood School of Dance. The school is an inclusive space with programs for kids of all ages at all dance levels. Though formal scholarships aren’t offered, the school supports students in need, with clear expectations around commitment, professionalism, and academics to show that opportunity comes with accountability and care.
Business remained steady until the 2020 pandemic shuttered the school. As a recipient of a Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund loan, a program that A4CB administered, Kristi used the funds to cover payroll and rent for her facilities. When they were temporarily closed, the dance school creative team came together to offer free online classes. In 2021, Kristi participated and graduated from A4CB’s Neighborhood Entrepreneurship Lab (NEL), a 3-month cohort-based accelerator program that pairs community business owners with strategists and advisors who provide intensive support for a business growth initiative. Each entrepreneur also receives a $20,000 grant to help execute their growth plan.
Upon completion of NEL, Kristi used her NEL grant to fund the company’s first formal marketing campaign, which included professional photoshoots, banners strung throughout Hyde Park, and essential updates for her website and social media.
“And bam – everyone started calling me,” Kristi said. “I’m like eight to nine years in business and they’re like, I never knew you existed. And you’re right here in the community.”
Kristi now employs nine teachers and has stepped back as Artistic Director to give an opportunity to another dedicated member of her team to fill this role.
Offering classes from ballet to hip hop, the school recently acquired a certification to teach aerial arts. As the curriculum continues to expand, accommodating Kristi’s growing student body has been a challenge.
Despite operating out of two locations now, Kenwood School of Dance has outgrown this space and continues to add kids to the waitlist.
While Kristi continues to look for a new location on Chicago’s South Side, her students’ well-being remains a priority. To make her current location more comfortable, Kristi received a revenue-based finance loan from A4CB in 2024 to pay for electrical updates and the installation of air conditioning. It also covered new aerial and acrobatics equipment, along with additional teacher certifications, enhancing the learning experience for her students.
As Kristi plans for growth, she continues to work toward her vision of creating a thriving school that certifies more teachers and expands its programming to reach even more kids on the South Side of Chicago.
