TULSA, Okla. — The owners of the Hurd Family Studio is determined to keep dancing through out the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic may have temporarily closed their doors to the public, but they are moving classes online so they can still reach their students and keep spirits high.
"COVID-19 has definatly put a damper on the vision we are trying to push, but we still have online classes for students," Emmanuel Hurd, the Hurd Family Studio owner said.
Hurd has been dancing for as long as he can remember.
"I've danced since I was a kid," Hurd said. “Dance was an outlet not just for me but a lot of people in the neighborhood, we would get together, dance turn on R&B, turn on Hip Hop and we would have a good time."
As Hurd grew up he clung tighter and tighter to dance as a form of self expression.
“I was a troubled kid so I told myself this was always, always what I was going to do,” said Hurd.
Hurd went on to dance around the world with various dance groups. One of his career highlights was being on World of Dance.
Hurd has passed on his love of dance to three kids, Emmanuel, who goes by "Manny", Emma, and Elijah.
His family became an online sensation last year after posting a family dance video online. Soon after they were invited to the Ellen DeGeneres show where she gave them $20k to finally open a studio.
Hurd and his wife Shazia Hurd opened up the video game and action movie themed studio in September 2019 which a mission to teach kids to "love their neighbors as themselves."
They use dance to get through to kids and help them work on self confidence, responsibility, emotional intelligence, and kidness.
"Regardless of what someone is going through in life dance is such a huge outlet and its a catalyst to talk to somebody," Hurd said."It [dancing] also doesn't just train the mind to not only be smarter but to work harder in everything that you do and it destroys the idea of 'I can't."
To sign up for an online class, click here.
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