Tara and Rick Foxworth opened Oceanway School of Dance & Performing Arts three years ago to provide high-quality dance and arts education to the local community. The school has grown significantly under their leadership from 350 students. In addition to dance, the school also offers guitar lessons taught by Rick Foxworth. The Foxworths aim to expand the school's offerings and provide students experience in dance, music, and the arts.

1. North Jax Monthly • July 2013 • Page 15
Oceanway School of
Dance & Performing Arts
376 New Berlin Rd. Suite 5 • Jacksonville, FL 32218
(904) 838-1340 • www.oceanwayschoolofdance.com
Ages 3 & Up • Ballet • Pointe • Lyrical • Jazz • Hip-Hop
Acrobatics • Tap • Creative Movement • Contemporary
• Modern • Guitar
Fall DANCE
Registration
Early Registration:
Saturday, July 27 – 10am–2pm
Saturday, August 3 – 10am–2pm
Monday, August 5 – 4–7pm
Tuesday, August 6 – 4–7pm
Saturday, August 10 – 10am–2pm
No Registration Fee
For Returning
2012-2013
Students!
Classes Begin
Monday,
August 12Senior Company
Dancer
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By Kandace Lankford
NJM Correspondent
NEW BERLIN ROAD ––
As Tara and Rick
Foxworth do the
dance of parenting
two young children,
they also continue to
teach and mentor
their extended family
of more than 350
kids.
For the past three
years, the Foxworths
have dedicated their
time and their lives to
instilling and
enhancing a love for
dance and the arts
into their students at
Oceanway School of
Dance & Performing
Arts.
Along with devoting their hearts to the
school and their students, they have also
invested a lot of sweat equity into Oceanway
School of Dance & Performing Arts.
Soon after opening, the school’s enrollment
exceeded expectations, and the suite that
housed it was
too small to
accommodate
all the students
–– so they
moved a few
doors down to
a space that
was twice the
size.
Mr. Foxworth
painstakingly
did much of the
work himself,
including
building the
front desk, and
building the floors in the classrooms.
The Foxworths envisioned a school that had
a family-oriented atmosphere –– a place
where parents and siblings of the students
could come in, sit comfortably and feel right
at home.
“When we started the school three years
ago, we wanted to not only raise the bar to a
higher level of arts in the community, but to
be a place where parents know we truly care
about their children and that they can trust us
with their children,” Mr. Foxworth said.
Mrs. Foxworth, a life-long dancer, began
training at the age of five. She attended
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, and
received an associate’s degree in theatre at
what is now know as Florida State College at
Jacksonville (FSCJ) before going to Jacksonville
University to earn a bachelor of arts in dance
education and a bachelor of fine arts in dance.
Additionally, Mrs. Foxworth has taken master
classes from famous dance artists in New York.
When she first opened the school, Mrs.
Foxworth had a day time job directing the
dance department at Lake Forest School of
the Visual and Performing Arts, which feeds
into LaVilla
School of the
Arts, but
resigned to focus
fully on
Oceanway
School of Dance
& Performing
Arts.
Like Mrs.
Foxworth, all of
the instructors at
Oceanway
School of Dance
& Performing
Arts have college
degrees or
professional
dance experience.
“We have excellent teachers with an
interesting mix of dance backgrounds,” said
Mrs. Foxworth. “We have different teachers
for different levels of dance, and they are all
so creative with their choreography.”
To allow for more personalized attention,
class sizes are capped and kept small. Classes
offered include classical ballet, pointe, lyrical,
choreography, contemporary, creative
movement, jazz, tap, hip-hop, modern,
acrobatics, and pre-combination.
“We are building an incredible dance
company, with different teams from ages
eight and up,” said Mrs. Foxworth. “This year,
we won high awards at the dance
competitions at the University of North
Florida (UNF).”
Dancers from Oceanway School of Dance &
Performing Arts took a trip to New York last
summer, where they took classes at the
Broadway dance center. More recently, they
danced at Downtown
Disney, and took
dance workshops at
Epcot.
“We try to give the
experience of what
it’s like to be a
professional dancer,”
said Mrs. Foxworth.
For students age
eight and up,
beginning and
advanced guitar
classes are also
offered –– taught by
Mr. Foxworth.
Mr. Foxworth, who
was a volunteer for
the Big
Brothers Big
Sisters
organization
for 10 years,
studied music
and owned
and operated
a recording
studio for six
years.
“Students
not only learn
how to play
the guitar,
they learn the
theory behind
the music,”
he said. “I
have a
background
as a recording engineer, so I can make high
quality recordings of them in the studio.”
The Foxworths envision expanding the
school’s class offerings in the near future, to
include a wider variety of choices.
“One of our visions is to integrate art ––
dance, guitar, voice, piano and musical
theatre,” said Mr. Foxworth. “We want to
offer a very diverse arts community right here
in the middle of Oceanway, and we’re going
to keep moving forward.”
The Foxworths have just wrapped up
another successful program year at the school
and look forward to
what the future
holds –– because you
never can tell what a
new year will bring.
The day after last
year’s dance recital,
Mrs. Foxworth learned
that she would soon be
bringing a new little
dancer into the world,
and her beautiful
daughter, Olivia, was
born in January of this
year –– joining her
brother, 18-month-old
Nate.
As Nate curiously
explored the
studio,
turning up the
sound system,
Olivia’s feet
moved with
the music,
kicking off
one white,
lacy sock.
Mom and dad
didn’t miss a
beat –– they
stepped in
perfect time
to their kids’
rhythm,
making it look
effortless.
“The kids,
that’s why we’re here,” said Mr.Foxworth,
speaking of his 350 students as well as his own
kids. “It’s not all about making money –– it’s
about making special memories for the kids.”
For information about summer classes, or
for fall registration information, call
Oceanway School of Dance and Performing
Arts at 904-838-1340, or visit their website at
www.oceanwayschoolofdance.com.
Couple envisions a diverse arts community in Oceanway
Tara and Rick Foxworth, and their 18-month-old son, Nate, and their 4-
month-old daughter, Olivia, would like to welcome you to their extended
family at Oceanway School of Dance & Performing Arts
Oceanway School of Dance & Performing Arts is located at
376 New Berlin Road, Suites 5 & 6
Students Hannah Graves (above) and Emily Johnston (below)
demonstrate the technique and art form taught at Oceanway
School of Dance & Performing Arts.