Our Story

Lauren Morris answers her lifelong calling to create a dance program for people with disabilities. To test her concept, she decided to put together a week-long summer dance camp for people with Down syndrome. She launched the venture with a crowd-funding campaign, initially called "The Project," which raised over $12,000 in 30 days. This allowed her to create a 501c3 and host the camp. The positive feedback from the community and volunteers led her to make plans to open a studio where this could continue year-round. Megan Jayroe, a friend with degrees in dance education and special education, came up from Mississippi to teach that first camp, and agreed to move to Nashville with her family to become the official Program Director.

Lauren knew the new concept — a dance studio for people of ALL abilities, needed a new name. She rebranded the nonprofit to “MOVE Inclusive Dance” and exactly one year after that first crowd-funding campaign, she launched a second fundraiser to raise money for the next chapter of the business. In just a few months, she raised $100,000 to make the dream become a reality, officially opening for business at the end of that August. The next 6 months were spent experimenting and learning.

Just as things started to feel a little steady…

The pandemic forced the in-person classes to temporarily shut down. In response to this, MOVE launched a virtual program, in hopes that it could provide a sense of normalcy for the current dancers. After a couple of months, a mom from Washington contacted Lauren to enroll her daughter in the virtual classes. It was then, Lauren realized she could reach people across the country and even the world through this new channel of programming. After running a few Facebook ads, inquiries started coming in from all over the US. Today, MOVE still holds a weekly virtual class where students from all over tune in to dance together on screen.

The organization made it to the other side of 2020, and finally was able to host an in-person fundraising event, the Get MOVE'n 5K, which now reoccurs each spring. They also had their first recital at the Nashville Zoo, and Lauren and Megan traveled to their alma mater, The University of Southern Mississippi, for a 3-day artist residency with the dance program. In addition, they launched a community outreach program to bring dance classes into other underserved communities in the Nashville area. Overall, MOVE served over 150 students through virtual, in-person, and community outreach programs.

MOVE Inclusive Dance expanded with its first satellite program in Franklin, TN, and earned first place at its debut dance competition in Gatlinburg, TN. They served over 358 students through all channels of programming and returned to the Nashville Zoo for their second annual recital. Two Parent Representatives joined the Board of Directors, bringing a necessary perspective to the leadership of the organization. Grant income was increased by 271%, making this the most successful year in business yet!

Megan Jayroe came on as a full-time employee, allowing her to make exciting progress in our community outreach partnerships. Through all of our combined programs, we served over 1,000 students throughout the year! Three new dance classes were launched, including Latin Dance, Musical Theatre, and a mid-day class for homeschooled students. Our performance team traveled to another dance competition in Chattanooga where they were awarded first place and a special judges award!

This summer, MOVE Inclusive Dance is celebrating its fifth year in business, and we plan to celebrate this milestone all year long! We're taking our favorite events to new heights, launching professional development workshops for special education teachers, and finding ways to increase inclusivity in our studio and at our events. Thanks to increased grant revenue, we brought on a new team member, Sofia Apuzzo, as our Program Assistant in the spring. We have so many big ideas and advances in the pipeline, including the opening of our Franklin Studio in the fall! We are excited to continue making great strides toward achieving our vision, so stay tuned for updates as the year progresses!