Photo submitted by The Warehouse Dance Company
By Lindsey Frazier, Features Editor
Dream big, shine bright, work hard. Those are the values Ensley Russell and her staff at The Warehouse Dance Company teach their students, who earned 13 awards at the ShowStopper Dance Competition in Nashville over the weekend.
“We are most proud of the dancer’s growth and professionalism,” Payton Russell, Ensley’s husband and operations director at the studio, said in an email to the Messenger. “Beyond the awards, they demonstrated discipline, teamwork and strong technical improvement throughout the weekend.”
The 13 awards were earned by 10 different dancers, who received three for duets, in the contemporary and musical theater categories, and 10 for solos across different categories.
“Competitive dance requires rigorous weekly training,” Payton said in the email. “Dancers balance school and other commitments while preparing routines judged on technique, precision, and performance quality and artistry. It’s both athletic and artistic.”
The results from this competition further motivated the girls, who have already begun preparing for the next event, which includes three more competitions and a performance in a Walt Disney World parade, the studio said.
Winning the awards proved that their hard work paid off, Chloe Wilson, a student at the dance company and one of the award winners, said.
“This studio is filled with nothing but supportive voices and positive vibes.” Wilsons said. “Going into my second competition season with the Warehouse Dance Company, I felt so excited, with a side of nervous jitters, but those got calmed fast by the best teacher, Ensley.”
Lily Platt, student and Wilson’s duet partner, said Ensley has a way of creating excitement instead of nervousness before their performances.
“A year ago, I would have never predicted that Chloe and I would win 1st place at our biggest competition,” Platt said. “I am so grateful to be on a team that gives me endless support, meaningful relationships and so much fun. I love Ensley, and I love the Warehouse Dance Company.”
Ensley said she grew up dancing and going to dance competitions. She spent time in New York City studying with the Radio City Rockettes, the Broadway Dance Center and Dance Molinari, a Broadway-based dance theater company.
After she graduated from high school, she took a break from competitions while she attended Highlands College, where she studied ministry arts with a focus on family ministry.
“We got married, and I just knew,” Ensley said. “As soon as I graduated, I was just like, ‘I have to get back into dance. I have to do this thing.’”
In August 2022, after some deliberation with her family and encouragement from her mom, Sunshine Williamson, at 19, Ensley decided to open her own dance studio. Unsure of where to locate or how many students to plan for, her church, Gadsden Christian Fellowship, offered her a space to start, which they quickly outgrew.
“We had 36 in our first semester,” Ensley said. “Then our second semester, we over doubled that. We had 68. Then our next semester, we had 165. It was blowing up. We need a bigger location fast because we have no room.”
That’s when Ensley and her husband, Payton Russell, found the warehouse on Sutton Bridge Road, a one-story open canvas. With the help of a contractor, Ensley and Payton converted the space into a two-story, four-room dance studio, she said.
Ensley had her studio, but she said competitions were always where her heart was. She started small with six girls and three competitions, and then the number more than doubled to 14 in 2025, she said.
More than 25 girls are now on the team that competes from January to May, traveling once a month to competitions in different cities.
Alongside her four instructors, the studio teaches 33 classes each week, ranging from Tumbling Tots to Acro Dance 103. Each year, the studio has two recitals, one in May and one in December. Additionally, there is a summer class in June and July
“This studio has filled me with so much gratitude for dance, Ensley, and everyone who plays a role in the amazing atmosphere that The Warehouse Dance Company creates,” Wilson said. “It truly is a special place.”
