My name is Heather Lamm, and I am the instructor and founder of Joyful Soles. I have a long standing passion for dance and Jesus, which are combined at Joyful Soles. The following is my brief dance biography and testimony. I began dancing at the age of four. In only my second year of dance I began competing for a total of eight years, which included performing on a cruise ship! I craved something more, so I left the competitive dance world in search of more vigorous training. The next two years I spent training at the prestigious Dayton Ballet. In those two years, I learned more principles of ballet technique, participated in tap classes, and auditioned for and was accepted to their Junior Company, which is the pre-professional level. I also highly valued my academics, so I did not pursue dancing in the Junior Company, as those dancers commit nearly all of their time outside of school to dance. I then danced the remainder of my high-school career at Miss Leslie's School of Dance, where I had the opportunity to teach and study many dance genres, including ballet, pointe, jazz, hip-hop, tap, Hawaiian, Tahitian, and more. One year, I even entered the Teays Valley Cheerleading Competition as a dance soloist, and was selected to perform at the Pro-Bowl. I enjoyed dancing so much that I couldn't quit. I auditioned and was accepted as a dance major at Ohio University where I studied theory, ballet, contemporary dance, and Pilates among several other classes. I soon found out that I was pregnant, so I only spent one quarter there. After I had my wonderful blessing of a son, I thought my dancing days were over. A few years later, I began attending church at Upper Room Worship Center in Tipp City. God told the dance leader to speak to me about joining the ministry. She had no idea that I had any dance experience. This was more than a dream come true - this was a dream restored and answered beyond my imagination! It's amazing how God knows me so much better than I know myself and how His plans are always better than mine. I am now the co-leader of the creative arts ministry called Ignite. God still had more in store for me. In 2014, I launched this company, Joyful Soles, as a way to teach children dance the way God intended. In my years dancing, I have been exposed to a darker side of the industry that is based on impure morals, such as "the perfect" body image. One of my main goals is to instill that God created dancing, and He created us. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalms 139:14), and we do not have to conform to society's standard of perfection. My goal is to teach dance technique, teach students to love their bodies as God created them, and to teach students to dance giving the glory to God. Please contact me with any questions.
