Our Story

What’s your favorite song? You know, the one that makes you get your groove on whenever you play it. For me it’s Ants Marching by Dave Matthews Band. 

Now imagine not being able to hear it. Unfortunately that’s the reality for more than 10,000,000 individuals with a hearing loss across the nation. Sadly, most recreational programs, facilities and products are inaccessible or not universally designed for them. That means that they’re missing out on vital opportunities to experience and express themselves  - especially through music and dance.

In 2016, when Julia Faliano and I were working in a multiple needs classroom together we developed the concept of Feel the Beat. We saw first-hand the gap in opportunities for our students so we decided to fill that need by making activities that are integral to child development more accessible to them. And that included music and dance.

Feel the Beat was born.

Unlike other dance studios, Feel the Beat makes the experience of music possible for those who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and with Special Needs. How? By creating sound accessible environments using vibrotactile technology to bring the expressive world of music and dance education to them. To do this, we use highly specialized, bone-conductive dance floors that allow our students to feel sound through vibrational energy.

Essentially, when standing on our floor, students can literally feel the beat throughout their bodies. 

When students step onto the dance floor for the first time, it’s magical. Their faces light up as the vibrational energy moves through their bodies. To add to the inclusion and connectivity for the students, all of our teachers communicate via ASL; leading to an even greater sense of community for everyone.

As you can predict, we haven’t been able to hold in-person classes since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It’s been so hard, since we know how much our students love our programs. We’ve done the best we can to keep our students engaged through virtual activities, such as free pre-recorded classes on our YouTube channel, sign language lessons on social media, and virtual dance parties. We even created and mailed students coloring books written in ASL promoting different kinds of dance to inspire them to continue practicing at home until we can be together again.

Not only do we offer classes at our studio for students of all ages and levels, but we partner with organizations to bring our cutting-edge technology via mobile dance floors to communities everywhere. Our dream is to share these mobile floors with the world. We’re the only dance studio in the nation to offer it, so we’re looking to scale our efforts to get them out to the masses. We want everyone to experience the gifts of music and dance. 

We’re changing the world - one song, one step and one beat at a time.  Want to be a part of the fun? Click here to support Feel the Beat.