Vegas Black Business Owner Dances Her Way To Better Health
For Black History Month, I decided to hit the streets of Las Vegas and tap into black business owners who are creating a change in the local community. Mz. Nikki White owns the Mz. Nikki Smooth Dance And Creative Studio. Located in North Las Vegas, this space gives the community a place to come and dance their way into better health. Mz. Nikki is originally from Los Angeles, California. She moved to Las Vegas over 23 years ago for a change of atmosphere for her and her children.
Mz. Nikki Smooth Dance And Creative Studio: Past, Present And Future
Starting a new life in an unfamiliar city is challenging enough, not to mention adding health issues due to being overweight. Mz. Nikki found her passion for dancing was the key to losing the unwanted pounds. After losing over 150 pounds in less than four years just by doing something she loved, she was inspired to open her dance studio. This dancing queen wanted to give others the opportunity and the platform to be able to lose weight, feel better, and validate themselves by simply doing something they enjoy.
Mz. Nikki opened her dance studio five months ago and she has already built an amazing clientele. This black-owned dance studio is in the heart of North Las Vegas. The studio offers different classes, from jazz, tap to hip-hop and ballet. She also offers game nights, sip and paint activities, and even small banquets. She’s definitely giving the community a place to go to be able to feel better about themselves.
The dance instructor has also made herself known on social media by creating her own line dances. Several of her videos have brought over a million hits. She says that she never thought that doing something that she loved would create such a platform to help others.
Dance Is Good For Your Health
According to Harvard Medical School, dancing “builds muscle and bone, reduces fat, increases aerobic capacity, lowers blood pressure, and improves the ratio of ‘good’ to ‘bad’ cholesterol”. Those of us in the black community don’t talk enough about our cholesterol levels or how they can affect our health. Here’s why we should. According to Healthline, “Among 18- to 49-year-olds, Black people are twice as likely as white people to die from heart disease. High cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease”.
Mz. Nikki’s dance studio offers more than just good physical health. What separates it from other studios is that it’s a supportive environment. Everyone that comes through the doors is part of a family. Everyone encourages each other and motivates without any pressure. The dancing queen encourages families to come in and dance just to dance. A family that dances together, stays together.
Mz. Nikki Smooth Dance And Creative Studio is open Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. At 722 West Carey Avenue Suite A near Carey and Revere in North Las Vegas. And from the woman herself, Mz. Nikki says “come and be inspired, feel good about yourself, and no matter what kind of pain you are in you’re going to be in it anyway, so get up and move your body so you can live longer.”