By Annie Wen
Staff Writer

Red and white fringe turned into blue, white and stars. Blue, white and stars turned into petticoats and a big hat. Finally, petticoats and a big hat turned into black, pink and sequins.

Coppell High School 2000 graduate Jennifer Nix has found her way back to the place where she put on her first pair of white boots and danced at a halftime show. An instructor at the newest dance studio in Coppell, Dana’s Studio of Dance, she is creating a new drill company for girls who wish to become a future Lariette or dance on a college dance team.

Nix has had plenty of experience in the dance and performing arts industry. A former Lariette officer, Nix chose to attend Kilgore College as one of her biggest dreams was to be a Rangerette.

“I wanted to be a Rangerette since I was a little girl,” Nix said. “I knew that was what I wanted to be. It was a really great experience, in my sophomore year I even got to perform for George. W. Bush. It was really cool to have the experiences at Coppell High School that gave me the things that I needed in order to go into Rangerettes.”

Nix graduated from Kilgore in 2002 with an Associates of Arts degree and attended the University of North Texas. In 2003 while attending UNT she tried out for and became a Dallas Mavericks dancer, dancing with them from 2003-2005.

“There’s a big audition that happens in July,” Nix said. “My year there was 18 girls on the team and nine of them were veterans so there’s always not that many spots available. It’s always a major competition.”

After leaving the Mavericks she joined the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders from 2006-2008.

“I met Jenn back in 2006 while we were both auditioning for DCC,” former teammate and friend Melissa Rycroft said. “We were two of the oldest candidates trying out as Rookies for the team. She is truly one of the most talented, driven and independent people I’ve ever met.”

Nix accomplished a lifelong dream after her stint with the Mavericks, flying to Florida and becoming a performer at Walt Disney World. She worked with Disney from 2009-2011 as a character performer and a dancer in the Festival of the Lion King and Disney Channel Rocks.

“That’s when I decided that I really wanted to teach full-time,” Nix said. “The whole thing about working at Disney World is you’re making magic happen every single day. That’s what Disney taught me that I brought back home: every single thing that I do has an impression on somebody else’s life.”

After spending 29 years dancing Nix decided to take a different direction with her dance career. Joining DSOD Nix wanted to turn her focus onto teaching the craft that she had been pursuing for so long. The Coppell location of DSOD opened last September and this is the first year that a drill company is available in Coppell for younger dancers to get a head start.

“We go from ages 4-18,” Nix said. “We teach kids what it’s like to be on your high school drill team or college dance team and give them a format of dancing in that style. When young dancers get to high school it’s like a brand new world so we want to make that more involved with the kids here [at the studio]. I thought Coppell would be a great location for that because I know how important the Lariettes are to the community.”

Nix serves as drill company director of DSOD. The drill company not only goes out and performs but also competes on the same circuit as teams such as the Lariettes.

“We thought we would build the drill team up at the Southlake location,” Nix said. “It was such a success over there that we decided to start one in Coppell now so hopefully in a year or two that will be a big success as well.”

Dana Bailey, owner of DSOD, works closely with Nix and believes that she is the perfect person to lead the drill company.

“I am so thrilled to have Jennifer Nix back at Dana’s Studio Of Dance,” Bailey said. “She took from me when she was around 11 years old and I remember teaching her with such great memories.  It is always so exciting when students I have trained go on to do big things with their dance career. It is even more exciting when they come back to share their talents and life dance experiences with the new DSOD students.

“Jenn brings not only the talent but also the passion and love for working with children in preparing them either just to have passion for the art of dance, be on their high school drill team or become a professional dancer.”

Nix hopes that DSOD will grow within the next few years and become a place where young dancers can tap into their passion of dance.

“Our hip hop company and drill company are the babies of the studio,” Nix said. “Hopefully with them as the foundation of what builds this studio up we can help these kids find their niche and the way that they love dance the most.”