Dance Dimensions Studio Owners

Dance Dimensions is owned by Ann and Philip Carter who want to share their love of dance with others. They established Dance Dimensions in 2002, in order to provide a dance studio that would cater to a diverse population of dancers (with different abilities and interests), while keeping the costs of lessons, exhibitions and competitions, within the range of the average person.

Philip and Ann Carter

Ann Carter is a physician in family practice in Oak Ridge; her husband Philip Carter is both a physician and an attorney -- they met in medical school many years ago. Philip's law practice is located in North Knoxville and focuses on Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury with complex medical issues and Alternative Dispute Resolution. The Carters have been dancing for 10 years, and expect to be lifelong, avid dancers. They are very active in USA Dance (Philip is the past-president and current treasurer of the local chapter and one of its founders, he is also the Regional Coordinator for Tennessee). The Carter's began competing in USA Dance competitions in the fall of 2000. Their favorite dance is "anything smooth" (waltz, foxtrot, tango).

We love the balance that dancing brings to our hectic professional lives. It relieves stress and allows us to "re-connect". We hope that everyone can come to share our love of dance.

Our Philosophy

In a word, our philosophy is that dancing should be "fun." Synonyms would be enjoyable, pleasurable or delightful. We see Dance as recreation -- something we do by choice and not out of obligation or as a component of our work. Our goal is not to turn you into a professional dancer, our goal is to turn you into the dancer that you want to be. What does that mean? It means that here at Dance Dimensions, you control your own destiny. If you want to learn a few moves for your Company Christmas Party -- we can do that. If you want to be an average social dancer or an exceptional social dancer -- we can do that. Exhibitions -- we can teach you. If you want to be a competitive dancer -- we can do that. [And if you want to become a professional dancer, talk to us -- we can do that.]

Everyone's goals are different. If you are new to dance, you may not even know what goals to expect. We will work with you to help you to define the type of dancer that you want to be. For example, Ann and I are very goal oriented (no surprise) and by competing, we have something to work towards as we better our dancing. However, competition is not for everyone so we will not try to turn everyone that comes through our doors into a competitive dancer. The proverbial impossibility of the square peg in the round hole does ring true.

At our parties, it is important to us that everyone has a good time. It is imperative that we recognize the most important people there -- the newcomers. We strive to make the newcomers feel welcome and comfortable. It is important to remind ourselves that no one came out of the womb an accomplished dancer, it takes years of hard work to reach that level, and the rest of us are but mere mortals. Men are more likely to be uncomfortable at first because a guy does not want to make mistakes in public (I used to wait in the car until Ann arrived for our lessons, so I can sympathize). Nevertheless, even if you have had just one lesson, we promise to make you feel comfortable at our parties.

Here at Dance Dimensions, our teachers, our classes and our parties are well-praised by our students. [When we say "our students," we do not mean to imply ownership of them (common at most studios) -- quite the opposite, we mean to imply ownership by them.] There are smiles aplenty at our parties -- we are there to have fun too, why would we do this otherwise? The most important question for us is "What do you want to get out of dancing?" From there, it is our promise to work to help you achieve those goals and to have fun along the way. We hope that you will check us out and we look forward to seeing you at one of our parties sometime soon.