After directing children from Roselle and Bloomingdale for seven years, Stacie Freda now will take her career to a new level when she opens her own dance studio in Roselle.

Lights Camera Dancin’, 209 E. Irving Park Road, will have its grand opening in September, though Freda will offer summer camps toward the end of August, she said.

Her studio will provide classes in a wide variety of dance styles, including jazz, tap, ballet, ballroom, belly dancing and more. Classes will be available for children as young as 2 and adults, she said.

“Opening a studio has always been a dream,” she said.

Freda graduated from Elmhurst College in May 2005 with a bachelor of arts degree in business administration and professional communication.

“I knew those classes would help if I opened a studio,” she said.

Freda, a dancer for 20 years, has won numerous awards in dance competitions.

She started teaching as a seventh-grader when she became an assistant teacher at Gotta Dance Studio in Addison, she said.

The competitive dance team she now directs has won awards in a wide range of categories. In 2007, her team won first place in the 12 and under trio category at the Kid’s Artistic Review National in Skokie.

This past March, her team won the Super Tap Award at the Symposium Talent Contest at the DuPage Expo Center in St. Charles.

Freda said both dancing and teaching have had a profound impact on her life.

“Dancing is a great outlet,” she said. “For example, if I’m sad, lyrical dancing is a good outlet, if I’m full of energy, hip hop is great for that.

“Teaching is amazing; watching students grow is amazing. My students mean everything to me; we’re like a family.”

Maribeth Karl, of Bloomingdale, said her 16-year-old daughter Jobeth has been dancing with Freda for nearly 10 years.

“Stacie is different from other teachers,” stated Karl, “She takes an interest in all her students and is a friend to them.”

“Stacie has a heart of gold,” said Christine DeClerk, also of Bloomingdale.

DeClerk’s daughter, Julianne, 12, has been dancing with Freda since she was 4.

“Stacie wants dance to be a well-rounded experience for the kids,” she added. “She gives everyone an opportunity to dance and compete.”

Freda’s short-term goal is to keep the classes in her studio’s two rooms full, she said.

One of her long-term goals is to keep her classes affordable.  

“I think it’s important for kids to participate in extracurricular activities,” she said.

She also hopes to make her studio a special place for her students to learn and develop as dancers.

“I hope, upon walking though the door, it will be evident my studio is different, that it stands out from other studios,” Freda said.