welcome to Kaisertown!

©2018 https://www.buffalorising.com/2018/05/opportunity-knocks-kaisertown-goes-retro-with-new-mural/ :: Mural by Vinny Alejandro :: Photo by Buffalo Rising

I grew up in Cheektowaga just a few blocks away from the Kaisertown area of Buffalo, NY. Back in the 90s, it was a very Polish neighborhood and I spent a lot of my childhood on it's streets. I belonged to a bowling league at Town Edge Bowling, I participated in community service events & sang in the youth choir at St. Casimir's church, and I had my very first latte as a young goth/grundge kid at a tiny coffee shop on Clinton called "Cup of Dreams" while falling in love with my first NIN song (it was Heresy, for those keeping track). Needless to say, Kaisertown had a big impact on my teen years and I always remembered it fondly. It felt like home.

I left that particular area for Amherst when I went to college. After that, I moved all around Erie County: Tonawanda, Holland, and Akron. After many years in different towns full of ups and downs, I found myself settling down in West Seneca, just a few minutes away from where I grew up.

In 2017, one of my dance friends told me about a dance studio available on Clinton Street and we should go look at it. On a cold November night, I arrived and saw the space. I couldn't believe it! A beautiful dance studio just waiting to be used. After a brief discussion, we decided to go for it!

My next visit was during the day, and I couldn't believe where I was:

I'm on Clinton and Weimar! Wait... I used to sing at the church right on the corner of this street! Hey, I used to bowl there! Hold on a minute, was that store front at the front of our building... no I don't think so... wait, I think it is... this must have been where Cup of Dreams was!

My life had come full circle. I truly felt that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

We opened House of Hips for business in January of 2018 as a belly dance studio. During the pandemic, I became the sole owner and I re-branded in 2021 as a world dance studio.

During that time, I noticed a lot of changes in Kaisertown. It had grown & become so diverse! So many storefronts with different businesses and so many different types of people! Immigrants from all over living in the area. Kids playing basketball together in the streets. It was so lively! I really developed a sense of pride about how many different cultures were represented, just on our block! Where could you find a better place to have a world dance studio with so many different cultural dances styles?

Once again, I truly felt that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. It felt like home.

And that, my dear students, is what I hope you feel when you come through our doors.

I hope our studio feels like home.

And I hope that we continue to grow more diverse, welcoming more students, more instructors, and offering more dance styles. Because, (and it feels appropriate to say this on MLK day) I believe that diversity makes everything better.

Welcome to Kaisertown!