Julie Mitchell

Elaine Johns behaves like a dancer, and it’s no wonder. The Artistic Director, Owner and Instructor of Elevated Studio began taking ballet lessons in St. Helena through the city’s recreation department at the age of 7 and has never looked back. Now she teaches children and adults in her spacious studio at Tucker Farm Center on Tucker Road in Calistoga.

“I’ve always loved dancing,” Johns says with a smile. “It’s a way to get in touch with my body, enjoy the music, and let all the stress and difficulties fade away.”

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After attending college at Cal Poly San Louis Obispo, majoring in education and minoring in dance, Johns returned to St. Helena where her family owned White Cottage Ranch Winery in Angwin. She started giving lessons at the Little Feet School of Dance in Saint Helena where she studied dance as a child. The school was established in 1981 by Connie Doyle, a former dancer with the San Francisco Ballet.

Unfortunately, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, dance classes at Little Feet were cancelled. Johns took some time off, taught a few Zoom classes, and then made the decision to rent out the century-old Tucker Farm Center several days a week for his dance studio. A cavernous space with gleaming hardwood floors and walls; the center is still rented out for the arts, festive gatherings, parties, weddings and other special events. Now, thanks to Johns, one wall is lined with mirrors and there are plenty of portable ballet bars.

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Johns opened Elevated Studio at Tucker Center in August 2021, teaching classes for children and adults and, like everyone else, had to navigate changing mask mandates. The studio’s mission is “to inspire and nurture a love of the arts, to promote self-expression and personal growth; build supportive and caring connections with the community and enrich our culture. Elevated also seeks to preserve the traditions and elegance of classical ballet, including music, costume and drama.

You may have seen a cross section of the studio’s young dancers at Calistoga Vacation Village last December, where a troupe of students from Elevated performed in the Pioneer Park gazebo. Johns offers a year-round program that culminates in recitals in the spring and fall, and she is considering hosting a summer dance camp. Always on her toes, Johns is a guest performer and teacher throughout Northern California, and she co-directed The Nutcracker Ballet’s December 2021 performance at Middletown’s Terrace Middle School.

Aspiring ballerinas and male ballet dancers from the age of 3 are welcome to take classes at Elevated. “I will continue to expand my classes to include modern, lyrical and beginner’s points as things open up,” says Johns.

And if, like me, you have a pair of adult ballet slippers tucked away in your closet, now might be the time to dust them off and get ready to do some tucks and pirouettes.

The complete schedule of classes and performances as well as the prices of Elevé Studio are available on its website: www.eleve.studio.