Today we’d like to introduce you to Soomi Park.
Hi Soomi, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Soomi Park, and I am the co-owner and founder of ElectrikCITY Dance Movement (ECDM). We’re one of the many dance studios located in Austin, Texas, but solely provide hip-hop dance classes. I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, so I can confidently say I am a true Texan! I’ve taken ballet and different style dance classes since I was little, and became extremely interested in hip-hop in high school while on the drill team. I studied Human Development and Family Science at the University of Texas at Austin, and joined Redefined Dance Company, FSA, and KUSA Dance Crew during my college career. After graduating, I quickly joined EPEK, which is now the adult competition team for ECDM. Dance has always been a part of my life, so it kind of made sense to start this studio with my best friend, Crystal De La Rosa. We both found it was necessary to create a safe and needed space for all of our hip-hop dancers out there.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Biggest struggle is life. Life happens, whether it’s work, personal, or whatever the case may be. No one has it easy, let’s be honest. I’m the oldest of three children, so I was always the guinea pig for new things like FAFSA and applying for a credit card. College was tough. Adjusting to the lifestyle and the actual coursework itself. Dance was always my way to relief stress and my main source of making friends. Not only was I a full time student and a member of a dance team, but I also worked part time on campus at Chik-fil-A and Starbucks so I learned to juggle and manage my time. Money wasn’t easily accessible for my family, so I had to work for any pocket change and spending money for myself. Even to this day – I have a full time career, a part-time waitress job, and co-own a dance studio. If it happened to be a smooth road, it was definitely a busy one.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Not only do I co-own the dance studio, but I am a supervisor at Fresenius Health Partners to the CKD Enrollment team. We focus on people diagnosed with CKD who could benefit from an educational, preventative program for CKD. I will be with the company for 4 years in December, and throughout my time at FHP I’ve learned so much especially how to be professional. I work heavily in creating work instructions and job aids, while researching data for efficiency improvements. On top of that, managing my team and collaborating with other departments and leaders. Here at the studio, we create the class schedules, write any instructions for the class app, and edit/revise any handbooks in place. We also are the marketing team. The finance team. The front line, customer service team. We do it all, and I think that’s one of the things that sets me and Crystal apart from other businesses. Most places have certain people for certain things. Yes, we have a visual director, videographer, and web designer, but aside from those roles – we do it all. I’m most proud of my accomplishments and where I am today. Grateful for the opportunities and leaders I’ve had throughout my professional and dance career. It’s definitely helped and merged over to help own a dance studio and managing staff.
Pricing:
- Drop-in $15
- 5-class package $65
- 10-class package $110
- Unlimited package $145 (1 month)
Contact Info:
- Email: electrikcitydance@gmail.com
- Website: www.electrikcity.dance
- Instagram: electrikcity.dance
- Other: _soomipark (personal IG)
Image Credits
Wilgene Carvajal Crystal De La Rosa Michael Domingo Keopix
