I have always said that Empowering Minds is the best kept secret in Rockford. I didn’t think this wonderful world could be improved on. But then you brought in Aubrey and your services and programs have increased so much! Aubrey brings things here that you can’t even get in Chicago.

-Emily A, a longtime fan of Miss Katherine and Empowering Minds.

I cannot begin to express my thanks and gratitude to you for the great work you do! I felt perfectly safe having my daughter in this environment. The professionalism, care, and consideration for children’s needs has been superb. I will be recommending you to every person I know!

— Samantha S.

Praise for the Dance Program at EM

“They said I would know in the first five minutes if the class would be a good fit for me. It didn’t even take that long. At other places you get either bad dancing or bad kids, here it’s neither. Really good dancing and really nice kids. Believe me it is not like that at every dance school.”

— Dance student, age 14 from Chicago

My daughter used to come home crying. In desperation I enrolled her at Empowering Minds. My daughter came out of classes this time crying with joy. I asked her why she was crying thinking oh god here we go again with another problem school, and she said, “I found a friend!”

She was talking about the teacher Miss Aubrey. That woman has a truly God given gift with children and teenagers. I have never seen a teacher who sees into a child’s heart and interacts with her newest students as if they’ve been friends for years. Truly that is a gift. Many people are great with kids, this ability goes beyond that. I believe it is truly a God given gift. I am not that much of a religious person, but I do believe that God must have put Miss Aubrey here in Rockford for a reason.

-Annie C.

Aubrey is an extremely strong mentor, not just a dance teacher. Her method of training is much more relaxed in the studio and keeps the students physical and mental health top priority. The girls are able to talk with each other and laugh, which is a strong contrast to the rigid silent and competitive atmosphere, you see in most ballet classes at this level of training.

-Ana, Mother of a former Chicago ballet student

I’ll add my praise to the lot! Aubrey offers a focused but still fun and relaxed environment (and as someone who has been at many different dance schools this is a rarity) for dancers who want more than recital routines and cookie-cutter choreography. You get direct training from a dancer who has lived the professional ballet life and is passionate about passing on the highest standards of classical technique, artistry, and discipline.

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Be aware that the dance teacher (Miss Aubrey) will watch your child like a hawk. On observation day I began watching the teacher. Her eyes missed nothing. She knew who had a tight muscle or bad day at school, without any words. She is alert for any physical danger or emotional danger. I’ve never had a teacher pay a fraction of the amount of attention to me as she pays to her students in each class.

— Amber Z.

You have a rare elite level of experience in Rockford. Aubrey has lived a life that most people let alone most dancers can only dream of, and she’s choosing to share that experience and that gift with Rockford Illinois. That’s a privilege that people would give anything to experience. She proves that teaching to the highest standards doesn’t need to be abusive or suck the joy out of dancing. My daughter loves classes here!

Mikala, a mother who happily drives in from Chicago because it’s Aubrey!

A special review from Miss Stacey- I have to say some things about our Miss Aubrey. Once I asked her if she has ever gotten negative reviews. She said in her blunt New Yorker way, “Yes. From teachers who have less training and are threatened by me. And from parents who turned down the opportunity of training with me. When I told them what would happen to their child at other studios, and then that did happen- they came back and yelled at me. Because they wanted someone to blame and they didn’t want that someone to be themselves.”

Then I asked, “Have you ever gotten bad reviews from students who actually studied with you?”

“No.”

New Yorkers are blunt!

Also I have taken a number of calls from parents whose little girls are crying in the background and the moms are asking about Aubrey’s ballet classes. I asked Aubrey how common it is for her to deal with crying kids. “All the time. If there’s a crying kid on the phone or in the background I know it’s a dancer. And they’re crying either because their teachers are mean, or the kids are, or both.”

That happens a lot?

“Yes.”

“But we don’t have that problem here.” I was hoping she wasn’t about to answer something awful or tell me something about our classes here I didn’t want to hear.

“That’s because I’m here.”

Again, blunt! But she’s not wrong, all the kids and the parents truly love her! And her knowledge of her amazing abilities isn’t a new thing. She has on more than one occasion moved hundreds of miles away and parents sent their kids to live with Miss Aubrey so they could keep training with her, because the kids love her. Aubrey said the kids weren’t even upset to be leaving their parents. So I kid you not when I say kids here really, really love Miss Aubrey!

Praise for the Academic Program

I took the millenial school twice, 1950s school three times, and the little house school twice. They all have surprises! The 1950s school was fun and funny, I like millennial school more than school now. And the Little House on the Prairie school is too much fun to be school. I wish I could do this all year for regular school.

— School Days participant, Age 16

“I didn’t think there was any way this program was going to help my writing. I hate writing. Not anymore! Why don’t teachers teach writing like this? I feel like I learned more in one hour then all my years at school.”

— Writing Workshop Student Age 16

I was extremely happy with the results achieved in such a short time. Everyone at Empowering Minds was professional, polite, and friendly. I could not have asked for anyone better to teach my child.

— Laura M.

“I loved the Little House on the Prairie school! I learned way more than at my actual school! It was a lot more fun too, but don’t tell my teacher.”

— Little School House on the Prairie student, age 12.

“After I picked up Nicole from her first class she was so excited she was crying.She had struggled for years with writing. We would have paid any amount of money simply for the increase in confidence it gave our daughter. At the end of the program she showed her work to her school teacher-she was shocked my daughters writing had improved so much.”

—Melissa L. Parent of Writing Workshop student