Amanda Ellis has an anticipatory twinkle in her eyes, like a ballet dancer one count before a pirouette.
Now a manager of marketing and communications at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Ellis grew up training in dance at Ballet Tennessee and still teaches children’s ballet as a “side hustle.”
“I started dancing at 4 years old,” Ellis says. “It was my only extracurricular. Five [after-school classes] a week and all-day Saturday.”
Now, Ellis teaches 4- to 6-year-olds at Bella Ballerina, a dance studio on the North Shore.
“I think that’s my age sweet spot,” she says. “With my little ones, it’s just giving them the foundation to love dance.”