In the heart of downtown Rockford, tucked beneath the Luther Center, sits FAB Dance & Fitness Academy, a place where creativity meets confidence and young dreams begin to find their rhythm.
ROCKFORD — In the heart of downtown Rockford, tucked beneath the Luther Center, sits FAB Dance & Fitness Academy, a place where creativity meets confidence and young dreams begin to find their rhythm.
The heartbeat of the studio is its founder and CEO, Fabbie Williams.
“Dance has been in my spirit, ever since I was born, I started dancing professionally at eight years old.”
Born and raised in Rockford, Williams said she always felt destined for greatness. Part of that journey took her to Atlanta, where she found inspiration that would later shape her vision back home.
“Being in Atlanta, Georgia, seeing the black ballerinas, the black tap dancers and the black performers, the dance studios, they really inspired me to want to bring that back to Rockford. And I knew I wanted to do it. I knew I wanted it to be special.”
She did just that, creating the space the community knows today.
No matter the season, one student has remained a constant. Eleven-year-old Lakyisha Jones has been with Williams since the beginning.
“I first started dancing when I was six years old. I went to an Easter event and I saw a group of girls dancing. I told my grandmother, ‘I want to dance’,” said Jones.
“I loved all the energy that they were giving… the facials… cause when I was younger, I was always about energy, jumping around like you could not get me to sit still.”
Now the oldest in her class, Jones has stepped into a leadership role, helping guide younger dancers as they prepare for their next Black History Month performance.
“Black excellence is just beating the norm, outdoing the norm, setting the bar high, doing what may be hard, doing what you know is not the normal, but trying it because you love it,” said Williams.
“Being the first to do it. I am the youngest black Dance and Fitness studio owner in our city so i made history with that in 2021.”
Over the years, FAB has grown into more than just a dance studio.
“We are a big believer that the arts and education go hand in hand with each other. We do not just touch on dance, we touch on the students, their reading, their speech, their math…,” said Williams.
“If they even want to go into media, [they can go into] multimedia learning, social media, safety, teaching, what it is to be an artist, building the portfolio by resume, introducing them to different performance opportunities so their resume can be built.”
The studio also works to remove financial barriers for families.
“We fundraise and we carry on our daily programming to support our students being able to attend for free based on their needs.”
Each season brings new students of all ages, colors and backgrounds, with the studio booking events across the region.
“Dance is development. Dance teaches discipline, and even if your child doesn’t grow up to be a dancer, dance builds character, confidence, and it’s something that they may enjoy as a career.”
In recent months, the academy expanded with the creation of FAB Lab, a space where students can explore interests outside of dance, including a workout room and a recording studio.
“The best way to keep a student occupied [and] off the streets is activity,” said Williams.
Extracurricular activity is proven to have helped strengthen the students mind and needs and wants for character development and also career development. So we want to keep them safe first of all, and then also give them a safe place to express themselves, whether that’s through dance, artistry, poetry, rap, or even acting. So we want to give them an outlet.”
Jones said the studio has already helped her grow beyond dance.
“When I first started at fab I was just focused on dancing, but Fabbie helped me so much. I’m writing my own rap song right now, and hopefully I’ll be able to perform it at our next Black History show.”
Williams said representation plays a key role in what the studio stands for.
“If we don’t have any examples, we don’t know what we can be. So me being able to be raised in the south and see black entrepreneurs, black doctors, black lawyers, black dentists. It’s all about having a representation. It’s all about having someone to look up to.”
The group has a major performance coming up as part of Black History Month celebrations.
The NAACP will host a free Black History Month celebration Saturday, November 21st at the RPL Nordlof Center in Downtown Rockford from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. FAB Dance & Fitness Academy will be one of several groups performing at the event.
They also ask the community for donations to continue sponsoring young dancers. You can donate through PayPal through fabsdf815@gmail.com. Click here for more details.
