Our Story

Dance Fire Studio & Fitness is truly one of a kind. From our unique atmosphere to our state-of-the-art wooden floors, everything was carefully thought through in order to give our students the best possible experience.

Dance Fire Studio & Fitness was founded in 2017 by Natalia O’Connor. She took the Capital District by storm and after a few years of teaching independently she decided to open a state of the art studio that will deliver the highest level of dance instruction as well as a variety of fitness classes suited for everyone. All of our instructors are personable and fully experienced to teach dance & fitness at all levels. Whether your focus is learning some new moves, a wedding or an important event, or you’re just looking for a new way to work out and meet new people, you can find it all here. Explore our website for more information, and feel free to reach out with questions. Stop by to check us out!

Our amenities

Beautiful floating wooden floor (4400 SF)
Large mirrors
Controlled temperature with air conditioning system
High quality sound system with large music selection
Attractive lounge/waiting area
Women and men changing rooms and restrooms
Wheelchair accessible
Free WIFI
Large parking area
Water, coffee, tea, snacks provided
Great selection of nearby dining and shopping options

Meet the Team

Natalia O'Connor Vlad

Owner & Dance Master

Natalia was born in Bloomington, Illinois. She spent her childhood in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, and fell in love with dancing at the age of 7 and have been dancing ever since. Natalia O’Connor is a professionally trained ballroom dancer who has performed and competed across the world on the amateur circuit since the age of 10. Mrs. O’Connor Vlad has won various awards and toured extensively during her career in the industry. Having worked as an instructor in many places around the country and world, including Russia, Romania, Louisiana, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Vermont, she is the proud owner of the newest ballroom & fitness studio in the Capital Region. She is a former National Champion, World Semi-finalist and World Cup Finalist. She is a full member of the National Dance Council of America (NDCA) as well as the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), both leading governing bodies in the dance industry. Natalia has a BA in Psychology having studied both sports psychology as well as Behavioral and Social Psychology.

Florin Vlad

Studio Manager & Dance Master

Florin Vlad, originally from Romania, is a world renowned competitive ballroom dancer and a multiple US National DanceSport Finalist, currently ranked 5th in the country. Together with his dance partner, Natalia O'Connor, he successfully represented USA at 5 World Championships. Florin is an active member of the Competitor’s Commission of the National DanceSport Council of America. He has a clear understanding of this industry with over 10 years of experience in competitive dancing as well as teaching experience. Mr. Vlad has a concentrated business experience being a young entrepreneur and successfully handling the various challenges that a start-up company faces in the civil engineering field. Florin was handling all the business, management and office work at the company that he co-owns with his brother. The company continues to be successful even after Florin has ceased his attributions to focus on his dancing career. He has full professional English language skills having studied this language from a very young age. Florin is also very involved with the local communities that he is part of. He regularly volunteers to perform at charitable events that benefit various areas of the local communities.

Anna Derevyanchenko

Dance Master

Born and raised in New York City, Anna took her first dance class at the age of three and forever fell in love with it. For the first six years of her dance career, Anna learned ballet at the Steps on Broadway in NYC and eventually joined the School of American Ballet. There she took part in the company’s ballet performances including The Nutcracker, Firebird, and Swan Lake at the David H. Koch Theater and the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center. She later went to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, better known as the Fame School, where she continued her education in both ballet and modern dance (Martha Graham and Horton techniques).

Alongside her ballet career Anna started ballroom dancing at the age of ten. Initially starting in just International Latin, Anna’s interests quickly spread to other styles such as International Standard and eventually American Smooth. She competed in Latin and Standard in the amateur circuit for eight years and later in the professional circuit in Smooth for two years. She retired two years ago from competitive dancing as a professional Smooth dancer and now hopes to pass on her knowledge of dance to others.

Outside of her dance career Anna has bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Russian Translation and is now pursuing a Master’s in Nutrition and Dietetics.

Bethany Jenkinson

Front Desk Representative

Bethany is a lifelong resident of the Capital District who brings over 20 years of office administration, accounting, scheduling and customer service experience. Her background is in performing arts and has attended Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY and SUNY Albany. Bethany enjoyed taking traditional ballet and jazz lessons as a youngster, and now spends much of her free time supporting her two daughters' competition dance and gymnastics ventures. She has contributed to three successful dance seasons at another local dance studio and especially enjoyed recital planning and being "Stage Mom" to scores of young dancers. Bethany is excited to continue sharing her love of the performance arts and dedication to customer service with our Dance Fire Studio family!