Tingna Xu knew that something had to change.
For years, she had been bouncing around between various dance studios across the Bay Area, teaching dance lessons as a guest teacher.
She taught dance to adults for 15 years; but after giving birth to her first two children, she started feeling that it was time to broaden her scope…
“I really wanted to share my love of dancing with my kids,” said Xu in an interview with The Beat.
So naturally, Xu shifted her focus from teaching adults to teaching children. And after working with countless children over several years, she started to realize that there wasn’t an ideal dance studio that would support the growing talent of all her students. She envisioned being able to serve more young dancers, and to have multiple studio spaces serving various levels and age groups.
She started searching for spaces. Since Xu is a resident of Milpitas, she looked in the Milpitas area first to see what she could find, but there was no space big enough to match what she’d been picturing.
However, after many months of searching, she found the ideal spot – a massive 7,000-square-foot warehouse located on Oakland Road in San Jose.
Xu and her team worked tirelessly to transform the space into a vibrant, modern, and welcoming dance studio, infusing it with many creative touches. And last year, in the summer of 2024, Tingna Dance Studio opened its doors for the very first time.
The studio, which serves kids from ages 4-18, has around a couple hundred students and is continuing to grow.
At Tingna Dance, there are currently over 30 teachers teaching 40-50 classes per week.
One of the teachers, Namaad Jackson, teaches classes at the studio three days a week. He has been dancing for 21 years, and has been teaching dance for 15 of them.
“Coming to this studio has been so rewarding,” said Jackson. “Seeing the kids come from being a tiny, shy dancer to being a huge, extroverted dancer. It’s pretty amazing to witness that.”
Tingna Dance Studio teaches street dance, which is an umbrella term used to describe various styles of dance, including breakdancing, hip-hop, k-pop, locking, and popping.
“For street dance, you don’t go solo. You need a team. You need friends and a community,” said Xu.
Students at Tingna Dance Studio are taught a strong foundation of technique, flexibility, and strength.
For students who are interested in competing, the studio also holds auditions once a year. Students who qualify are welcomed to join different teams and participate in many competitions.
During the 2025 season, students at Tingna Dance Studio have competed in 6 different competitions, winning dozens of awards.
Right now, they have a total of 65 kids divided into 6 teams that compete. These teams were recognized for their hard work and dedication earlier this month at a ceremony in the studio.
“I love competitions. I think it’s another level of commitment. The way you treat yourself is completely different. You have to go out there and push yourself and break limits,” said Xu.
It was when Xu was a teenager in high school that she first started dancing and competing. She soon noticed how amazing she always felt when she was up onstage.
Asked about the benefits of dance, Xu said that she believes dance has the ability to change a child’s life. With her own students, she sees that their confidence, presenting skills, and mental health have greatly improved.
This is something that the parents have noticed as well.
Li-Jin Chen has two girls, ages 7 and 10, taking classes at Tingna Dance. Both his daughters are also part of the competitive teams.
“They’ve gotten a lot of confidence from this. They don’t feel shy around people anymore. And they get to learn teamwork,” said Chen. “I keep sending them here because they feel so happy and confident.”
David Wong’s daughter started training with Xu about two years ago, when she was six years old. At first, Wong and his wife looked at it as a way for their daughter to get some social interaction, after COVID had kept everyone isolated for so long. But then they started to notice that their daughter was developing her confidence; not only that, but she was truly enjoying the dancing.
“This whole operation they have here at Tingna Dance is just mind-boggling,” said Wong. “My daughter loves it here. She went from not knowing how to dance to being in four competitions.”
One of the dancers, Yili Feng, told The Beat that when she was 10 years old, her mom signed her up for classes with Xu as a way to get some exercise. Feng started taking classes and ended up really loving them. Now she’s 14 and has grown so much as a dancer. Her team won three different dance championships this season.
“I feel like a lot of my leadership skills have really improved here. It’s an awesome community where we all support each other,” said Feng.
To find out about their upcoming summer camp or to learn more about Tingna Dance Studio, go to their website here.
Photos courtesy of Tinga Dance Studio.
