About Kia Crader
Miss Kia has danced professionally for over 40 years but started her teaching career at the age of 8 years old – for a penny a class to her friends sharing her love of tap dancing. Her first truly professional teaching job was at the age of 16, for a summer dance camp held at Loyola University in Los Angeles, and then as a dance judge for Mexico City’s Independence Day Parade later that year. Kia earned her Performing Arts membership in the prestigious Dance Educators of America when she was 19 years old. She studied a wide variety of styles from New York City to Los Angeles.
Kia has traveled around the US, Mexico, and Canada, dancing professionally in production shows and in musicals (both as a choreographer and a dancer). She landed in Reno to dance in the famed Hello Hollywood Hello show. While dancing in the show, she met and married her husband, making Reno her permanent home. After an extensive career on stage, Kia created her own highly-successful performing arts studio called Fascinating Rhythm in 1994. In the beginning, Kia was the only teacher and she specialized in tap dancing (hence the name of the studio). As much as Kia enjoyed performing on stage, she truly loves to share her expertise, talents, and experiences with the next generation’s performers – be it with recreational or professional dancers. Over the years, the studio has grown “in leaps and bounds” and is now called Fascinating Rhythm School of Performing Arts or Kia’s FR Dance, presenting multiple styles of dance from many highly-skilled teachers with a wide curriculum, offering classes in all styles, at all levels, and for all ages, including aerial silks, tumbling and parkour. The majority of FR’s staff are current or former professional dancers.
Kia is especially proud of the studio’s Very Special Dance program for our students with various special needs, started in 2006. It is the only private dance program in Northern Nevada for the developmentally delayed community. Our Very Special Dancers are the hands-down hit of every annual recital and have performed for Nevada’s Special Olympics Summer Games, Reno’s Buddy Walk, among other related local events.
Kia’s FR Dance has been awarded Certificate of Excellence as one of Reno’s Top Three Dance Studios by Three Best Rated, a world-wide company – twice!