The studio is the canvas. The teacher, the artist—waiting, watching, assessing. Before her stands not just a student, but a soul in motion, waiting to be shaped. In dance, every line of the body tells a story, and every movement is crafted with intention. The right teacher sees what lies beneath the surface: the drive, the potential, the spark.

For Deedie Love Davis, that spark has lit up studios for over 45 years.

“If you can get a child to love you,” she says, “you can get their best out of them.” And she means it. Deedie’s passion for dance isn’t just about choreography—it’s about connection. Her critiques are sharp, her standards are high, but her intentions are always rooted in love. “I’ve pushed dancers harder than most coaches,” she admits, “because I know what’s inside them. I want them to see it too.”

That unwavering belief began long before her own studio days. Deedie was the youngest of three girls. When her older sister Angela was diagnosed with metatarsus adductus (commonly known as pigeon toe), the doctor recommended dance as a remedy. Their mother enrolled all three sisters. What started as a practical solution quickly became a lifelong pursuit.

Angela would go on to open her own studio inside their family’s seafood restaurant, with their father converting an old building on the property and their mother giving it the name that still stands today: Dancing Unlimited. A brand—and a legacy—was born back then.

Deedie followed closely behind, eventually opening her own studio above the fire station in Pembroke, Georgia. It was humble, but filled with promise. Later, she moved her teaching to Hinesville, where she remained for over 30 years. In 2012, she brought the Dancing Unlimited brand back to Richmond Hill. This time, she wasn’t alone.

When Deedie had a daughter of her own, she had her own little dancer to mold.

“Katherine was born in the studio,” she says with a smile. “She’s been dancing since she could walk.” By age three, Katherine Davis Collins was performing on stage, taking critique from both her mother and her aunt with grace and determination. “In middle school, she had a moment where she thought about quitting,” Deedie recalls. “So I made her ride the bus to and from school, since I was teaching. After two weeks, she said she missed it. That was the end of that.”

“That was definitely the only time I ever thought about quitting,” Katherine laughs. “I realized dance wasn’t just something I did—it was who I was.”

After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Dance Performance and Choreography, Katherine returned home to teach beside her mother at the Richmond Hill location of Dancing Unlimited and never looked back.

“I spent a lot of time traveling to dance intensives and camps as a kid,” Katherine shares. “Ballet wasn’t my mom’s strongest genre, but she saw my potential and pushed me to grow. She even sent me to Italy after graduation to study ballet—it was life-changing.”

Now, as the master choreographer behind Dancing Unlimited, Katherine blends classical training with innovative artistry, bringing a fresh energy to the brand while honoring its roots. Ballet, she explains, is the foundation of it all. “Kids don’t love it at first,” she says. “But by the time they’re older, it’s their favorite. It gives you the strength, the technique, the control—it’s the soul of a dancer’s skill set.”

In the competitive dance world, Katherine has earned a reputation for dynamic, emotionally charged choreography. And in 2023, she opened her own studio in Beaufort, South Carolina—carrying the torch to a new generation of dancers. But every week, she still drives back to Richmond Hill to teach alongside her mom.

Their bond is more than familial—it’s artistic––building on the foundation, elevating the vision. Deedie, the lifelong teacher. Katherine, the next-generation innovator. Together, they continue to shape young dancers not just into performers—but into confident, resilient young people.

“To teach dance is to shape a life,” says Katherine. “We teach kids to move with purpose. To push through hard things. To be proud of their strength.”

Theirs is not just a story of movement, but of momentum. Of mothers and daughters. Of legacy and love. And of the transformative power of dance—both on the stage, and far beyond it.