AMJ Dance a Family Tradition in Attleboro for Almost 60 Years

Gay Heather Barboza said she’s been dancing all her life, which is not exactly an exaggeration.

“I started, maybe in the womb?” she said laughing.  “It was always a part of my life, I never knew anything different.”

Maybe a little bit of an exaggeration. She said her mother and aunts started the AMJ Dance Studio in 1954, and moved all over Attleboro to teach dance. She said AMJ stands for the names of her mother and aunts, April, May and June.

Barboza said the studio moved around a lot in those days.

“We’ve been everywhere,” she said. “We pretty much rented out church halls and music halls in the 60s. We had a permanent hall above the Lantern Lodge, which is now the Oasis.”

She added while they had a space on the second floor, they still went out to teach and dance all over the place.

“It was in 1979 my mom renovated the basement [of their house] and brought the studio there,” she said. “But we were always in different places. We didn’t have a home, but we always had phenomenal enrollment. It was less expensive that way.”

Barboza said in 1990, right out of college, she became the assistant manager of the studio and helped her mom and aunts manage the business. In 1997 they moved County Street, and in 2009 moved to their current location on Water Street.

She said going into the family business was a no brainer for her.

“I realized when I was in high school that I didn’t want to do anything elese,” she said. “Wait, people have to go to work? For a job? During the day?!? When I found out you could dance for a living and make money and be around children, family and friends, it really became something I was interested in.”

Barboza said while she does not push dance on her children, her mother had a different opinion.

“It’s funny, because my daughter is 14 and I never really pushed her into dance,” she said. “I mean, I always presented it to her, and she’s taken a class or two. My mom, on the other hand, just put us in classes and we just did it.”

Barboza said it was a life-affirming event when she realized she could dance for a living, but it’s just as good when she sees it in her students’ eyes.

“You always try to foster that in all your kids,” she said. “When you see that happen they have their own little lightbulb moment and you see it happen, part of me is always crossing my fingers. I hope it carries through the rest of their lives in dance or music or whatever. When they have that moment, I feel very privileged.”

She added she has over 200 students for dance and music lessions.

AMJ dance teaches dance and music. They’re located on 64 Water Street. Click here to see their lesson schedule.