A 23-year-old rising star snagged Groveland’s Business of the Month for November. Jordan Hilgenberg, a former audition winner on “So You Think You Can Dance,” starring celebrity Paula Abdul, started JoJo’s Performing Arts Dance Studio two years ago in the heart of Groveland’s historic downtown. The studio, at 104 E. Broad St., has dozens of students who train in a variety of dance styles, including acrobatic rings.
Hilgenberg is an accomplished dancer. At 17, she won the title Miss World Dance, competing against talented dancers from around the globe. Her students at the Groveland studio already captured a national championship.
The Business of the Month honor was awarded by the City of Groveland’s Community Redevelopment Agency Manager Dan Murphy. The program aims to highlight successful businesses in the city’s downtown core.
“JoJo’s Dance Studio is the kind of entrepreneurial enterprise that is at the heart of downtown revitalization,” Murphy said. “Her energy, professionalism, and dedication to her students are the seeds of growth of a successful and appealing business.”
Hilgenberg said she was surprised and pleased by the recognition.
“I was ecstatic – completely,” Hilgenberg said. “It’s such an honor. I concentrate on teaching and loving the students, and they do the rest.”
Hilgenberg’s students performed for the city’s former Mayor Dina Sweatt and City Manager Mike Hein before Murphy displayed the Business of the Month sign in front of the dance studio, a former bank building. Hilgenberg’s positive approach and attention to technique were obvious.
With the studio’s national championship and the newest honor added to Hilgenberg’s impressive credentials, the future of JoJo’s Performing Arts Dance Studio, and downtown Groveland, seems unlimited.
