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DXP
October 2025
Chariton Area Chamber/Main Street is proud to feature one of our local contributing businesses in the monthly Small Business Spotlight.
This month, we are featuring DXP, a dance & tumbling studio that has been in our community for 13 years! Tara & Brittney were young entrepreneurs with big dreams, and they turned them into a reality!
What is your job title and role?
How long have you been in business in Chariton/Lucas County?
Tara Schooly & Brittany Horton, owners of DXP, LLC dance and tumbling studio.
We started DXP in 2002 in Centerville, Iowa at the age 16 and 14 with the help of our parents. We opened in Chariton in 2012. We have been in 3 locations in Chariton over the last 13 years. We are located at 125 E Grace Ave. Our building consists of 2 dance rooms, 1 tumbling room, and a lobby area.
We are thankful to have a great staff at DXP. Elizabeth Bergeron started as a full teacher and choreographer in 2015. Our mom, Renae, does all the bookwork and works that front desk a couple nights a week. Kim Pierschbacher has worked the front desk for 12 years. We are thankful for all of our current and former instructors and assistants for making DXP what it is today.
DXP is a family business as our family is very involved and helps out with performances and events.
Pictured:
Our parents: Doug & Renae Cosgrove
Tara's Family: Ben, Kane, Kinsley, & Blakely Schooley Brittany's Family: Eli, Easton, & Sutton Horton
Describe your business
We offer dance & tumbling classes to kids age 1.5 - 18. The different styles we offer are ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical/contemporary, and hip-hop. We also have 3 levels of performance and training opportunities at the studio. We offer recreational classes, a CREW performance team, and an intensive team. For the littlest movers we offer a Creative Movement class for child and parent.
We love being a part of events in our community and holding our own performance events as well. We have a Dance Fest event in October that families help raise money and bring food for the food pantry. We dance in the Homecoming parade, at the care center, 4th of July celebration, and at local basketball games. In the spring we look forward to competing at competitions and showcasing our students in our spring Recital.
What inspires you to keep at it each day?
Seeing our students perform is always the biggest motivator. To see what we have created together, and to see them be brave and so confident on stage and really enjoy what they are doing. We love working with our staff and students to make each class, routine, and performance the best it can be.
Why do you do what you do?
We started DXP to share our love of dance. We love being able to give kids in the community a place to grow, make friends, perform, and share a common passion. Dance & tumbling foster great characteristics, such as a great work ethic, team work, leadership, and self-discipline.
Was there a specific moment or realization where you made the decision to start your own business?
Dance was a huge passion of ours and we wanted it a part of our life in a big way. We wanted to explore the creative side of choreography, costuming, planning a recital, etc. We had great support from our parents to get started and had many families want to be a part of our studio upon opening. This encouraged us to coninue to educate ourselves to provide great dance education.
Why did you choose Chariton for your business?
Both Tara & Brittany live in Chariton and love the community. Having a business here helps us connect with the kids in the area. We are thankful fo the support of the many families we have had over the years.
What are your biggest challenges as a business owner?
The biggest challenge in our business is balancing work and home life. Our classes take place in the evenings but a lot of our work happens during the day to keep the business running smoothly.
What are your biggest rewards?
Our biggest reward is the relationships we get to have with our students. We make a lot of memories together throughout the season. It is especially rewarding to have relationships that span from the age of 3 to graduating high school. We are with them every step of the way of growing up and is fun to reconnect with our alumni when they come back to town or at future dance events.
What will people get from your business that they won't get anywhere else?
DXP is special in the fact that we are small studio but we offer many opportunities at all levels for our students. We take pride in our weekly recreational classes and the fun and education students receive in those, as well as students looking to train at a high level in a small town.
DXP can be found here:
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