Dancing like a star: Maycee Dominguez trains future professional dancers at the Dance Company of Ocala

Maycee Dominguez, a dance choreographer, poses for a photo at The Dance Company Ocala on Southeast Maricamp Road in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted November 5, 2021 | By Julie Garisto
Associate Editor

Maycee Dominguez can’t remember when she started dancing. Her mom — Deb Stromwall, a dance instructor at the now-closed Mary Ellen School of Dance — said her daughter has been dancing since she was a toddler.

“We all danced,” Dominguez said of her family. All of the nine Stromwall children learned to plié and spin at some point of their lives.

At the Dance Company of Ocala, where Dominguez now teaches, a seafoam-painted studio grabs your attention with the words “Dance. Art. Life.” painted in big black letters over the mirror. Left of the mirror, a dry-erase board slogan motivates students with GRIT spelled out vertically as an acronym for “Give it your all”; “Redo if necessary”; “Ignore the urge to quit”; “Take time to do it right.”

Dominguez, an instructor and choreographer at the school, said she lives by these mottos as she teaches kids 6 and older a variety of performance styles that range from athletic to graceful to rhythmic.

“I’ve watched my students grow up,” Dominguez said with a smile.

Some of those students she met as first-graders at Mary Ellen’s. They’re now seniors who continued their education at the Dance Company of Ocala.

“My sister (Marla Goodman) taught me a lot of what I know,” she added. “She basically was my teacher growing up.”

Dominguez, 27, grew up taking classes and taught at the Mary Ellen school alongside her mom, who taught dance and aerobics.

At the tender age of 6, Dominguez started competing in regional and national dance competitions, earning top scores and titles throughout Florida. Following in her mom and sister’s dance steps, the doe-eyed force of nature began teaching young dancers when she was 16.

Her dance ambitions took her to Los Angeles, a time in her life she called “an amazing experience.” In California, Dominguez danced with some of the top choreographers and performers in the industry while training in contemporary dance.

“Everything was just kind of meshed together and it was just so different,” she said.

The emotive expression of contemporary dance, a more narrative and interpretive style of movement, awoke in Dominguez a renewed passion for her craft. She absorbed inspiration from top choreographers in the industry, including Shannon Mather, who taught her tools of the trade.

For four years. Dominguez worked as a professional dancer for Walt Disney World as a character performer and joined the cast of “Fantasmic!” at Hollywood Studios.

Since then she’s been striving for excellence with the Dance Company of Ocala, leading the Ocala Dance Collective, the school’s competitive team and tours with them around four or five times a year. Nominated in the 2021 open category by the nationwide Dance Industry Awards, the Dance Collective takes cues from Dominguez’s signature blend of jazz, lyrical and hip-hop styles.

“My goal is to not only help build my students’ character but to equip them for everyday life,” the eclectic instructor said.

The studio has a Christmas show on Dec. 11, Dominguez shared, “but specifically for what I direct, I prepped the competition team here and we have a show on Feb. 5 and that involves all of our competitive dances that we take to competitions for the season. It’s our first showcase of the year and it’s a fundraiser for the school.”

When Dominguez isn’t teaching, she’s doing “outdoorsy things” with her husband, Daniel Dominguez. They take to the trails hiking or rambling in their Jeep. Occasionally, they’ll venture out of their Lake Weir environs to enjoy some nightlife and mini golf in Orlando. The rest of the time, mellowing out at home suits Dominguez just fine.

“I love Ocala,” Dominguez effused. “I love the slow pace of it. Not a lot of people like that, but I love it.”

For more information about classes and events at the Dance Company of Ocala, visit dancecompanyocala.com.