Fresh out of college with a dream to teach dance, Koni Barber took the plunge. She graduated in May 1995, opened her dance studio in Mineola in June and married Danny Riley in July.

What she first envisioned as a sideline while she taught math with her elementary education degree quickly turned into a full-time enterprise that, 25 years later, is still going strong.

“It exploded on me,” she said.

She’s working with several second-generation students, the oldest of whom is now a sixth grader.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic scaled back plans for the big 25th anniversary recital, Dance Dimensions still has daily classes filled with youngsters learning to dance.

Riley credits her mother, Kay Barber, with her dance skills while her father, Errol, was the one who helped her learn the business side of business and plan the new dance studio opened in January 2018 on Loop 564.

Even her 16-year-old triplets get credit for helping grow the business.

At 18-months they showed their mom that even at that age youngsters could benefit from dance, leading to the formation and Mom and Me classes.

In addition to dance lessons starting at 18 months through 18 years, Dance Dimensions also fields competitive dance teams that have garnered numerous national awards. In fact, they have garnered 25 titles in 25 years.

Riley’s students have gone on to perform with college dance teams across Texas, from the nearby Apache Belles from Tyler Junior College and her first Kilgore Rangerette last year to her alma mater at Stephen F. Austin. UNT, SMU,  UTA, Southwestern and A&M-Commerce are among the others.

Former students have achieved success in numerous other fields, from teaching to the law, as well as dance.

Riley started out in gymnastics but soon made the switch to dance and was hooked.

She majored in elementary education with a minor in dance in college and made time for a few years to perform one season with the Dallas Mavericks dancers and two more with the Dallas Sidekicks.

The triplets came along in 2004, when doctor-ordered bed rest led Riley to rely more on her staff.

They still recall her in a recliner at the studio counting off the drills.

She realized that the studio could survive and even flourish without her there daily hands-on.

From doing most of the teaching herself, she now oversees others while handling the administrative duties, which have expanded with the additional dance teams.

In addition to choreography and costumes, there’s travel arrangements as well.

And seven years ago, looking for a better way to raise the extra funds needed to field competitive teams, a couple of the moms planned and executed a benefit 5K race.

The eighth edition Rhythm Run was held just last weekend, and Riley said it hosted the most runners yet.

The idea was born to hold one big fundraiser for the year rather than have each team doing its own smaller events.

Not only does it fund the costumes, travel and such, but there has been enough to allow Dance Dimensions to give back to the community.

Dance Dimensions began in a metal building on the block where the middle school she attended was once located. Her father and a partner had bought the property, and he put up the metal building. A $2,000 gift from her grandfather helped buy needed supplies, a sound system and such, and her mom – also a former math teacher – stepped in to do the books.

Riley said she decided to take the first year to learn the business of running a studio before jumping into teaching math, but the business that had attracted around 30 students grew quickly to 60 in the summer and 80 by the fall.

Although recent attendance has been impacted by the pandemic, it has risen to a steady 140 or so, and after the new studio opened grew to around 160-170.

Two years ago marked the first student to earn a 15-year pin, with another the following year and then four more, including her girls.

Students come from most of the school districts in the area, and they are like a big family, Riley said.

They were able to hold the 25-year recital – scheduled for May – in July in Greenville, having outgrown many venues in the area.

She wishes that Mineola had a performing arts venue that could hold the recital.

The students had just finished with their recital routines when the pandemic shut things down at spring break, so they were able to continue preparations working remotely.

Plans to have former students for the big event had to be scaled back, though. But it was still a grand celebration.