Watch: Inside NP Dance Studio Naperville with Owner Paulina Struk

In this Living in Naperville episode, Dan Firks visits NP Dance Studio in Naperville and sits down with owner Paulina Struk, who left a path toward neurosurgery for a life in dance. Paulina shares how social dancing pulled her out of a difficult time, how she built the studio with her professional dance partner, and what keeps her students coming back. She then gives Dan a live waltz and salsa lesson and introduces Gilbert, an 82-year-old competitive dancer.

Read the full guide: NP Dance Studio in Naperville →

Video Transcript

Dan Firks: What if one night of dancing could change your life? That’s what happened to Paulina. Let’s go inside NP Dance Studio and see what Paulina does to keep Naperville alive and dancing.

Paulina Struk: Hi Dan, how are you today?

Dan Firks: Welcome to the studio. Let’s go take a seat. Paulina, let’s start from the beginning. I heard you were born here in the United States, and then you went to Poland for a little bit and then came back. Can you help me out with that a little bit?

Paulina Struk: Yes, so I was born here, and then my grandpa got sick, so my parents moved to Poland. I grew up in Poland, and then me and my sisters moved back to get an American education. My parents wanted us to finish school here.

Dan Firks: So how long were you back in Poland for?

Paulina Struk: Since I was 2 years old until I was 17.

Dan Firks: 17, so a little bit of time. And then I’m sure you couldn’t wait to get back to the United States?

Paulina Struk: Oh no, not really. I had a really hard time adjusting to the new culture.

Dan Firks: What made it a little bit easier? What was your biggest challenge?

Paulina Struk: The language, the cultural shock. I feel like in Europe the community is different, and in America it was more fast-paced, individualistic. My sister had an easier time adjusting than me. Here in the US I was crying and depressed for a long time.

Dan Firks: Well, we’re happy now?

Paulina Struk: Happy now.

Dan Firks: So Paulina, I heard you were interested in the medical field before dance. Tell me a little bit about that.

Paulina Struk: When we moved, I was at the University of Illinois studying neuroscience. I absolutely fell in love with the study of the brain and the nervous system and how it impacts human behavior, and I wanted to be a neurosurgeon. So I got accepted into medical school. I was extremely depressed and unhappy.

Dan Firks: How many years did you go to school for that?

Paulina Struk: I finished my bachelor’s in neuroscience, and then I did maybe six months of a semester in medical school, and that’s when a lot of health issues started coming in from stress and anxiety. And that’s how I discovered dance. One of my girlfriends invited me to a salsa dance class, and that was the first time I was socially dancing, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I loved it because I got connected to a community. I started practicing the steps in my free time. I started skipping classes because I just wanted to dance and learn more, and have more of that feeling of freedom and joy that I got when I was dancing.

Dan Firks: So tell me, how did you go from where you started to where you are today, the owner of NP Dance and knowing how to take care of dancers?

Paulina Struk: That’s a great question. What dancing did for me is it made me fall in love with myself. During dance you pay attention to each part of your body, your feet, your arms, your legs, your hands. You start appreciating your body for what it is, and you discover it from a different perspective, rather than an instrument that’s meant to get you from point A to point B. You actually appreciate the beauty and the senses that you have. And when you appreciate it, you’re going to take better care of it. It goes hand in hand.

Paulina Struk: With this feeling of love and gratitude, my body just automatically started to transform. Before, I would try all sorts of diets, I would get myself to the gym every morning, I would put so much stress into my body, and I was very critical of my body. But through dance it was a different approach, and without even thinking about it, I lost the weight.

Dan Firks: With all that exercise and dancing, of course.

Paulina Struk: Right, but naturally, in a good, fun way. I became obsessed with dance. All of my free time I would practice and train. I was really good with people, I had really good social skills, so I got hired by a dance studio as a teacher. I found a professional dance partner, and six months later we became a professional dance couple.

Dan Firks: That quick, in six months? So you must have a little bit of talent, a little bit of dance in that step. What brought you from competing to being an instructor? That’s a huge step. Tell us that timeline, how did that look?

Paulina Struk: I got hired by a studio as a teacher, and at that studio I found a dance partner. So simultaneously I was learning how to dance while teaching, while training to be a professional dancer and compete. During COVID, we started getting a lot of clients of our own, and we left the other studio. Then we got so many clients that we needed to get a space. The studio has been open for 3 years, and just last year in November we won the top studio award. The competition is owned by a world champion, Katusha Daminova, in ballroom dancing, so that was a big accomplishment for us. We have top teachers. There’s a couple in the studio, they’re 30th in the world in ballroom dancing.

Dan Firks: Really?

Paulina Struk: They’re here on a work visa from Poland. And a lot of students, because of the prestige and the level of the teachers, the students also won a lot of United States National Dance Sport awards.

Dan Firks: Paulina, outside of the dance world, what do you like to do for fun?

Paulina Struk: I absolutely love horseback jumping.

Dan Firks: What? Horseback jumping? Tell me more.

Paulina Struk: Horseback jumping, equestrian. I have a horse, his name is Maverick, and he’s 7 years old now. He’s at a barn, being taken care of. I go to the barn four to five times a week before work just to get my mind off things, and that’s my therapy for the day. We train and we compete, and hopefully this season will be our best one yet.

Dan Firks: So Paulina, tell me, how has dance changed your life?

Paulina Struk: It’s changed my life tremendously. First of all, it helped me lose weight and get into better shape, which is not unusual.

Dan Firks: Nothing wrong with that.

Paulina Struk: Nothing wrong with that. I think a lot of people who start dancing experience that, which is great. But I think the most profound change was with my emotional and mental health. The way I see things, I feel like I’m more mature in my mind and in my emotions since I’ve been dancing. It really helped me regulate everything, the training. Because it’s not only physical activity, it’s really a mental activity, especially partner dancing, because we exchange energies in dancing and in practice. It’s a fantastic way to train not only the body but also the mind and emotions.

Paulina Struk: And now we’re going to do a waltz. Forward with the left side. Now you’re going to go back. We’re going to rotate, elbows up. Perfect. And we’re going to do bigger steps. Now you’re going to keep the steps and I’m going to turn. Keep doing the box, back, side together, forward. Excellent! You’ve done this before, haven’t you? You’re doing so good.

Dan Firks: I did not expect this, actually! That was pretty good.

Paulina Struk: So in salsa your feet are together, and you’re going to go forward with the left and then back. Now back with the right, back, and repeat. Forward with the left, back. Very nice. Again, forward with the left, keep the steps, and I’m going to turn. Ready, one more time. Forward with the left, back with the right, forward with the left, back with the right, repeat. Very good, you’re doing great, Dan. Awesome job.

Dan Firks: Hey, this is really good. Thank you for teaching me those dance moves, I appreciate that. Tell me, what is your passion here, owning the studio and teaching classes?

Paulina Struk: My favorite part about teaching and being owner of the studio is that I get to see how people’s lives transform through dance. I’ve had so many men come in intimidated to talk to women, who can’t deal with being rejected, or who have very low self-confidence and self-esteem. And then months later you see those guys going out and having all these women line up to dance with them. The person who walked in through the door and the person who walked out is just completely different. The joy and the gratitude you feel is priceless, you can’t put a price on it. And a lot of women coming in, it helps them get in touch with their feminine side and feel feminine and beautiful and appreciate their bodies, just like it did with me. Seeing those changes in all the students, that’s why we’re here.

Paulina Struk: Another thing, I’ve had Gilbert, you got to meet him, an amazing gentleman. When he started, his wife had passed away, he was 30 pounds overweight, and he didn’t see a future for himself. Then he started dancing. He lost 30 pounds, he found a girlfriend, and now he’s one of the top competitive dancers in his age group. He’s 82. His doctors say they haven’t seen anybody with the brain capacity and physical activity that he has.

Dan Firks: That’s wonderful, that’s beautiful. So as we age, it’s all about keeping active and knowing how to dance. Gilbert, tell me a little bit more about what happened before you came to dance.

Gilbert: I had a lady friend that I got to know pretty well, and she was a nice dancer. She also had her own jewelry business, so she was quite busy, and she wanted to introduce me to dancing. I had never danced in my life. We had one dance, and then she got busy, and I had signed up for like five dances, so I said, “All right, I’ll just carry it out.” And I got Paulina as my instructor.

Dan Firks: So you’ve been here six years, obviously you’re loving it, Paulina is amazing. What’s your favorite dance, do you have one?

Gilbert: Waltz, Tango, Fox Trot, three of them.

Dan Firks: Those are your top three. So how has dance impacted your life, Gilbert?

Gilbert: It impacted my life in such a way as to always be looking forward to it. I dance with Paulina three times a week. I was in my 70s, and now I’m coming up on 82. I am very kept alive, so to speak. I’ve got something to look forward to.

Dan Firks: Thank you very much for having us, and we’ll see you next episode of Living in Naperville. Be sure to like and subscribe to get updates on our next episode. And for all your real estate needs, please visit Naperville.com.

Read the full guide to NP Dance Studio in Naperville →