Creative Kids Movement Founder Leads Mission-Driven Model

Kate DeBiase’s Lifelong Passion for Dance Spawned a Rapidly Growing Youth Enrichment Franchise

Kate DeBiase was 4 when her grandfather enrolled her and her cousins in dance lessons. She vividly remembers her first class, first dance bag, first recital, and even the first recital song, “Man on the Flying Trapeze.”

“Dance was the first and only thing I ever stuck with,” says DeBiase, founder and CEO of Creative Kids Movement Network, a youth enrichment franchise offering dance, fitness and yoga classes to children aged 2-10 at day cares, elementary schools and community centers. “And watching kids grow in our programs is truly an incredible experience for me, for my instructors and for our territory owners. Seeing their balance improve, watching them develop new skills, seeing the huge smiles on their faces when I walk in the room! It’s why I do what I do.”

Her enthusiasm — not only for imparting her love of dance, fitness and yoga to kids, but also for her mission-driven model — has been contagious. Franchising only since August 2025, Creative Kids Movement Network (CKMN) has seven franchisees with locations in Boston; Buffalo, N.Y.; Dallas; Denver; Jacksonville, Fla.; Grand Rapids and West Michigan; and Philadelphia. More candidates are in the discovery process, and “we speak with potential candidates weekly,” DeBiase says.

A Non-Traditional Career Path

DeBiase had danced competitively from sixth grade through high school. At age 18, she considered moving to New York to pursue a career as a professional dancer, but she couldn’t bear to leave home. So, she stayed in Upstate New York and started teaching dance lessons initially, then added yoga and fitness. Meanwhile, her well-meaning father suggested that she needed a backup plan. “You can’t teach dance forever,” she recalls him saying.

So, while continuing to run her classes, she attended a two-year college and went to work in sales. She ultimately earned a bachelor’s degree in business management at age 35, and then went into corporate training management. Although she was excelling in her career, she was miserable. “It was 2016 when the corporate burnout became overwhelming,” DeBiase says.

By this time, she had married and started a family. Husband Alex DeBiase (pictured with Kate below), a former colleague with a background in medical device sales, has since joined CKMN as vice president of business development. He recalls suggesting a transition: “You’ve got this great little side business. Why don’t you go take that thing and knock it out of the park?”

So, she did. Within six months after leaving the corporate grind for full-time entrepreneurship, Kate grew CKMN’s enrollment from about 100 students to almost 500, and, within a year, the business expanded by 274%. “I traded in my pencil skirt and high heels for yoga pants and dance shoes full-time,” Kate says. “P.S. My dad couldn’t be happier or prouder of where this business has taken me!”

A Mission-Driven Model

Creative Kids Movement Network’s mission-driven model has attracted prospective franchisees who want to make a positive difference for children and their families — and for themselves, Kate says. Franchise owners come from diverse backgrounds, including some from corporate careers like herself. “They were tired of working long hours with no added benefits and a lot of added stress. They wanted to do something that would really make a difference in the lives of others and in their community,” she says.

Franchisees recognize other advantages, including:

• The strength and longevity of the business model.
• The combined experience of the DeBiases.
• The training and ongoing support CKMN offers.
• The low-cost, mobile model.
• Territories with a minimum of 200 qualified prospects.
• And the potential for growth as a youth enrichment franchise.

Because classes are held at day cares, elementary schools and community centers, there’s no need for brick-and-mortar facilities. Yet there’s unmet demand for on-site youth enrichment activities, both by day care operators and working parents who don’t have to take time out of their weekends and evenings for their children’s classes.

How Children and Parents Benefit

Parents increasingly recognize the benefits of dance, yoga and mindfulness for their children. “Our classes help improve strength and motor skills, foster skill development, create self-awareness, build confidence, and promote teamwork and collaboration. Our programs provide a strong foundation for children to develop healthy, active habits that carry into their daily lives,” she says. “I receive emails from parents regularly about how kids go home so excited to show what they’ve learned. Most recently, I received a testimonial from a parent who is also a classroom teacher at her son’s day care saying that his physical therapist noted an improvement in his balance. She attributes it to his yoga classes!”

The feel-good aspects of CKMN’s mission-driven model are undeniable, Kate says. “To anyone craving a career change and wanting to do something meaningful, I ask: What is holding you back?! There will never be the perfect time, and if you keep waiting, the opportunity will pass you by.”

For information about franchising opportunities, go to the Creative Kids Movement Network website.