Today we’d like to introduce you to Faith Helmlinger.
Hi Faith, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been dancing since I was two years old, so dance has always been a huge part of my life. My mom has been a dance instructor for as long as I can remember. When I was in preschool, she would even come to my school every week and teach creative movement classes. I truly grew up dancing alongside her.
When I was 12, my mom started Richmond Urban Dance. At the time, Richmond didn’t really have drop-in-style dance classes, and there were very few studios focused on hip-hop. Richmond has always been such a creative city, but there weren’t many opportunities for dancers who wanted to explore hip-hop or pursue dance professionally. My mom saw that need and decided to create something herself.
RUD’s first classes were held on the streets of Richmond. We danced in parking lots, parks, and parking garages. If it was hot, we danced outside. If it snowed, we danced outside. No matter the weather, we found a way to keep dancing. It wasn’t until about seven years later that we began operating from a permanent home base.
I helped with anything and everything I could. I started teaching when I was around 14, worked dance camps, checked people in, helped with performances, and spent hours on whatever DIY project the studio needed at the time. In high school, I took a graphic design class and immediately fell in love with it. I started finding ways to bring that skill into the studio by creating logos, merchandise, show flyers, and social media posts. That eventually led me to major in graphic design at VCU and take on more of the studio’s marketing, including refreshing the website, building our social media presence, and shaping the way RUD presented itself to the community.
Today, I’m the Creative and Marketing Director, but like any family-run organization, my role reaches far beyond one title. I help oversee class schedules, studio rentals, performances, administrative work, and anything else needed to help keep everything running smoothly.
Watching RUD grow has been incredibly rewarding. We went from having four people in one class each week to offering more than 20 classes a week, with hundreds of people walking through our doors. We’ve also been able to bring dance into the community through scholarships, free classes, special needs programs, after-school programs, and outreach for people who may not otherwise have access to it.
RUD is a nonprofit, and I think people sometimes see a busy studio and assume that must mean there is a lot of money behind it. The reality is that running a dance studio and supporting community programs takes an incredible amount of time, funding, and sacrifice. So much of what comes into RUD goes right back into keeping the doors open, paying our instructors well, supporting our programs, and making dance more accessible. My mom has made countless personal sacrifices to keep the mission moving forward, many of which people will never see.
More than anything, RUD has become a safe haven. We’ve heard countless stories from people who came to us because they were struggling with anxiety, needed an escape from something happening at home, wanted to make friends, or simply needed somewhere they could be themselves. Over time, many of them found a second family here. That is what matters most to us. We want every person who walks through our doors to feel like they belong.
Building something this meaningful has not always been easy. There have been countless late nights, difficult lessons, and plenty of trial and error. When you’re building something, people will always have opinions about how you do it, and there will be moments when you feel misunderstood or taken advantage of. The most important thing is continuing to move forward without losing sight of why you started.
That is one of the things I admire most about my mom. She handles people with so much grace and genuinely cares about her staff and the Richmond dance community. She continuously puts others before herself, even when it means she gets the short end of the stick. Watching her lead with that much kindness has shaped the way I approach my own work and the person I’ve become. She is truly the best mother and boss I could ever imagine.
RUD has been our baby and our life’s work. To have grown alongside it, from a 12-year-old helping wherever I could to now playing a role in leading its creative direction, is something I feel incredibly grateful for.
I’m also fortunate that creativity has carried into every part of my career. Along with my work at RUD, I work as a graphic designer at Brand Gloss, a boutique marketing agency in Richmond, and recently started my own photography business, Sincerely, Faith. Working at RUD from such a young age gave me a place to learn, experiment, and turn my creativity into a career. None of it would have happened without those early opportunities or without my mom trusting me to create and grow alongside her.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t always been a smooth road. There have been many times when we’ve had to start over, change direction, or rebuild something we worked incredibly hard on. But honestly, I don’t think you can become a strong business owner without failing along the way. Some of our biggest lessons have come from the things that didn’t work. You learn, make adjustments, and push through anyway. As a nonprofit, we’ve also had to learn how to do a lot with limited resources while continuing to support our instructors and make dance accessible. There have been long nights and difficult moments, but every setback has made us more resilient and even more committed to why we started.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work has always lived at the intersection of creativity and storytelling. I’m the Creative and Marketing Director at Richmond Urban Dance, where I oversee our branding, social media, website, marketing campaigns, merchandise, and creative direction. My role also goes far beyond marketing. I help with class schedules, performances, studio rentals, administration, and many of the day-to-day pieces that keep the studio moving.
Outside of RUD, I work as a graphic designer at Brand Gloss, a boutique marketing agency in Richmond. There, I create branding and marketing materials for a variety of clients, which has helped me grow as both a designer and a strategic thinker. I also recently started my own photography business, Sincerely, Faith, where I focus on couples, proposals, elopements, and lifestyle photography. Even though these roles may seem different, they are all connected by my love for telling stories and creating work that makes people feel something.
I think what sets me apart is that I don’t look at creativity from only one perspective. I’m a designer who understands marketing, a marketer who understands what it takes to run a business, and a photographer who cares deeply about storytelling. Growing up inside RUD gave me real-world experience at a very young age. I didn’t just learn how to make something look good. I learned how to use creativity to connect with people, build community, and help an organization grow.
I’m most proud that I’ve been able to turn the things I genuinely love into a career. I’ve had the opportunity to help build RUD’s identity and share its mission, create work for other businesses through Brand Gloss, and now build something of my own through Sincerely, Faith. I’m still growing and learning, but I feel extremely fortunate that creativity is at the center of everything I do.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I would say my willingness to figure things out. I’m not afraid to try something, make mistakes, and learn as I go. Growing up at RUD taught me that sometimes there isn’t a clear answer or someone there to tell you exactly what to do. You just have to jump in, stay resourceful, and keep moving forward. I’ve carried that mindset into design, marketing, photography, and every new opportunity I’ve taken on. I’m always willing to learn, and I think that has played a huge role in getting me where I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://richmondurbandance.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richmondurbandance
