The Heartbeat Performing Arts Center was founded in 1998 by a mother and daughter duo, Deborah Lysholm and Kristin Freya. They started it as a dance studio only, but opened it up to other performing arts that includes travel study programs to Barcelona and Tokyo, a critically-acclaimed dance studio called Vox Medusa, performing companies, and an academy program for budding performers. It is a collaborative and supportive environment, and the staff has a philosophy of noncompetitive performance because they want their students to experience art in a pure form.