Passionate ballroom & social dance professional since 1987, Joyce has had an extensive career in performance, competition, and teaching.  In August of 1989, Joyce had the privilege of dancing in the DanceArt USSR tour, then later that year went on to study ballroom and social dance in Paris.  Joyce’s area of interest in competition and performance has ranged from American Rhythm & Smooth, West Coast Swing, Hustle, Cabaret and has taught nationally throughout her career.

From 1992-1996, Joyce and her dance partner held onto the Michigan’s Swing & Hustle State Championship titles, held 2-State championships in Lambada, and have been finalist in American Rhythm, West Coast Swing, and Cabaret. Joyce has been inducted into the Michigan Swing Dance Hall of Fame and the National Hustle Dance Hall of Fame. A few of her favorite memories are performing off Broadway, a featured guest artist at the Feather Awards in  Beverly Hills, CA, was invited by Tito Puente to perform on stage with at the Historic Nevele Grand Hotel, NY,  and her all-time favorite was convincing her mentor, Swing Master, Bob Budzynski, age 84, to come out of retirement and compete on the Open Swing Dance World Championships stage one last time with her where they were finalist.

In 1997, Joyce met her husband, Hyung Kim and they married the next year. At that time, Joyce attended the University of Michigan where she jokes, she became the Arthur of The Detroit Hustle, where she defined the underlying principles of the Detroit Hustle, graduated with honors, and received 3- birth certificates from U of M. Joyce and Hyung then moved to St. Louis, MO where Joyce retired from ballroom dance to raise their three children and volunteer in their new community. A few years later, another mom found some dance clips of Joyce on YouTube and insisted she create an educational series around ballroom dance for Black History Month. From there, Joyce created the Social Dance Project where she continues to partner with schools and other organizations, tying dance history, its social connections to pop culture, and how to building a stronger community and understanding through dance.

In 2016, Joyce opened the Center for Social Dance in Okemos, MI, to create awareness around the Social Dance Project and enjoyed teaching and mentoring young dance enthusiast who wished to break into the ballroom dance world on a professional level; in 2020, Joyce made the difficult decision to close the Center for Social Dance early on during COVID. Now, she is ready to open a new chapter in her ballroom dance career and has opened Ballroom Dance Ada, where she will continue to teach, build community, and help students find much fun and laughter through ballroom & social dance.  As Joyce has begun to explore this new chapter, she has been exploring the use of ballroom dance as a therapy for those with Parkinsons disease and as a support for cognitive decline. 

Joyce looks forward to bringing in other talented dance professionals, such as Step Out Ballroom into Ballroom Dance Ada in a collaborate effort to create the best programing with other like-minded professionals. Joyce continues her syllabus studies with the National Dance Council (NDCA) of America, the International Standard of Teachers of Dance (ISTD), Dance Masters of America, and the Cecchetti Council of America as well as creating her own new syllabus for Ballroom Dance Ada and the gold standard for the Detroit Hustle.

With more than 20-year teaching experience between them, Dustin and Megan Johnson, founders of Step Out Ballroom, first met while teaching dance lessons. This shared passion quickly evolved into a joint mission to build a community where movement is the ultimate tool for confidence, connection, and growth. Their unique global perspective was forged during a pivotal four-year period of living in Italy, where they taught in military communities through the USO. These extensive experiences, backed by a foundation of elite training, powerfully reinforced their belief in the power of dance to inspire and unite people of all backgrounds.

In the Fall of 2019, Dustin and Megan made their way to the Center for Social Dance in Okemos, Michigan where the owner / director, Joyce Stoughton-Kim, and from the first meeting, Joyce saw a unique talent for teaching in them. Since the closing of the Center for Social Dance, the 3 off them remained in contact knowing at some point they would find an opportunity to work together. Dustin and Megan, founders of Step-Out Ballroom and Joyce at Ballroom Dance Ada are enjoying bringing ballroom dance to the community they call home.

The instruction at Step Out Ballroom is based on specialized, scientifically grounded expertise:

• Dustin combines his degrees in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation with specialized, world-renowned training from one of the industry’s most prestigious
• studio organizations. Dustin is experienced as a pro-am teacher, and views movement as key to building confidence and resilience.
• Megan holds a master’s degree in Behavior Analysis, ensuring their teaching methods are scientifically grounded in how people learn with ease and build lasting habits, no matter their starting point.

Now, these parents to three beautiful children, are combining their professional training, global perspective, and family-first mindset to offer a uniquely supportive learning environment at the new Ballroom Dance Ada. Whether you are preparing for a wedding, dancing for the first time, or reigniting a passion, Dustin and Megan have all the teaching tools needed to guide you every step of the way and you are guaranteed to have a blast!