FORNEY, Texas — Ainsley Epton is no stranger to the spotlights of the stage. She has been dancing since before her second birthday. Now the Crosby Elementary second grader is adjusting to the lights, camera and action as she is part of the recently released Netflix docuseries, Dancing Queens.
FORNEY, Texas — Ainsley Epton is no stranger to the spotlights of the stage. She has been dancing since before her second birthday. Now the Crosby Elementary second grader is adjusting to the lights, camera and action as she is part of the recently released Netflix docuseries, Dancing Queens.
Ainsley is one of the mini elite dancers of the Beyond Belief Dance Company of Mesquite where she trains, rehearses and competes five days a week.
“I love dancing,” Ainsley tells inForney.com. “I don’t have a favorite part. I love all of it!”
According to her mom Kelly Epton, a district banking manager at the American National Bank in Forney, she had always hoped she would have a child who would want to dance. However, she couldn’t have anticipated that their journey would lead to a Netflix series.
“I have known Justin Johnson since he was 16 years old. I always said that if I ever had a child, they would dance with Justin at Beyond Belief,” Epton said.
Beyond Belief Dance company is owned and operated my Mesquite native, Justin Johnson. And while Johnson is an accomplished dancer, choreographer and teacher he is most well known for his work as an internationally known drag queen, Alyssa Edwards. Edwards was a previous contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Johnson is no ordinary coach, who has extraordinary expectations for his dance students. The eight-episode season one documents a competition year for Beyond Belief dance company as well as Johnson’s personal and professional life as a performer and dance coach.
Ainsley has not been discouraged by the attention she receives since the series aired. She likes being recognized while out shopping and dining with her family.
“It’s realy cool,” Ainsley said when asked about fans stopping her at the mall for a photo and autograph. She is anxiously awaiting word from Netflix and Wonder World Productions, the company that produces the show about a second season.
“I would love to be a part of another season,” she says.
With almost eight competitions a year, Ainsley is hard at work on her next dance number, but she’s also planning for future.
“When I grow up, I am going to be a doctor,” Ainsley says. “and I will probably teach dance at night. I will probably dance till I am at least 100.”
In episode 7, Johnson narrates to the audience, “Charismatic is Ainsley’s second name.”
Agreed.
Tune in for yourself to see all the rest.