The School of Dance was founded by Merrilee Hodgins and Joyce Shietze. It opened its doors on Wellington Street, in the west of Ottawa, in 1978, as a nationally-registered, educational, charitable, non-profit organization designed to provide professional training for dance. The budget was $11,000, with three staff, and the studios were rented. Students come from across Canada, many other countries, and every ward in Ottawa; graduates of can be found wordwide, as dancers, choreographers, teachers, arts administrators and directors. In 2011, it launched SODA, its alumni organization.