Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / A Day in the Life of a Dance Studio Owner

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A Day in the Life of a Dance Studio Owner · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_03: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
0:10
SPEAKER_03: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
0:13
SPEAKER_03: This is Making the Impact a Dance Competition podcast.
0:15
SPEAKER_03: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance, from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
0:26
SPEAKER_03: Our Day in the Life series continues with a look into the experience of the folks who make it all happen.
0:31
SPEAKER_03: Studio owners.
0:32
SPEAKER_03: We cover it all today with a longtime studio owner, as well as someone who's just beginning their journey.
0:37
SPEAKER_03: From the business side to the teaching side, join us as we take a sneak peek into what it takes to be a studio owner.
0:45
SPEAKER_06: Hey y'all, welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
0:48
SPEAKER_06: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I'm here with my co-host, Leslie Mueller.
0:53
SPEAKER_03: Courtney, we're almost done with this season.
0:55
SPEAKER_03: What is happening?
0:57
SPEAKER_06: I know, it goes by so fast.
0:58
SPEAKER_06: And season six, wow, we've covered so many great topics.
1:02
SPEAKER_03: We have, and I especially love these day in the life episodes because it just gives everybody a greater insight into what all kinds of dance careers can be like.
1:12
SPEAKER_03: So I'm excited for today's episode to talk about studio owner life.
1:16
SPEAKER_06: Yes, absolutely.
1:18
SPEAKER_06: Me too.
1:19
SPEAKER_06: And I hope that all of our listeners out there are enjoying our day in the life episodes.
1:23
SPEAKER_06: And if you are, let us know what other day in the life you want to hear next season in season seven so we can make that happen for y'all.
1:32
SPEAKER_06: But like Leslie said, today we're chatting with studio owners to hear what it's like for them a day in the life of a studio owner.
1:39
SPEAKER_06: But before we jump in to our episode, because we are in the competition season right now, I'm sure you've been hearing all of our wonderful Making the Impact Judge's Choice Awards that are being given out at IDA affiliated competitions around the country this season.
1:55
SPEAKER_06: If you are a winner of this prestigious award, one of the perks is getting a shout out live right here, right now, on Making the Impact.
2:05
SPEAKER_06: And our IDA judges get to select that one dance from their event at the end of the weekend that they just cannot stop thinking about and they want to recognize you.
2:16
SPEAKER_06: We have a lot of winners to share this week, so let's hear our very first winner.
2:20
SPEAKER_03: From High Demand Dance Competitions event in Jackson, New Jersey, congrats to Jersey Shore Dance Academy from Shrewsbury, New Jersey for their production MJ.
2:29
SPEAKER_06: From the Artistry Tours event in Indianapolis, Indiana.
2:33
SPEAKER_06: Congrats to Studio J Dance from Martinsville, Indiana for their small group Mary Magdalene.
2:40
SPEAKER_03: From Just Dance Invitationals event in Boise, Idaho, congrats to Impact Dance Center from Meridian, Idaho for their production One Small Step.
2:48
SPEAKER_06: And from Axis Dance Competitions event in Corvallis, Oregon.
2:52
SPEAKER_06: Congrats to Legacy Dance Company from Prineville, Oregon, for their large group Migration.
2:59
SPEAKER_03: Great job, everyone.
3:00
SPEAKER_03: And if you have won the Making the Impact Award this season and have not submitted, you still have time.
3:04
SPEAKER_03: So scan that QR code and send it on in.
3:07
SPEAKER_03: And let's hear from our sponsors.
3:11
SPEAKER_03: Moving through a competitive dance season comes with a lot of excitement along with top-level goals.
3:16
SPEAKER_03: But sometimes, as you find yourself saying, straighten your knees or use your turnout, does it feel like the progress doesn't match the work?
3:23
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3:25
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3:30
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3:36
SPEAKER_03: Relative motion simplifies the mind-body connection, so it's like turning a light bulb on to all your students' training.
3:42
SPEAKER_03: And it's actually that instant.
3:44
SPEAKER_03: But the best part is the relative motion training program, which cues all their exercises with both anatomical terms and coordinating colors, so dancers of every age and level have access to understanding what the goal is and how to get there.
3:57
SPEAKER_03: You can access relative motion through their online teacher training programs, starting with tiny technicians, ages 3 to 8, the Total Technique Academy, ages 9 and up, and the Props Advantage, integrating prop training into your studio effectively.
4:10
SPEAKER_03: Follow them on Instagram at Relative Motion Dance to see their program in action, and then head to relativemotiondance.com or download the Relative Motion Technique app in the Apple or Google App Stores to get started.
4:21
SPEAKER_03: And exclusive for our listeners, use our podcast promo code IMPACT10 in all caps to receive an additional 10% off of any of their online training programs or$400 off your in-studio workshop.
4:33
SPEAKER_03: You're just one step away from your strongest season ever with Relative Motion.
4:38
SPEAKER_06: Studio owners, you've put your heart and soul into making your annual recital as spectacular as it can be.
4:46
SPEAKER_06: So why not elevate the start of your show with a pre-made welcome soundtrack from Squirrel Trench Audio?
4:52
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5:02
SPEAKER_06: Exactly what your big show deserves.
5:05
SPEAKER_06: Choose from a variety of theme options, including Celebration, We Are Family, Fairy Tale and Wizard themes, and Airlines and Travel.
5:14
SPEAKER_06: Visit their website at squirrelTrench.com to preview, purchase, and download your welcome soundtrack now, or click the link in our show notes.
5:24
SPEAKER_06: Set the stage for your most amazing recital yet with the welcome soundtrack from Squirrel Trench Audio.
5:32
SPEAKER_06: Danceworld, we are back, and we have another Day in the Life episode to share with you as we are nearing the end of season six on making the impact.
5:42
SPEAKER_06: We have loved doing these episodes.
5:44
SPEAKER_06: I love getting an inside look as to what it's like to be a dancer on a cruise ship or a dancer as an NFL cheerleader.
5:52
SPEAKER_06: But today we're going to go back to the studio and sit on the other side of the table, maybe as a business owner.
5:58
SPEAKER_06: And today we're talking all about our fabulous studio owners who bring dance to you, who make this possible for so many dancers around the world.
6:07
SPEAKER_06: A day in the life of a studio owner.
6:10
SPEAKER_06: I'm sure parents are probably really interested in this episode because you guys are the ones that are giving the studio owners your money and choosing to bring your dancers to the studio owners.
6:20
SPEAKER_06: But let's be real, there's a lot more that goes into this job than you may think.
6:24
SPEAKER_06: And I think we're going to dive into that today on this week's episode.
6:29
SPEAKER_06: We have two brand new guests who are joining us here on Making the Impact.
6:32
SPEAKER_06: I'm so thrilled to have them.
6:34
SPEAKER_06: The very first is a studio owner who's been in business for 16 years.
6:38
SPEAKER_06: I've had the opportunity to work with her dancers many, many times during their summer intensives.
6:44
SPEAKER_06: And actually, a few of her dancers just came and took my class at Steps on Broadway like three weeks ago, which is so fun.
6:52
SPEAKER_06: I know.
6:52
SPEAKER_06: And uh such great training.
6:54
SPEAKER_06: Oh my goodness, y'all.
6:56
SPEAKER_06: If you have ever seen them around the industry, they are doing good things and be on the lookout.
7:03
SPEAKER_06: The owner of Brava Dance Center in New York.
7:06
SPEAKER_06: I'm excited to welcome studio owner Jenny Hogan to the podcast.
7:10
SPEAKER_06: Welcome, Jenny.
7:12
SPEAKER_07: Thank you so much.
7:13
SPEAKER_07: That's so kind of you.
7:14
SPEAKER_07: It's so exciting to be here.
7:16
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
7:16
SPEAKER_07: You're welcome.
7:18
SPEAKER_06: I've been like coming to Brava for a long time.
7:20
SPEAKER_06: You really have.
7:21
SPEAKER_06: When you guys were in the one studio and then you moved to the new studio, and it's been a lot of moving.
7:26
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
7:27
SPEAKER_07: But also, I feel like you may have taught at one of our first guest intensives that we put together.
7:32
SPEAKER_07: So that's amazing.
7:34
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
7:34
SPEAKER_07: And it's turned into this thing that we do every summer, mostly for our company dancers, but it's open to everybody.
7:42
SPEAKER_07: And we've had people visiting us from other studios that have come just to work with our guests.
7:48
SPEAKER_07: So that's been really fun, really exciting, really great to have the kids have the opportunity to dance with special faculty from all over the place.
7:56
SPEAKER_07: So yeah.
7:57
SPEAKER_06: Thanks for coming.
7:58
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, of course.
7:59
SPEAKER_06: I love working with your dancers.
8:01
SPEAKER_06: And um, Jenny, we're excited to have you here and sharing this side of the studio ownership world.
8:06
SPEAKER_06: So if you wouldn't mind sharing with the world more about you, your early dance training, any career credits, if you've worked professionally or in the teaching world, and then how you and I mean, I guess I usually say how you got into studio ownership, but let's say, let's keep that short because we might expand on that a little bit later.
8:26
SPEAKER_07: Okay, so background on me.
8:28
SPEAKER_07: Obviously, I grew up as a dancer uh in my local dance studio in my hometown in Hyde Park, New York.
8:34
SPEAKER_07: I didn't start dancing seriously till I was like eight or nine, which is kind of late, I feel like, in the nowadays.
8:42
SPEAKER_07: But I grew up dancing, we competed.
8:45
SPEAKER_07: I went on and I danced.
8:46
SPEAKER_07: I went to University of the Arts and I transferred to Merrimack Manhattan.
8:51
SPEAKER_07: I had a scholarship to both schools.
8:53
SPEAKER_07: Uh my dance journey brought me to that was back in 89.
8:59
SPEAKER_07: So there weren't a lot of college programs where you could major in something other than ballet or modern.
9:04
SPEAKER_07: So it was right where they started, you know, your University of the Arts, it was the first year they were a university and you could major in jazz or tap or other things.
9:12
SPEAKER_07: So for me, it was perfect because I was more of a musical theater person.
9:16
SPEAKER_07: And I went to University Arts, went to Marymount, Manhattan, wound up transferring to Fordham and getting an academic degree in psychology, but dancing on my own separately in the city at Broadway Dance Center and Steps and taking Bush lessons and then after graduation auditioning and um doing regional theater, coming close to the Broadway show dream, which was not as easy to get in those days when you're five, one and a half.
9:40
SPEAKER_07: I think Leslie understands.
9:42
SPEAKER_07: Oh yes.
9:42
SPEAKER_07: I know the dancer world.
9:44
SPEAKER_07: It was back in the day with all the show girl shows.
9:47
SPEAKER_07: So it wasn't really the timing just didn't work out.
9:49
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
9:50
SPEAKER_07: But I did regional theater and I wound up teaching at my home studio and starting a uh junior competition team there.
9:57
SPEAKER_07: And then wound up, you know, I did I didn't think I wanted to be a studio owner or be a dance teacher.
10:03
SPEAKER_07: So long story short, wound up working uh for Hal Prince, who is a famous Broadway producer and director in his office for like four or five years.
10:12
SPEAKER_07: And I learned everything and met everybody, which then brought me to working with Kathleen Marshall, who's a Broadway Tony Award-winning director and choreographer, and being her assistant, working on shows with her.
10:25
SPEAKER_07: And at the time she was the artistic director of City Center Encourse.
10:29
SPEAKER_07: Oh so working for her during that, and just being in rehearsal, doing research for her shows, all those things.
10:36
SPEAKER_07: So I did that for like 15 years.
10:38
SPEAKER_07: And um yeah, got married, had a family, have four children, and then so here we are now.
10:45
SPEAKER_07: Wound up opening my studio for completely different reasons just because I had a daughter who was dancing and I couldn't find the program that I wanted.
10:53
SPEAKER_06: So I feel like we hear that a lot later, but yeah, yeah.
10:58
SPEAKER_06: So awesome.
10:59
SPEAKER_06: And you've been in business now for over 15 years.
11:02
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, this is our 16th season.
11:04
SPEAKER_07: Wow.
11:04
SPEAKER_07: Our 11th season with a competitive company.
11:08
SPEAKER_07: So yeah, it's been quite a it feels like it's been two seconds, but I guess it's been a while.
11:15
SPEAKER_06: It's an awesome dance journey.
11:17
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
11:17
SPEAKER_06: Amazing.
11:18
SPEAKER_06: Well, Jenny, thanks for joining us here on the pod.
11:21
SPEAKER_06: Thanks for having me.
11:22
SPEAKER_06: All right.
11:23
SPEAKER_06: Our next special guest who is joining us here.
11:26
SPEAKER_06: I am meeting for the very first time, but I feel like I've seen them around in our Facebook group a lot, chiming in and contributing.
11:33
SPEAKER_06: And they also just attended an IDA affiliated competition with their studio.
11:37
SPEAKER_06: So I knew they'd be the perfect guest to join us over here to share their journey as a newer studio owner in the dance world.
11:46
SPEAKER_06: From Studio G Dance Company in Massachusetts, I'm excited to welcome studio owner Greg Canellis to the podcast.
11:54
SPEAKER_06: Welcome, Greg.
11:55
SPEAKER_02: Hi, everyone.
11:56
SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me.
11:57
SPEAKER_02: Super excited.
11:58
SPEAKER_06: Yay!
11:59
SPEAKER_02: Yes, so excited.
12:01
SPEAKER_06: Tell us more about you, Greg.
12:02
SPEAKER_02: All right, so I am originally from born and raised in Franklin, Massachusetts.
12:08
SPEAKER_02: I attended my aunt's dance studio, which was located in the next town over in Norfolk.
12:14
SPEAKER_02: Um, and that's where I had my training growing up.
12:16
SPEAKER_02: I I would say I grew up more so taking dance class as opposed to like training to be a competitive dancer.
12:24
SPEAKER_02: We competed, but there definitely is that like differentiation of like we're taking dance class, we're learning, but then we're training to be comp dancers or like training to be professionals.
12:33
SPEAKER_02: So I would say that was my um upbringing.
12:36
SPEAKER_02: And my path with dance is so cork roaded and everything.
12:42
SPEAKER_02: I would just say to keep it short that when I was in high school, I wanted to be a dentist, the high school, I'm actually a high school teacher as well.
12:49
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I work at a vocational school and I took up dental assisting, thought I wanted to be a dentist, I enjoyed it in high school.
12:57
SPEAKER_02: I had no plans to try to go pro with dance or even be involved in it.
13:02
SPEAKER_02: I always loved it.
13:03
SPEAKER_02: But you know, every dancer goes through that journey of like, do I love it?
13:06
SPEAKER_02: Do I want to do it?
13:07
SPEAKER_02: It's at some point in their life they go through that journey.
13:10
SPEAKER_02: And mine was definitely through high school.
13:12
SPEAKER_02: I did know when I was 15 that I enjoyed choreographing and like started to shift from like, I don't think I want to try to go pro with dance, but I do like this part of it.
13:22
SPEAKER_02: So the first routine I ever choreographed was student choreography, and it was um when I was 15 and it was Easy Street from Annie and it was the trio.
13:30
SPEAKER_02: Oh, great song on that perfect song with me and my two friends.
13:34
SPEAKER_02: And I remember asking my aunt, you know, can we just I'll put this trio together?
13:38
SPEAKER_02: Can we throw it into their nationals?
13:40
SPEAKER_02: Like they have like a submission thing.
13:41
SPEAKER_02: And she was like, You're crazy, nationals is in a month.
13:44
SPEAKER_02: But I begged her to do it and I was like, please.
13:46
SPEAKER_02: And she was like, you know what, why not?
13:47
SPEAKER_02: Like, can't hurt.
13:48
SPEAKER_02: And that one routine kind of sparked like my interest in being a choreographer and teacher.
13:53
SPEAKER_02: And I've always known I wanted to be a teacher in terms of the high school, but I always said to myself that I I'm not competent nor would want to teach one of the core academic subjects, like math, English, history.
14:05
SPEAKER_02: I've always wanted to teach real life, real life um principles and such.
14:09
SPEAKER_02: And that's exactly what I teach at the school now.
14:12
SPEAKER_02: I teach um a course that I created last year with specific guidelines called career essentials.
14:17
SPEAKER_02: So every junior in the high school has to take my class, and it's six weeks to be cover interviewing skills, resumes, cover letters, proper um.
14:26
SPEAKER_03: Can I take your class?
14:28
SPEAKER_03: That's not fair.
14:29
SPEAKER_03: I need to take your class.
14:30
SPEAKER_03: Give this to the actual colleges too.
14:32
SPEAKER_02: They need it.
14:33
SPEAKER_02: Right.
14:34
SPEAKER_02: They um they all have to do a mock interview with me prior to leaving the class.
14:38
SPEAKER_02: Um, I do two weeks of financial literacy, checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, loans, taxes, budgeting.
14:43
SPEAKER_02: It's amazing.
14:44
SPEAKER_02: And then I wrap it up, wrap it up marketing, my small business course, which is an optional class that seniors get to take.
14:51
SPEAKER_02: So I've kind of we're not gonna dive deep into how I got back into dance.
14:55
SPEAKER_02: I'll touch upon it quickly, but it's nice because I kind of get to teach during the day what I'm actively doing when I leave the high school.
15:02
SPEAKER_06: Right.
15:03
SPEAKER_02: So it's almost like that, like the students are like, oh, he's not teaching us from a book.
15:07
SPEAKER_02: He's teaching us from like what he did last night.
15:10
SPEAKER_06: Exactly.
15:10
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
15:11
SPEAKER_02: So it's it's it's kind of cool.
15:12
SPEAKER_02: I did get back into dancing and owning a studio to that 20.
15:16
SPEAKER_02: I was the choreographer for my aunt's competition team when I went to college.
15:20
SPEAKER_02: And that was kind of like the, you know, age 19, 20, 21, 22, younger days, learning all those lessons that like every fresh choreographer has to learn.
15:32
SPEAKER_02: And I'm still learning.
15:33
SPEAKER_02: I I will never stop learning, but like the deep like lessons like, hey, you're a new choreographer.
15:38
SPEAKER_02: It's not about you, it's about the kids and making them look good.
15:40
SPEAKER_02: But when you're 19 and 20, you're kind of like, no, I want to throw this contemporary piece on them.
15:45
SPEAKER_02: But they've never taken like an in-depth contemporary class.
15:47
SPEAKER_05: Right.
15:48
SPEAKER_02: You know, so it's just those like fresh uh lessons that I learned through that those five years.
15:54
SPEAKER_02: And then I opened my studio in the middle of COVID.
15:56
SPEAKER_06: Wow.
15:56
SPEAKER_06: Um's the middle, like what year?
16:00
SPEAKER_02: So the original plan was kind of like take over my aunt's rebrand, do that.
16:04
SPEAKER_02: And that just did not work out with the timing of COVID.
16:07
SPEAKER_02: So I waited and halted, and then I started January of 2021 and I jumped shipped, jump shipped to a new town, Foxboro, where the Patriots play.
16:16
SPEAKER_05: Uh-huh.
16:16
SPEAKER_02: I had done some work in their local theater in the year prior.
16:20
SPEAKER_02: And I just really, there was something internally that was like, you got to go to a new town.
16:24
SPEAKER_02: And I fell in, I love Foxboro.
16:26
SPEAKER_02: I'm thriving in the town, and I've just built like a strong community there and absolutely love it.
16:32
SPEAKER_02: So I'm celebrating my fifth anniversary this year.
16:35
SPEAKER_02: Um we made we made it.
16:37
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
16:37
SPEAKER_02: We made it through all the COVID craziness and everything.
16:41
SPEAKER_02: And we're building from scratch, built from scratch.
16:43
SPEAKER_02: So from the ground up.
16:45
SPEAKER_06: Good for you.
16:46
SPEAKER_06: That's awesome.
16:47
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
16:47
SPEAKER_06: And I'm glad that you found a way to keep dance in your life and uh revisit dance.
16:52
SPEAKER_06: And um, it sounds like that you know what you're doing when it comes to the business side of things, if you, you know, especially with this course that you have at the school.
17:00
SPEAKER_06: So I love that you have implemented that into your day job and educating the next generation as well on those important aspects of businessing.
17:10
SPEAKER_06: Because even as a dance studio owner, which feels like a brick and mortar business, we all, if you become a professional dancer or even a freelance choreographer or teacher, you are a business no matter what.
17:23
SPEAKER_06: So it is um great, great important things that you are teaching these students.
17:29
SPEAKER_06: And also, it sounds like you're dancers as well at your studio.
17:32
SPEAKER_06: So I love hearing it.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
17:35
SPEAKER_06: All right.
17:36
SPEAKER_06: Let's jump in to this week's chat: A Day in the Life of a Studio Owner.
17:40
SPEAKER_06: I know we have a lot to cover.
17:42
SPEAKER_03: Yes, we do.
17:43
SPEAKER_03: All right.
17:43
SPEAKER_03: So we heard a little bit about how Greg got into his studio ownership journey.
17:47
SPEAKER_03: Um, but Jenny, can you elaborate a little bit more on how you got started?
17:51
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, so I had started having my family, and I wasn't really doing anything with my dance.
18:00
SPEAKER_07: I was still working for Kathleen Marshall, so I was sort of around the whole show business, around Broadway, and that whole thing just involved not as a performer, but I wasn't doing any of my own.
18:12
SPEAKER_07: I wasn't taking class anymore.
18:14
SPEAKER_07: I would take a class maybe here and there, but it wasn't really part of my life.
18:18
SPEAKER_07: My daughter, my oldest daughter, I have four children, and my oldest daughter was dancing, obviously.
18:25
SPEAKER_07: And she was like maybe five or six, and she started asking to take at the local studio what they were calling jazz hip hop.
18:34
SPEAKER_07: And I was like, what's jazz hip hop?
18:36
SPEAKER_07: Like, that's interesting.
18:38
SPEAKER_07: And I don't know, just I couldn't, I couldn't find a program, even being this close to New York City, which I really surprised me.
18:45
SPEAKER_07: And I was like, Am I crazy?
18:46
SPEAKER_07: Is it because I'm being my standards are crazy?
18:51
SPEAKER_07: But I went to a few different studios and I couldn't find really a program that I felt like I wanted her to have that was had foundational technique that was gonna teach her not just how to do a fun dance, which obviously has its value and is super fun for a lot of people.
19:08
SPEAKER_07: But I really wanted her, she was taking ballet, she was taking tap, and I really wanted her to have a jazz class where that had techniques.
19:14
SPEAKER_07: So I thought, well, I could just teach her.
19:18
SPEAKER_07: So I kind of just I took the nursery school directory at the time and the um the um elementary school directory, and I put out like old-fashioned trifold mailing.
19:29
SPEAKER_07: I put a schedule together.
19:32
SPEAKER_07: I approached a few studio spaces in the area that had exercise classes and said, Oh, can I rent this space from you?
19:42
SPEAKER_07: And just put a schedule together and put it out there.
19:44
SPEAKER_07: And with the support of some great friends and the community, I wound up putting this program together.
19:51
SPEAKER_07: And we had, I think I had like 18 classes on the schedule at first.
19:55
SPEAKER_07: And um, mostly younger kids, because we started from the bottom, it wasn't like any older kids were coming over to me from somewhere else, which was wound up, I think, being one of the key factors is just building it, like you know, Greg was saying, just sort of building it from the ground up because that way you have your own stamp on what is important to you and your values in your studio, which I think is really what sets you aside from other studios at the end of the day, right?
20:20
SPEAKER_07: So so anyway, I started that and I taught all the classes myself and I did a little show at the elementary school, they had a stage, and and then here I am.
20:29
SPEAKER_07: So sort of turned it sort of snowballed into this whole program with now like an incredible faculty and two great buildings and four studios.
20:40
SPEAKER_07: So yeah.
20:41
SPEAKER_03: Wow, that's some awesome growth, very cool.
20:44
SPEAKER_06: And uh just out of curiosity, and I think this is a good thing to especially for now.
20:49
SPEAKER_06: We're talking about the early days of the studio life, but out of curiosity to know now, Jenny, where you're at, and also Greg, and we can give a comparison.
20:56
SPEAKER_06: How many students did you start with, if you remember, when you first kicked it off versus how many students are you currently at?
21:02
SPEAKER_07: I was trying to look that up so I would know exactly, but I think I started with I think I had like 30 students to start.
21:11
SPEAKER_07: It I think it was around 30.
21:13
SPEAKER_07: It could have been a little, it could have been 60.
21:15
SPEAKER_07: I can't remember which number, but it's I think it was 30.
21:19
SPEAKER_07: And I had 18 classes on the schedule.
21:21
SPEAKER_07: So I had a preschool tapa melee class and a jazz class and a ballet class and a musical theater class.
21:27
SPEAKER_07: So it just and then put a little show together.
21:30
SPEAKER_07: It was like less than an hour long, everyone did one dance.
21:33
SPEAKER_07: I really just fashioned it off of the way.
21:35
SPEAKER_07: I just had such a great experience growing up in my home studio.
21:38
SPEAKER_07: I basically just copied everything that my dance teachers did because I thought they did such a great job.
21:44
SPEAKER_07: Right.
21:45
SPEAKER_07: And uh how many students do you have now?
21:48
SPEAKER_07: Now I have uh 290 students.
21:51
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
21:52
SPEAKER_07: We have like we have like 240 families and but like 290 students.
21:58
SPEAKER_07: So because some have multiple children.
22:00
SPEAKER_06: Got it.
22:01
SPEAKER_07: Wow.
22:01
SPEAKER_07: It's been that number, I feel like steady for a while.
22:06
SPEAKER_07: So it's not really, I think, about the number of students you have.
22:10
SPEAKER_07: I think it's about because people are like, oh, you're so you're so big, you're growing.
22:13
SPEAKER_07: I'm like, I'm really not growing, but the program just becomes more full.
22:19
SPEAKER_07: Like you get everybody leveled the right way and you have the right faculty coming in and you really give everybody what they need.
22:27
SPEAKER_07: And it sort of grows organically if you do it based on what the talent you have in front of you and getting them where where they you feel like they need to be.
22:36
SPEAKER_06: Right.
22:36
SPEAKER_06: That's a great way to look at it.
22:38
SPEAKER_06: Because I think that a lot of people feel like that if you need to have X amount of students to be a successful studio.
22:44
SPEAKER_06: And oh, well, after 15 years, why aren't you at 500?
22:47
SPEAKER_06: Why aren't you at 700?
22:48
SPEAKER_06: There's a lot of studio owners that are like, listen, I want it.
22:52
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, exactly.
22:53
SPEAKER_06: I don't want that.
22:53
SPEAKER_06: I don't have the space.
22:55
SPEAKER_06: I know that's another issue for a lot of people is the space.
22:57
SPEAKER_06: Oh, yeah.
22:58
SPEAKER_06: Studio space and the scheduling doesn't allow for a larger student base.
23:03
SPEAKER_06: So especially in New York.
23:05
SPEAKER_07: I don't know how it is in Massachusetts, but space is not easy to come by in Westchester County.
23:12
SPEAKER_07: That has been a struggle for sure.
23:14
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, exactly.
23:15
SPEAKER_06: Sure, New England is expensive.
23:16
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
23:17
SPEAKER_07: You know, and again, the scheduling, if you want to have I mean, I think at some point, I always say I should write a book about this because I feel like the magic number for me where things really changed as far as the program.
23:30
SPEAKER_07: I think once you're at uh like 180 kids, I would I needed software.
23:36
SPEAKER_07: I needed a studio manager.
23:40
SPEAKER_07: You have you have to say, okay, like now there's you have to manage this in a different way, you know, other than like the trifold, you know, yeah, registration where someone writes in their name and chooses that only works up to a point.
23:52
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think I think so.
23:53
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
23:53
SPEAKER_07: I think I think you probably could do it, but it's just really challenging.
23:58
SPEAKER_03: And Greg, where where are you at now?
24:00
SPEAKER_03: What's your what's your number?
24:01
SPEAKER_02: So when I first started, again, it was like still COVID, but like we were able to go back, we had to dance in squares, and I made a very calculated, calculated decision because I was like, a lot of studios are struggling to stay open.
24:13
SPEAKER_02: And here I am advertising that I'm opening.
24:16
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, how am I gonna do this successfully?
24:18
SPEAKER_02: So rather than jump into a lease, I sat down and I said, you know what?
24:23
SPEAKER_02: I need to find a place that I can subble it.
24:25
SPEAKER_02: And the theater that I started at is in Foxboro, shout out um Maryland Roman Performing Arts Center.
24:31
SPEAKER_02: They have a green room upstairs, and it's a long green room that people use for, you know, changing and all that during the musicals and plays that go on there.
24:39
SPEAKER_02: And I called them and I said, Hey, like it's COVID, you guys have been closed forever.
24:43
SPEAKER_02: I'm looking to start a program.
24:45
SPEAKER_02: Can I sabble it from you?
24:46
SPEAKER_02: And they were like, Absolutely, like business hopping business.
24:49
SPEAKER_02: So because the theater was still closed in Foxboro, it's a very theater-oriented town.
24:55
SPEAKER_02: Every single elementary, middle school, and high school has a theater program.
24:59
SPEAKER_07: Wow, it's so great.
25:00
SPEAKER_07: That's cool.
25:01
SPEAKER_02: Very, very artsy.
25:02
SPEAKER_02: So my first year, I was January to June of 2021.
25:07
SPEAKER_02: I had no recital, no comp.
25:09
SPEAKER_02: I was just like, let's get kids back in, let's get them acquainted.
25:12
SPEAKER_02: Let me start this off really slow.
25:15
SPEAKER_02: So I think I want to say I had 15 kids that just took like hip-hop musical theater, and it was just drop-in based, just to get them to do something.
25:24
SPEAKER_02: And then I had four older girls who were like, we want to dance, we want to compete next year.
25:30
SPEAKER_02: So they just took regular class with me.
25:32
SPEAKER_02: And then my first official year was fall 21 into 2022.
25:37
SPEAKER_02: I think I had nine total students.
25:38
SPEAKER_02: And now if I count my adults too, because they do take class and they're in the show, I'm up to 50.
25:44
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
25:45
SPEAKER_02: So I am I am thrilled with that because, like you had stated, like quality quality over quantity.
25:51
SPEAKER_02: And especially being a high school teacher, too.
25:53
SPEAKER_02: Of course, I'd love to have more because I'd love to have that being that established.
25:57
SPEAKER_02: Like these are my classes, they're all set.
25:59
SPEAKER_02: Like I'm still growing classes.
26:01
SPEAKER_02: And it is hard to grow classes when you're new.
26:04
SPEAKER_02: Because it's like, all right, if seven people are in it now, but two drop the next year to play soccer or something, it's like great, I feel like I'm back to square one.
26:11
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
26:12
SPEAKER_02: But I am thrilled with the growth.
26:14
SPEAKER_02: And it does allow me to kind of start from, you know, this little group of minis and petites.
26:21
SPEAKER_02: I have 15 in that group, and they're like my up-and-coming comp group.
26:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
26:25
SPEAKER_02: And I do actually on the opposite end, I do actually have a class of older girls.
26:30
SPEAKER_02: Because of COVID, a lot of these kids quit dance.
26:33
SPEAKER_02: They used COVID as like their exit, whether they weren't happy where they were at or they were just like, we need a break, but they wanted to get back into it.
26:41
SPEAKER_02: And they reached out and they were like, We've either done theater with you before and we like your choreography and we feel comfortable with you teaching us because we know you're not gonna like judge us and make us feel like, oh, we can't fit in at another studio.
26:54
SPEAKER_02: Or they used to dance at another studio, quit before COVID, and then they were like, we don't want to go back.
26:58
SPEAKER_02: And you know, business is business, people leave studios, people go to other ones.
27:02
SPEAKER_02: Like, that's part of the process.
27:04
SPEAKER_02: But it's funny, people will ask me, like, how did you get a group of older girls?
27:07
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, not by solicitation.
27:09
SPEAKER_02: Right.
27:11
SPEAKER_03: Like, I wasn't out there poaching.
27:12
SPEAKER_02: Correct.
27:13
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, I can tell you that right now, but it is kind of cool because this is the first year that I've been able to do a big production routine.
27:19
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I'm good.
27:20
SPEAKER_02: I have 25 kids in it.
27:22
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
27:22
SPEAKER_02: And the the 15 little kids are like my from scratch, and the older kids too, you know, a lot of them, I'd say half of them, half of the the 10 are technically from scratch too, because they didn't have formal dance training up until 2021.
27:35
SPEAKER_02: And I've got them to that point of like, hey, like I'm a tapper, so tap's my thing.
27:40
SPEAKER_02: Like, very big on tap jazz, musical theater and all that.
27:43
SPEAKER_02: And that's what they love too, because the theater.
27:45
SPEAKER_02: So that's where I'm at with 50.
27:47
SPEAKER_02: And you know, I I feel like I'd love to hit that uh, you know, 7500 mark within the next two to three years.
27:54
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
27:54
SPEAKER_06: Love the goal setting.
27:56
SPEAKER_06: That's great.
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29:38
SPEAKER_06: And it sounds like you're doing great things for your studio and it's and you know the community is noticing and seeing it.
29:43
SPEAKER_06: And even let's be real, going to competitions with your studios is technically marketing at the same time when you go to these events and you kind of prove yourself at these events, and people are like, Oh, that's studio.
29:55
SPEAKER_07: Oh, that's studio.
29:57
SPEAKER_07: That's why it's so important.
29:58
SPEAKER_07: That's a whole other topic to make sure you have your your standard set for what you want your kids to go out there and you know be doing.
30:07
SPEAKER_07: So because people do pay attention to that and they do watch and they do have a lot to say.
30:14
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
30:15
SPEAKER_07: So you have to sort of make sure everyone understands what you what's important to you at your studio and like what the how you expect them to behave and the respect you expect them to have and the work ethic you want them to show, which at the end of the day is we're teaching kids, right?
30:33
SPEAKER_07: So like to your point, Greg, with all you're doing in your school.
30:38
SPEAKER_07: I mean, you're we're giving them life skills that they say.
30:40
SPEAKER_07: That's what they say, right?
30:41
SPEAKER_07: So Yeah.
30:43
SPEAKER_03: Well, so okay, let's move on to life skills because that is what it takes to own and run a dance studio is in the morning.
30:50
SPEAKER_03: What are your life skills that you do before you go teach a kickball change?
30:53
SPEAKER_03: So let's get started on what are we doing in the morning?
30:56
SPEAKER_03: Like you're not just having your coffee and having a little day.
30:59
SPEAKER_03: You've probably got stuff to do.
31:00
SPEAKER_03: So what what is that stuff?
31:02
SPEAKER_07: What am I doing all day?
31:03
SPEAKER_07: I mean, every day is just it's a lot.
31:06
SPEAKER_07: It's a lot of work to own a studio.
31:09
SPEAKER_07: I think it it's pretty much encompasses your whole for me, it encompasses my whole life.
31:15
SPEAKER_07: So I start by answering emails and answering I get the voicemails from my studio manager and I just answering parents and dealing with that and working on scheduling, or it's just always there's always admin things to do, whether you're doing a social media post or you're doing a contract or you're trying to hire a teacher or you're trying to put a program together, or what's the next great idea to get people interested, and all those things.
31:46
SPEAKER_07: Preparing for whatever class you're teaching.
31:49
SPEAKER_03: It's just never and so you're still teaching as well as doing a lot of the admin stuff?
31:53
SPEAKER_07: I teach hardly ever now.
31:55
SPEAKER_07: I actually teach like two classes.
31:58
SPEAKER_07: That was not by design.
31:59
SPEAKER_07: It wasn't like some one day I woke up and said, Oh, I'm done teaching.
32:02
SPEAKER_07: It sort of happened again, like just organically.
32:06
SPEAKER_07: I was I was actually away.
32:08
SPEAKER_07: I have a daughter who has worked professionally.
32:10
SPEAKER_07: So I was away from the studio for a period of time where I couldn't be on the schedule.
32:15
SPEAKER_07: And I think then I came back and I just sort of wound up, you know, it went well without me.
32:21
SPEAKER_07: And I wound up just sort of filling in the blanks where if a teacher couldn't do something or the schedule wasn't amazing for somebody else, those were the classes I would teach.
32:30
SPEAKER_07: And I but I always like to teach at least one or two of the younger kids, especially because I like to know the kids in the studio.
32:38
SPEAKER_07: I like them to know who I am.
32:40
SPEAKER_07: I like to see what everyone's doing.
32:42
SPEAKER_07: I, you know, we have uh obviously our company and our competitive teams, and uh, we also have a performance company.
32:48
SPEAKER_07: And I like to be involved in that because I think those are like the bigger teachable moments where you can make your impact as you know, for me as a studio director, wanting everyone again, just to know what my priorities are for them and to just have a presence in that way.
33:06
SPEAKER_07: So but yeah, I don't get to teach that much anymore.
33:09
SPEAKER_06: That's okay.
33:10
SPEAKER_06: I think that, you know, when I think about studio owners, I think that a lot of studio owners start and want to own a studio because of their first love of dance.
33:20
SPEAKER_06: But I think that a lot of studio owners then realize that it is way, way, way more than just teaching those classes the way that you want to teach those classes.
33:27
SPEAKER_06: And that's when all the businessing of it comes into play.
33:30
SPEAKER_06: And a lot of people maybe didn't go to school for business, or maybe you're just learning the ropes and all of those things that you just described as far as like what happens during the daytime before the classes even start.
33:41
SPEAKER_06: Administrative emails, uh, contracting, legal aspects, marketing aspects, um, like the list goes on, finances, accounting, like these are all just business, like business 101.
33:56
SPEAKER_06: And you haven't even, like you said, Leslie, done a kickball change yet.
33:59
SPEAKER_06: You know, so then there's that.
34:01
SPEAKER_03: Kickball change is the best part.
34:03
SPEAKER_03: Right.
34:03
SPEAKER_03: You're like to do all of this to get to the kickball change.
34:06
SPEAKER_06: So I do think that at a point a lot of studio owners realize the workload is not possible to eat, sleep, breathe during the day, businessing and then doing what you actually love.
34:18
SPEAKER_06: It educating and teaching and choreographing and all of the things at night.
34:22
SPEAKER_06: That becomes more than a full-time job because everyone then is like, oh, 40 hours a week.
34:27
SPEAKER_06: It's like, no, no, that's like probably 80 hours a week.
34:30
SPEAKER_06: That's like 60, 70 hours a week that you're doing if you really think about it.
34:35
SPEAKER_06: And then that's when once you grow, you can take on more people to help you administratively or hire the great educators to then fill that void in the evening time.
34:46
SPEAKER_06: So you can then spend time with your family and um a little bit more oversee the classes, trust your faculty to do a great job, but then business during the day.
34:56
SPEAKER_06: I mean, obviously everyone has to get to a point where they can afford to bring on more staff members and delegate these responsibilities.
35:03
SPEAKER_06: But I think that is the true test to a successful studio because, like you said, you had to leave for a little bit and your studio still stayed thriving.
35:12
SPEAKER_06: It's not like it sank and went under.
35:14
SPEAKER_06: It worked.
35:15
SPEAKER_06: So you obviously set up a good game plan and a good faculty and staff to delegate out and know that you felt okay walking away and that it would be okay.
35:24
SPEAKER_07: The most important thing.
35:25
SPEAKER_07: Which I think goes along with the whole how big do you want your studio to be questioned?
35:31
SPEAKER_07: Because I think that if it were much, you can't really do, I mean, for me, you can't really do that with hundreds and hundreds of people.
35:40
SPEAKER_07: I mean, unless you have a family work, you're unless it's all family members working for you.
35:44
SPEAKER_07: Like I feel like you need to find the right faculty, you need to find the right people who you can delegate responsibility to who share your vision, who understand what your priorities are in every single class.
35:57
SPEAKER_07: So you can't be there physically doing it yourself.
36:00
SPEAKER_07: You need to be able to trust those people, which obviously is very special and important, but not easy to find.
36:07
SPEAKER_02: So not easy to find me.
36:08
SPEAKER_02: And it's tough too, because I feel like a lot of people nowadays, I'm gonna speak for the younger generation.
36:14
SPEAKER_02: I'm an old soul.
36:15
SPEAKER_02: I'm uh I'm 28.
36:16
SPEAKER_02: But when people talk to me, they think I'm 38.
36:19
SPEAKER_06: No, I truly thought you were.
36:21
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
36:22
SPEAKER_02: It's just the way that I am.
36:23
SPEAKER_02: And I I love that about me, but my younger generation, a lot of them, they don't want to work with the little kids.
36:30
SPEAKER_02: They, not everyone, they don't want to work with little kids.
36:32
SPEAKER_02: They want to go right in, work with the advanced kids, set a piece of choreography.
36:36
SPEAKER_02: And some people get burnt.
36:38
SPEAKER_02: You bring a teacher in and they're like, oh, I'm gonna open my own studio and then take all these kids because this happened.
36:44
SPEAKER_02: Like it's it, it's a tough, it's very tough to find quality teachers.
36:48
SPEAKER_02: Very tough.
36:49
SPEAKER_06: And so, Greg, where are you at right now when it comes to that?
36:52
SPEAKER_06: Are you do you have teachers on staff?
36:55
SPEAKER_06: Are you teaching everything?
36:57
SPEAKER_06: And how do you manage this with a full-day job during the day as well?
37:01
SPEAKER_02: So I have, I also work at another studio on Wednesday nights, Matted Dance Studios.
37:06
SPEAKER_02: They're celebrating their 70th anniversary this year.
37:09
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
37:10
SPEAKER_02: They're amazing.
37:11
SPEAKER_02: They're my family.
37:12
SPEAKER_02: I am so, so close with them.
37:15
SPEAKER_02: So I work for them on Wednesdays and my studio runs Tuesday, Thursdays.
37:19
SPEAKER_02: So I do, you know, it's not a fully five-day functioning studio or six-day for that matter, but I have my day job.
37:26
SPEAKER_02: So I'm comfortable with that right now.
37:28
SPEAKER_02: I can make calculated approaches and grow with it because I like this job.
37:33
SPEAKER_02: This, this is my full-time job.
37:34
SPEAKER_02: I like coming here every day.
37:36
SPEAKER_02: I love what I teach.
37:37
SPEAKER_02: And not for nothing.
37:38
SPEAKER_02: This is my retirement.
37:39
SPEAKER_03: I was gonna say you probably love your health insurance.
37:41
SPEAKER_03: Right?
37:42
SPEAKER_02: This is this is my health insurance, this is my security.
37:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I can do my studio on the side.
37:48
SPEAKER_02: I do teach everything, but I do have my two nearest and dearest, Linda and Jeannie, when they come in, like we choreographed our product, my production together.
37:56
SPEAKER_02: Like if I need a day and I'm like, Jeannie, can you come in on Thursday or Linda?
38:00
SPEAKER_02: Can you come in on Thursday and just teach the little kids for me?
38:03
SPEAKER_02: I have to do this, they will absolutely do that.
38:05
SPEAKER_02: So I do have the help, but if we're talking on average week to week, it is just me because I I want that still.
38:12
SPEAKER_02: So if that means I have to come in on a Saturday and steam costrooms, then that will I'll do that because I am studio G on the face of that.
38:21
SPEAKER_02: So I do, I do enjoy that.
38:23
SPEAKER_02: So waking up, you know, I have to be here at 7:30.
38:27
SPEAKER_02: I wake up depending on the time of year.
38:30
SPEAKER_02: I'm either up at like 6:15, September, October, November.
38:33
SPEAKER_02: And then once we hit December, it starts to wake up at like 6.45.
38:37
SPEAKER_02: But I have to be here from 7:30 to 2:30.
38:40
SPEAKER_02: So I don't have the time to, you know, do all that admin work.
38:44
SPEAKER_02: Of course, I can respond to something on my lunch or but my parents are awesome.
38:49
SPEAKER_02: They know, like I'm fully transparent.
38:51
SPEAKER_02: They know that I'm a high school teacher, they have super respectful boundaries in the sense of like, even if we email him, if he doesn't respond to us in those working hours, we know why.
39:00
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
39:01
SPEAKER_02: I do not have any parents that's like, you need to get back to me right now.
39:04
SPEAKER_02: Like they're super cool.
39:05
SPEAKER_02: And they almost like that I do both.
39:08
SPEAKER_02: It's I'm I'm a very, I'm just in a different place.
39:11
SPEAKER_02: They, you know, I have a lot of clients who are teachers themselves.
39:14
SPEAKER_02: So they kind of get it.
39:15
SPEAKER_02: And they're kind of like, okay, you just came off of a long day of work.
39:19
SPEAKER_02: Like, if we have a question, we'll ask you at the end of class.
39:21
SPEAKER_02: Like, we don't want to interrupt you.
39:22
SPEAKER_05: That's nice.
39:23
SPEAKER_02: But you know, it is I find myself as I'm grading or putting grades in or getting, you know, prepping work, my headphones are in and I'm choreographing in my head what I want to do.
39:32
SPEAKER_02: So you definitely have to be a master at multitasking.
39:35
SPEAKER_05: Yes, for sure.
39:36
SPEAKER_02: And kind of figuring out like my mind is dance every day, all day.
39:41
SPEAKER_02: Like I am obsessed with it.
39:43
SPEAKER_02: It's I often have to be told to calm down and stop thinking about it.
39:47
SPEAKER_02: But that's when you know like you're in the right field.
39:49
SPEAKER_02: Like when you can't stop thinking about something, you know that like I'm meant to be doing this.
39:54
SPEAKER_02: So obviously I'm not thinking about it as I'm here teaching, but I'll be, you know, again during lunch or during my prep or you know, as I'm leaving, what am I doing next?
40:03
SPEAKER_02: So my mind's constantly going with different things.
40:06
SPEAKER_02: Um, there are some days where I, you know, wish I could be like, oh, I have so much to do at the studio.
40:12
SPEAKER_02: I wish I could just wake up at eight, eat a good breakfast and go, but it doesn't happen.
40:16
SPEAKER_02: So, you know, I work my time management and it all gets done.
40:19
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
40:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
40:20
SPEAKER_03: What's what happens in the summers for y'all?
40:23
SPEAKER_03: So, like, do you have summer schedules that you're still adhering to?
40:27
SPEAKER_03: Um, and then how much of that summer is spent planning for next season and meetings with your staff?
40:32
SPEAKER_03: And I mean, again, with like, oh, it must be so nice to be a teacher.
40:35
SPEAKER_03: You have summer off.
40:36
SPEAKER_03: Like, same thing with dance teachers.
40:37
SPEAKER_03: It must be so nice.
40:38
SPEAKER_03: Well, but like, what else are you doing when you're not at the pool?
40:41
SPEAKER_07: There's no really, I try to close, I try to stay true to closing.
40:47
SPEAKER_07: It's it used to be August.
40:49
SPEAKER_07: Now it's now I have my dance and we have a summer dance intensive that runs uh five or six weeks of the summer.
40:56
SPEAKER_07: So the end of June, you know, depending on how the calendar falls, through um, you know, at least the first week of August.
41:02
SPEAKER_07: So that's by by the week, a summer dance intensive, uh, also dance camp, but it's more about our dance intensive.
41:09
SPEAKER_07: We have some little kids, but I you I tried weekly classes in the summer.
41:13
SPEAKER_07: They don't really, it's not hasn't been great for us because they're very, you know, low attendance.
41:19
SPEAKER_07: And then the teachers are like, what am I doing here?
41:21
SPEAKER_07: You know, it's just hasn't really worked out.
41:23
SPEAKER_07: I'm I have a couple on this summer that I feel like people have really been asking for.
41:27
SPEAKER_07: So I said, okay, fine, we'll add a couple of these.
41:30
SPEAKER_07: Uh, so we'll see how that goes.
41:31
SPEAKER_07: And then I try to be closed in August as much as I can.
41:35
SPEAKER_07: And we don't start until like mid-September after school starts.
41:40
SPEAKER_07: So uh, but now my company, we usually bring my company in at the end of August to do choreography.
41:47
SPEAKER_07: We have like a point boot camp that we do the week before we open.
41:51
SPEAKER_07: So we sort of are creeping into that time a little bit, which I just which I think is also nice because it eases the kids in.
41:57
SPEAKER_07: The kids were really serious in our intensive track program.
42:00
SPEAKER_07: It's good for them, you know, if they have been off for a few weeks to get back and like before they're just like killing their bodies again, just all at once.
42:08
SPEAKER_07: It gives them a little like, you know, like a transition in.
42:11
SPEAKER_07: But yeah, we're not really, you know, when we have nationals every other year with our company, so we usually go to a nationals that is the first week of July.
42:19
SPEAKER_07: So yeah, there really isn't any time off.
42:22
SPEAKER_07: And our registration starts already for fall.
42:25
SPEAKER_07: So I had to do that in February.
42:27
SPEAKER_07: So it's just a rolling, you know, a rolling to-do list, as Craig would say, of like just being uh having a timeline of when everything needs to happen, you know.
42:40
SPEAKER_07: Um, so it kind of doesn't really stop, but I do try to pose at least a couple of weeks in August, get down to the beach with my family.
42:48
SPEAKER_07: You know, I feel like it takes at least a week to be in that mindset where you're like, okay, I have like I can relax and then actually relaxing for a full week and then getting back into it.
42:58
SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
43:00
SPEAKER_02: For me, normally, like I the school works great for me because it aligns with the studio.
43:06
SPEAKER_02: I get every break off Christmas break, February break, April break.
43:10
SPEAKER_02: So it's the perfect mix.
43:11
SPEAKER_02: So for me, summer break really is just the school is not there.
43:15
SPEAKER_02: So now I can just solely focus on dance things.
43:18
SPEAKER_02: This year, normally I'm very big on taking breaks.
43:21
SPEAKER_02: I my studio does not run the three to five day a week traditional training thing.
43:27
SPEAKER_02: I do it differently.
43:28
SPEAKER_02: And summer, like the day that showcase happens, we're closed.
43:32
SPEAKER_02: And it's not for the reason of not wanting to get business and not wanting to train.
43:36
SPEAKER_02: Kids, especially little ones in my mind, always need the break.
43:39
SPEAKER_02: Parents need a break.
43:40
SPEAKER_02: I need a break.
43:42
SPEAKER_02: And I think I'm so transparent with that.
43:44
SPEAKER_02: Parents are like, oh, thank God.
43:45
SPEAKER_02: Like we're not pushing us right away.
43:48
SPEAKER_02: But this year, this summer is a little different.
43:50
SPEAKER_02: So my res my showcase is the last day of school here.
43:55
SPEAKER_02: So I will be here from 7 30 to probably noon.
43:59
SPEAKER_02: I will leave.
44:00
SPEAKER_02: Here, I'll lock my classroom.
44:02
SPEAKER_02: I'm actually moving into a new place on the same day.
44:05
SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, whoa.
44:06
SPEAKER_02: So I will run there, I'll let the person deliver the couch, and then I will leave there.
44:11
SPEAKER_02: And then um I will go home, shower, head over to the venue, and then I'll have my show.
44:16
SPEAKER_02: Um after that, this year, I have a student who was crowned Mr.
44:21
SPEAKER_02: Junior Dance in New England.
44:23
SPEAKER_02: So I have to go down, I have to go down to DMA Nationals with them June 27th to July, like second week in July almost.
44:32
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna spend a few extra days down there.
44:33
SPEAKER_02: But then we're closed all of July and we pick back up with my mini and junior 10 intensive the first week in August.
44:40
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
44:41
SPEAKER_02: And then that is like a full 30 hours of getting those kids in there, working technique, starting some choreography to get them prepped, and then they will have the rest of August to chill.
44:52
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
44:53
SPEAKER_02: Again, same thing.
44:54
SPEAKER_02: The weekly classes just don't work for me because it's like we can come the first two weeks, but we can't come the next four.
45:00
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, okay, you know what?
45:01
SPEAKER_02: It's the break.
45:02
SPEAKER_02: And a lot of families where I'm located love to travel over the summer, and I super respect that.
45:07
SPEAKER_02: So that's kind of, you know, it works.
45:09
SPEAKER_02: This season, because it's the fifth anniversary and the production is just super epic and the parents love it and the kids are obsessed with it.
45:15
SPEAKER_02: I did last minute to make it optional if they wanted to go to like a mini nationals that's happening at the end of July.
45:22
SPEAKER_02: So we will have that this year.
45:23
SPEAKER_02: But other than that, like I haven't dipped into the whole national land yet.
45:27
SPEAKER_02: I always grew up doing them.
45:28
SPEAKER_02: And if it wasn't a nationals, it was a performance opportunity.
45:31
SPEAKER_05: Nice.
45:32
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
45:33
SPEAKER_02: Every other year.
45:34
SPEAKER_02: But again, new parents, new moms, new dads, new kids.
45:37
SPEAKER_02: I have no desire to rush the process.
45:40
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
45:40
SPEAKER_02: Like two comps.
45:42
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna, you're gonna enter.
45:44
SPEAKER_02: Like, I'm gonna do two routines with you.
45:46
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna wean you into it.
45:47
SPEAKER_02: And every year I add something on their list.
45:49
SPEAKER_02: And like this year we're going to a convention, like next year, getting the little kids in convention because part of growing up is also like, what did I love about my dance, you know, training growing up, or like what did I what looking back, maybe I didn't want it then, but I want it for my kids now.
46:05
SPEAKER_02: And that would definitely be like the convention world, and not like the extreme convention world, but like I want them to be so comfortable like going in and taking a class with anybody, and conventions definitely help with that.
46:16
SPEAKER_02: So I'm a slow growth person, but in the grand scheme of things, we're closed in summer.
46:22
SPEAKER_07: So, Greg, you're literally you're me five years in.
46:25
SPEAKER_07: So watch out.
46:27
SPEAKER_07: It's coming.
46:28
SPEAKER_07: I love that it's a slow and steady, but you know, you see what happens.
46:34
SPEAKER_02: Right.
46:35
SPEAKER_02: Just taking it, taking it day by day too.
46:37
SPEAKER_07: And I think it's to sublet your space too.
46:40
SPEAKER_07: Like that's how I started as well.
46:42
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
46:42
SPEAKER_07: Because then you really you you can you can take that time off and you don't have to worry about owner is over.
46:49
SPEAKER_07: You know, you get to use your space when you're using it and rent it when you need it, which is a great way, I think, to start a studio as well.
46:56
SPEAKER_02: I think and I actually forgot to mention too, that space that I started, and I was only in there for that half a year, and then that first full year.
47:04
SPEAKER_02: And I actually there's a ballet academy in Foxboro, and I'm friends with the owner.
47:08
SPEAKER_02: I was actually her nutcracker.
47:10
SPEAKER_02: And then I told her, I was like, listen, I'm ballet, I know enough about it, not my thing.
47:16
SPEAKER_02: I go, I'm gonna tap in the show.
47:18
SPEAKER_02: I go, can you change it up?
47:19
SPEAKER_02: We'll do it called the uh the Russian.
47:21
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna do tap.
47:22
SPEAKER_02: And she's like, you know what?
47:23
SPEAKER_02: Why not?
47:23
SPEAKER_02: Like it's COVID, let's change it up.
47:25
SPEAKER_02: So the whole Russian, the whole Russian, I made it into a tap thing.
47:29
SPEAKER_02: So her and I became good friends and I moved into her building.
47:33
SPEAKER_05: Oh.
47:34
SPEAKER_02: So I I ran from her.
47:35
SPEAKER_02: And it's great because she we almost have this like um not on paper relationship where it's like he's strictly ballet.
47:44
SPEAKER_02: If I had any kids who like love what I do, but also want serious, just soul ballet training, right?
47:49
SPEAKER_02: Both of them went to Boston Ballet.
47:51
SPEAKER_02: They can take class there.
47:52
SPEAKER_02: And on the flip side, I've had kids who are like, we love ballet, but we we want tap, we want jazz, we want well-rounded.
47:58
SPEAKER_02: So it's kind of wow, that's great.
48:00
SPEAKER_05: That's a cute deal.
48:01
SPEAKER_05: Smart too.
48:02
SPEAKER_05: Yep.
48:02
SPEAKER_05: I like it.
48:03
SPEAKER_05: Calculated.
48:09
SPEAKER_06: Squirrel Trench Audio offers stage-ready music mixes and edits for choreographers.
48:14
SPEAKER_06: They also provide welcome soundtracks to include in your end-of-year performances.
48:18
SPEAKER_06: Let's hear what they have to offer.
48:23
SPEAKER_01: In addition to creating clean stage-ready song edits and mixes, Squirrel Trench Audio creates fabulous streets titled Welcome Soundtrack.
48:32
SPEAKER_01: Each welcome is customized for your studio theme and theater rules.
48:38
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Studios Online's 14th Annual Dance Showcase.
48:46
SPEAKER_02: Step right up to the greatest.
48:49
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Dance Alive.
48:51
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Dance Welcome everyone.
48:54
SPEAKER_01: Welcome, welcome above, welcome.
48:56
SPEAKER_01: Your annual showcase deserves to start off right.
49:00
SPEAKER_01: Preserve your 2025 welcome today.
49:06
SPEAKER_06: Visit their website to learn more and grab your welcome soundtrack now at squirrel trench.com or click the link in our show notes.
49:14
SPEAKER_06: Set the stage for your most amazing show yet with the welcome soundtrack from Squirrel Trench Audio.
49:26
SPEAKER_06: Now, I'm thinking about some of the things that maybe parents don't even know about what it's like to be a studio owner.
49:35
SPEAKER_06: Some of those things that maybe you didn't even realize until you started being a studio owner.
49:41
SPEAKER_06: Does anything come to mind that was like a a reality shock to you as a new business owner?
49:49
SPEAKER_06: You thought this was going to be maybe easier than it was.
49:51
SPEAKER_06: What was like one of those really big moments throughout your career, uh your studio owner journey so far that was like, wow, I didn't know I needed to do this, or oh wow, I didn't know it was gonna be like this.
50:03
SPEAKER_06: Anything come to mind?
50:04
SPEAKER_07: Well, for me, honestly, no.
50:08
SPEAKER_07: Because I think I always sort of, which is why I never really set out to do it, because I knew how much work it was gonna be.
50:21
SPEAKER_07: This is why we're doing anything what we're doing.
50:24
SPEAKER_07: And so it comes from that love of of dance and being around dance.
50:29
SPEAKER_07: And I just think that I just knew how I know how important all that is.
50:34
SPEAKER_07: So I I kind of always knew it would be all the things that it is.
50:38
SPEAKER_07: I mean, I guess I I never really thought about the programming, like real estate things like that, like figuring out like how to put a whole program together.
50:47
SPEAKER_07: I guess I never really thought about it, but it didn't really sub, it doesn't really surprise me because it all makes complete sense that obviously that would these classes would turn into, well, how are you gonna train these children to do these things?
51:00
SPEAKER_07: You have to put a program together.
51:01
SPEAKER_07: So it really wasn't a surprise, but the I guess the one thing that surprises me just about being a dance studio owner and a teacher is uh how little people really have an appreciation still, I feel like for the arts.
51:14
SPEAKER_06: Really?
51:15
SPEAKER_07: Sadly, I think that like that's part of our job is to like help people find the value.
51:21
SPEAKER_07: And obviously, if they're coming to you and they're bringing your children to a dance studio, they know their kid loves dance, right?
51:26
SPEAKER_07: So the parents are they're just like whether they have nothing to do with dance or have no knowledge of it whatsoever or not, they know their child and they know their child wants this thing and they're trying to give their child this thing, which I feel like it's our job to help them understand the value and what that means and how great it is that they recognize that in their child and they're trying to support it.
51:47
SPEAKER_07: But I think that it surprises me, especially being so close, which is why I started my studio, right?
51:52
SPEAKER_07: I couldn't find what the program I wanted.
51:54
SPEAKER_07: It surprised me being so close to New York City that I had so much trouble.
51:58
SPEAKER_07: And it surprises me that people still don't really truly, I feel have an appreciation for artists and so I think.
52:05
SPEAKER_03: I take advantage of what they have available right down the street.
52:08
SPEAKER_03: It's like I live in New Jersey now, so I live 40 minutes outside of the city.
52:12
SPEAKER_03: And the amount of people that I come across who literally never go see a Broadway show because they just don't even consider that that's I'm like, you live right here.
52:21
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, right here.
52:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
52:23
SPEAKER_07: Like the rest of the country doesn't have this, but you're 40 minutes away and that's or the ballet or opera, concert dance, or anything.
52:31
SPEAKER_07: I mean, it's it's crazy.
52:33
SPEAKER_07: So I feel like that's the most surprising thing, I think, especially when I have these children who are so I have some kids who are so talented.
52:41
SPEAKER_07: And I just I just hope that what we do, I hope that it continues to inspire people to understand and appreciate the artists that their children are, you know?
52:52
unknown: Right.
52:53
SPEAKER_07: That really probably is the most surprising thing.
52:55
SPEAKER_02: Right.
52:56
SPEAKER_02: I think for me, having grown up in a studio that was owned by a family member, like I had the ins.
53:01
SPEAKER_02: So like I knew what was going on.
53:03
SPEAKER_02: I knew like, even if I wasn't taught it, I was very silently observant.
53:07
SPEAKER_02: And then when I did express interest in it, I was like, cool, I know that this is being done.
53:12
SPEAKER_02: This is being done now.
53:14
SPEAKER_02: And I'm still figuring things out.
53:15
SPEAKER_02: I would say for me, the biggest shock thus far was how much it takes to do a production.
53:23
SPEAKER_02: And I had help with this.
53:24
SPEAKER_02: And when I tell you, like, I knew exactly what I wanted the day of my recital last year.
53:29
SPEAKER_02: I knew my theme was going to be hooked on classics.
53:31
SPEAKER_02: I knew I wanted my production to be called Swing Street, I knew the costumes I wanted, I knew everything I wanted about it.
53:38
SPEAKER_02: I knew I wanted, I knew who I wanted to work with on it, but it has held so much space in my mind for like the past 10 months.
53:49
SPEAKER_02: And now it's like we're we're done with regionals, and I'm like, holy crap, I'm like, this, I'm feeling this way with one production.
53:55
SPEAKER_02: And it's not like a stress, like I'm it's it's like excitement stress.
53:58
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, that's like that nerve fighting.
54:01
SPEAKER_02: Right.
54:01
SPEAKER_02: That like I need I need it to go on stage right now.
54:04
SPEAKER_02: And it's a it's a lot of work.
54:06
SPEAKER_02: I would say that because that was the first time I've ever like worked together and choreographed a routine with like 25 kids, which to some choreographers, they're like, that's nothing.
54:14
SPEAKER_02: We have a hundred in our production, but I only am focused on like my journey and my growth right now, and that's a lot for me.
54:21
SPEAKER_02: Started with a team of four kids.
54:23
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like choreographing for four was tough because it was just four.
54:26
unknown: Yeah.
54:27
SPEAKER_06: Well, you always learn, and every every every layer is going to be a new challenge for you.
54:33
SPEAKER_06: And, you know, now that you've accomplished this of 25 kids in a dance, you know, and and for parents that don't understand like the choreographic process, that means more formations, more visual layers, more peel-offs, more ripples, more on stage and off-stage exits, more uh partnering.
54:52
SPEAKER_06: Like there's so many layers to the choreography process where it's a lot harder to choreograph for 25 versus nine.
54:59
SPEAKER_06: I mean, still it's like it doesn't sound like that many more, but it really is, or the, you know, who's in this section, who's in that section.
55:06
SPEAKER_06: So it's hard to process well, the opportunity for more people to put yeah, the vision can come to life more.
55:14
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
55:15
SPEAKER_02: Right.
55:15
SPEAKER_02: And I had told the kids, I was like, listen, this is a time period piece.
55:19
SPEAKER_02: And it's not one of those, like, I hate to say it, but like the time period piece you see, and you're like, oh, you you tried to hit the 80s, but you you kind of got lost in translation.
55:28
SPEAKER_02: They're like, this is everything.
55:29
SPEAKER_02: We were at DECCA last night, and the judge um monitor, we got one of the DECCA awards based off like education, creativity, choreography, and everything.
55:38
SPEAKER_02: And they had expressed that this hit every single mark of that time period, but it was just enough.
55:43
SPEAKER_02: It wasn't like, okay, you did like we go together.
55:46
SPEAKER_03: I'm like, right.
55:47
SPEAKER_02: And I told the kids, I'm like, you have to learn how to tap.
55:50
SPEAKER_02: And if you don't, I'm gonna help you.
55:51
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna do everything possible.
55:53
SPEAKER_02: But I had I had some kids who were like, yeah, we they were new to me this year.
55:56
SPEAKER_02: They were like, we took three hours of tap somewhere else, and I was like, great, barely knew what a buffalo was.
56:03
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, okay.
56:05
SPEAKER_02: I was like, well, you know what?
56:06
SPEAKER_02: In my 30-minute tap class, I'm gonna teach you how to do all this stuff.
56:10
SPEAKER_02: And and that that's not, I'm not trying to brag, but it's like just because you're taking so much class elsewhere, like doesn't mean it's necessarily being taught appro appropriately.
56:20
SPEAKER_02: That's true.
56:21
SPEAKER_02: Or a good point.
56:22
SPEAKER_02: I'm not perfect, but it is you hear that, you know, it's like, oh, you took three hours of tap.
56:27
SPEAKER_02: I expect you to be better than all my kids that have just been taking it for a half hour.
56:31
SPEAKER_05: Right.
56:32
SPEAKER_02: But that was not the case in this.
56:33
SPEAKER_02: I had to work harder to get you to that point, which I love.
56:36
SPEAKER_02: That's my job.
56:37
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, yeah.
56:38
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
56:38
SPEAKER_06: Dance parents are a big aspect of studio owner life.
56:44
SPEAKER_06: It's one of the things that I think a lot of studio owners come to me and have expressed, not because I can help them, just venting to me and saying, Oh my gosh, the dance parents are driving me insane.
56:58
SPEAKER_06: Like, I have heard studio owner friends straight up say that like they love this and they want to do this and they love their students and they love educating and they love business owning.
57:08
SPEAKER_06: But it's that other the other layer, the customer, unfortunately, makes it very difficult sometimes to, you know, if with complaints, with demands, with why is my kid not in the front, with questioning everything, training methods, whatever it may be.
57:24
SPEAKER_06: Do you feel like yes, not trusting the studio?
57:27
SPEAKER_06: Do you feel like that this is a real thing that that studio owners feel?
57:32
SPEAKER_06: And any advice to any of the dance parents out there on, you know, from your perspective?
57:37
SPEAKER_07: I hear that.
57:38
SPEAKER_07: You're a dance mom yourself, too.
57:39
SPEAKER_07: So I am a dance mom and I do follow the different chats on Facebook.
57:44
SPEAKER_07: And sometimes I'm just like, wow, wow.
57:49
SPEAKER_07: Because people say some really horrendous things about their studios, about their studio owners.
57:54
SPEAKER_07: And I honestly, like, I'm I've been very lucky here in my so far.
58:00
SPEAKER_07: I mean, nothing's perfect, believe me.
58:02
SPEAKER_07: I'm not saying that we've had no issues.
58:06
SPEAKER_07: There's always like a one-off, there's always, but for us, it is sort of a one-off when it's um someone who's really there's always gonna be malcontents.
58:16
SPEAKER_07: I think that the most important thing you can do is just be clear about what your rules are.
58:22
SPEAKER_07: This there's two separate issues here.
58:24
SPEAKER_07: So I have my studio program that's like, I guess what you would call your rec program, although most of my rec kids train in more than one style of dance.
58:34
SPEAKER_07: So I most of my kids are kind of serious dancers, even my little kids who are studio track kids.
58:40
SPEAKER_07: Okay.
58:40
SPEAKER_07: So then I have my my intensive track, pre-professional kids, my company kids.
58:45
SPEAKER_07: And I would say most of those parents are pretty amazing.
58:50
SPEAKER_07: But I think part of it, a huge part of it, is because I have been really clear about what the rules are.
58:57
SPEAKER_07: Everyone following the rules, including my children, pretty much starting with my children, right?
59:05
SPEAKER_07: And I know that I can always fall back on I know that I'm doing the right thing, I guess what I have to say.
59:13
SPEAKER_07: So I know that I and my faculty, my company director, you my teachers, like just everyone sort of being on the same page.
59:20
SPEAKER_07: So, you know, my studio manager knowing this is the rule, this is the level.
59:24
SPEAKER_07: I, you know, whether it's a studio track kid who wants to be in a class with their best friend who happens to be a company kid, and it's like, well, no, I mean, look at the website, the website being clear.
59:34
SPEAKER_07: I think all of you need to do all of those things to sort of ward off that trouble.
59:41
SPEAKER_07: So I think it is on the studio owner to be really clear on their website, in their contracts, in their agreements, in their even just agreement to sign up for a class.
59:52
SPEAKER_07: Like this is when tuition's due, this is how much it is, whether you prorate, you don't prorate, all of those things.
59:57
SPEAKER_07: I think it's just on you to be really clear.
1:00:00
SPEAKER_07: Um, have you.
1:00:03
SPEAKER_07: And stand firm, which is really hard.
1:00:05
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
1:00:05
SPEAKER_07: It's hard and it's hard to get.
1:00:06
SPEAKER_07: For me, it's been hard getting people who work for me to stand firm, empowering everyone to just be like, no, this is the this is the rule.
1:00:14
SPEAKER_07: And I don't have to over-explain the rule and be kind, and this is the rule, and this is how it is.
1:00:19
SPEAKER_07: So I feel like that's sort of how you ward that off.
1:00:22
SPEAKER_07: And maybe that it's been a combination of me uh hopefully being clear in those things because I do have the random parent who does come in and and challenges things and and who leave or make things difficult or aren't happy.
1:00:35
SPEAKER_07: But primarily I do have pretty great parents.
1:00:38
SPEAKER_07: I really do.
1:00:39
SPEAKER_07: They don't get involved in drama with one another.
1:00:43
SPEAKER_07: I've had I've had to talk to certain groups of kids and parents over the years when things have bubbled up, but it's always sort of worked out.
1:00:52
SPEAKER_07: Everyone's like using their brain and like being a grown-up, and so I do see horror stories, and it's I know it's real.
1:01:01
SPEAKER_07: I know it's real.
1:01:01
SPEAKER_07: I've heard it firsthand, I've seen it, I've heard people screaming at each other in hallways at hotels.
1:01:06
SPEAKER_07: Oh my gosh.
1:01:08
SPEAKER_07: I mean, I've seen all the you guys, I'm sure, have seen and heard.
1:01:11
SPEAKER_06: I've seen some stuff, yeah.
1:01:13
SPEAKER_07: It's really upsetting because it feels like that is the majority.
1:01:17
SPEAKER_07: It really does feel like somehow people think studio owners are like these evil people, and it's like crazy to me because it's like literally we're the opposite of that.
1:01:26
SPEAKER_07: If you're I mean, I don't know, I can't speak for everyone, and I don't really know everyone's experience, but for me, it's like I'm literally only doing this because I absolutely love dance and I love seeing helping people what what is changed, what's turned into for me being a going from being a performer to you know having my own dreams of performing to then being a teacher, to then being a studio owner is just I want to help people reach their goals and understand that they what a goal is and to figure out how to reach that goal.
1:02:01
SPEAKER_07: So I'm all about the training, and I think that's the biggest challenge nowadays is people are sort of like about, especially in the competitive world, or about like going and doing a solo and winning a thing.
1:02:11
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, I feel like I'm constantly repeat repeating myself saying, but no, it it starts with the training.
1:02:17
SPEAKER_07: You weren't put on this earth being able to do the things that we're doing right now.
1:02:21
SPEAKER_07: It's it's your training, it's going to class, going to all your classes, even the classes you don't that aren't your favorite combo or your favorite teacher, whatever you think is your favorite thing, you know, working and learning all those life skills.
1:02:34
SPEAKER_07: So for me, that is the most important thing.
1:02:37
SPEAKER_07: So I try to relay that at my studio the best I can and try to have faculty that also, you know, share that message, which luckily I I do have that.
1:02:47
SPEAKER_07: And it's that's also a constant challenge is to continue to have the right faculty and to grow in the different ways that my kids I feel like need to grow and bringing the people in.
1:03:00
SPEAKER_07: That's probably one of the hardest things right now.
1:03:02
SPEAKER_07: But right now I'm I'm lucky to say that I'm good with all that right now.
1:03:07
SPEAKER_03: Nice.
1:03:07
SPEAKER_03: Oh, well, that's really refreshing to hear.
1:03:09
SPEAKER_03: That's great.
1:03:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
1:03:10
SPEAKER_06: And I think I think it really comes down to studio culture and um what type of role you want to play in in that and how lenient you are, how uh firm you are in your rules if you uh, you know, hold up to that standard and setting that example from the start.
1:03:28
SPEAKER_06: Because I'm immediately thinking, Leslie, that we just launched our Toxic Studios Red Flag Studios episode.
1:03:35
SPEAKER_06: You know, and it's like, yeah, like you said, it feels like the majority now where everyone's saying, Oh, there's this issue with this studio and this studio, my studio owners treat us like this.
1:03:45
SPEAKER_07: It's really like it's crazy.
1:03:47
SPEAKER_07: Everyone just needs to stop and like go to class.
1:03:51
SPEAKER_03: Right, right.
1:03:52
SPEAKER_03: Well, and I think too that like it sounds like, you know, from what I've seen from your studio, like in your faculty, they clearly instill their own value of how valuable work ethic is, because they wouldn't have gotten to the point that they are now technically and performance quality-wise without a good solid work ethic.
1:04:09
SPEAKER_03: And you don't have that without understanding that that's necessary.
1:04:14
SPEAKER_03: And, you know, so your parents clearly understand okay, my kid's being pushed hard because the end result is gonna be worth it.
1:04:21
SPEAKER_03: It's not because Miss Jenny wants to be mean or Miss Kaylin wants to be, you know, snappy to this one kid because she's not pointing her foot.
1:04:29
SPEAKER_03: Like, no, it's because the end result that we all want is only achieved by valuing hard work.
1:04:34
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
1:04:35
SPEAKER_03: And the way I get you to work hard is to somehow maybe be a little hard on you.
1:04:38
SPEAKER_03: Shove with love, not shove, but like, you know, do everything with love, even if it means being a little hard on you.
1:04:44
SPEAKER_06: And I don't think it's, I don't see that.
1:04:46
SPEAKER_06: I mean, as a as someone coming in, I granted, I think that there is a expectation for class.
1:04:52
SPEAKER_06: Every single dancer, when I've worked with them, and granted I'm a guest, but I can tell that they are excited to be there and they are there for a reason and they are focused and they want to train.
1:05:02
SPEAKER_06: You know, like I can see that.
1:05:04
SPEAKER_06: Whereas sometimes I go to other studios and I'm brought in as a guest, and the vibe is just like, oh, I'm forced to be here, mom made me come.
1:05:11
SPEAKER_06: Like I can feel that energy from the dancers in the room, but there's always something different about what you've put into this studio uh culture that says, we take this seriously.
1:05:23
SPEAKER_06: Like we like you, you want to be here, you you better put the work in, you better train, you better be focused.
1:05:29
SPEAKER_06: I don't feel like I'm having to reprimand any dancers on are you paying attention?
1:05:33
SPEAKER_06: Oh, are you know, that type of stuff.
1:05:35
SPEAKER_06: And again, it just comes back to like the the higher ups and faculty, I'm sure, but it's usually the studio owners that are setting that example from the very beginning and saying this is our expectation in class.
1:05:47
SPEAKER_06: And if you as a parent or you as a student aren't can't be at that expectation, this isn't the right fit for you.
1:05:53
SPEAKER_07: Well, I mean, that's where that's that's it right there.
1:05:56
SPEAKER_07: You have to be willing to you really have to be willing to Walk that line.
1:06:00
SPEAKER_07: You have to be willing to like say this isn't for you.
1:06:05
SPEAKER_07: And you have to be and it's sad sometimes.
1:06:07
SPEAKER_07: Like I see people make a choice for their dancer, and I'm just like, it's so sad that you're making that choice because I feel like we could give them they maybe they don't want to take all the classes or they don't want to be there in the summer or whatever it is, but you kind of need to command that you need to require the things in order to get a dancer like that, Courtney.
1:06:29
SPEAKER_07: So when you're coming in, you feel that.
1:06:31
SPEAKER_07: But you have to be willing to let some people go sometimes, which is not easy to do.
1:06:37
SPEAKER_03: So and be okay with knowing that like they'll find somewhere that's for them.
1:06:41
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
1:06:42
SPEAKER_03: You know, like trust that, like, you're not for us or we're not for each other, and that's fine.
1:06:47
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, exactly.
1:06:48
SPEAKER_07: So it's uh it's balancing the business with I think a lot of studios can't do that because they're trying to just make ends meet.
1:06:58
SPEAKER_07: Like we pointed out, not everybody who's a dancer is also like an amazing business person.
1:07:03
SPEAKER_07: So I feel like sometimes, and I could totally see it happening where you panic and you're like, okay, well, I'm just gonna let them in this level, or I'm just gonna whatever, let them be in a class they shouldn't be in or in a program they shouldn't be in that's not right for them, and they eventually are unhappy because it's not right for them.
1:07:20
SPEAKER_07: They're trying to be something they're not, they don't have the foundational skills, whatever it is.
1:07:25
SPEAKER_07: And then you have faculty that's like, wait, what am I doing?
1:07:28
SPEAKER_07: How am I teaching this class?
1:07:29
SPEAKER_07: How do I do this with this person and this you're just you're starting to make it even worse, as hard as it is in that moment to say you have to follow the rule.
1:07:40
SPEAKER_07: Right.
1:07:41
SPEAKER_07: The this rule that I set in place for this, what you need to be for this level, etc.
1:07:47
SPEAKER_07: You have to do it then because it really doesn't make it better later on.
1:07:51
SPEAKER_07: It just it really doesn't.
1:07:52
SPEAKER_07: And the more knowledge you have and the longer you've been doing it, you realize that.
1:07:56
SPEAKER_07: But that's hard.
1:07:57
SPEAKER_07: And that's I think that's the difference between a lot of studios that don't do that or can't do that, or don't know yet that they have to do that.
1:08:06
SPEAKER_07: And I think that's the trick.
1:08:09
SPEAKER_03: When you've had a bad day, when you've had a bad week, and you walk into the studio, what is the thing that brings you the most joy, that gives you that peace that like I'm doing, I'm doing the right thing for me?
1:08:18
SPEAKER_02: I would say when the kids run it and they are just so excited to show you what they got, what they've been working on.
1:08:26
SPEAKER_02: Like this little group of kids I work with right now, they're so hungry for it that they want it.
1:08:32
SPEAKER_02: And that is so exciting to me because I'm like, wow, you actually went home and and practiced that.
1:08:37
SPEAKER_02: Like you have the drive and the motivation.
1:08:39
SPEAKER_02: Like my student who just won Mr.
1:08:40
SPEAKER_02: Junior Dance in America uh New England, he's not perfect.
1:08:43
SPEAKER_02: But I was teaching him how to do a buffalo a year and a half ago, and now he's doing singing in the rain.
1:08:48
SPEAKER_02: And it's like he jumped five levels of tap because that kid had the drive and the motivation to do it, and all the kids do.
1:08:54
SPEAKER_02: And with this production, too, that's been like a hole for me.
1:08:57
SPEAKER_02: Like I was in tears the first competition.
1:08:59
SPEAKER_02: It almost got a perfect score.
1:09:01
SPEAKER_02: And it won the whole thing.
1:09:03
SPEAKER_02: And I know scoring is subjective.
1:09:04
SPEAKER_02: It by far was not perfect, but like when you spend so much time on something, and then you just sit there and like it wins it all and it gets recognized for all the hard work, you're just like, I don't care that I had a bad day today.
1:09:17
SPEAKER_02: I don't care that I had a bad week.
1:09:19
SPEAKER_02: All of that is like why I do what I do.
1:09:22
SPEAKER_02: Not for the win, but the sole reason of you children who have never done a production who could classify basically as wrecked dancers because you're still on that growth journey, you just did that.
1:09:32
SPEAKER_02: That for me is like the joy aspect of it.
1:09:35
SPEAKER_07: This is the easiest question in the world because it goes back to the whole entire everything, every job I've ever done related to dance.
1:09:43
SPEAKER_07: And it's just being in the studio.
1:09:45
SPEAKER_07: If I have like crazy stuff going on here in the office, this phone call, this email, whatever it is, I will walk into the studio.
1:09:53
SPEAKER_07: And this is when I'm not teaching.
1:09:54
SPEAKER_07: Obviously, teaching my class is joyful, but I'll just walk over to any of my studios with any of my classes going on, and I will sit down and I will watch the dancers.
1:10:05
SPEAKER_07: And I'm just like, oh, thank you for reminding me why I'm here and why I love everything so much, and just watching them learn, watching them be amazing, just listening to the music, all of it.
1:10:16
SPEAKER_07: It's just, it makes me so happy.
1:10:19
SPEAKER_06: So thanks for tuning in to our latest episode, all about a day in the life of a studio owner.
1:10:28
SPEAKER_06: Huge shout out to our guests, Jenny and Greg, for joining us on this chat.
1:10:33
SPEAKER_06: Don't forget to follow their studios on social media.
1:10:36
SPEAKER_06: You can find Jenny Studio at Brava underscore dance and Greg Studio at Studio D Dance Company.
1:10:44
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1:10:51
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1:10:57
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1:11:05
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1:11:13
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1:11:16
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1:12:25
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1:12:28
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1:12:37
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1:12:41
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