Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / How To Avoid Burn Out During the Dance Season

Transcript

How To Avoid Burn Out During the Dance Season · 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.
0:25
SPEAKER_03: Burnout.
0:26
SPEAKER_03: We all feel it at times, and particularly in the dance world, where a hobby and a passion may become a career one day.
0:31
SPEAKER_03: It's important to learn some skills to get ahead of that feeling of overwhelm.
0:35
SPEAKER_03: Joining us today for this discussion on burnout are ideas judge and dance educator Danielle Richmond and studio owner Christy Ann Phillips to share their insights.
0:46
SPEAKER_02: Hi everyone, welcome to this episode.
0:48
SPEAKER_02: I am your host, Christy Courtney, and I'm here with my co-host, Leslie Miller.
0:53
SPEAKER_03: Courtney, guess where we are this week as of the release of this episode?
0:58
SPEAKER_03: Where?
1:00
SPEAKER_03: Oh, we are in sunny Miami for our version of spring break.
1:04
SPEAKER_02: Yay! Yes, we uh Leslie and I needed to take a little getaway.
1:08
SPEAKER_02: We needed to take a getaway down south to enjoy the beach life, the warm weather, some fun in the sun down in Miami Beach.
1:16
SPEAKER_02: We did this trip like two years ago and had such a good time.
1:19
SPEAKER_02: So we needed to make it happen again.
1:21
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and especially it's kind of perfect for this week's episode on burnout because I don't know about you, Court, but like by now, I am very tired.
1:30
SPEAKER_03: The season is really underway, and I'm like creeping towards burnout, so I really needed a break.
1:36
SPEAKER_03: And I hope everybody out there is getting a little bit of a break too.
1:38
SPEAKER_03: This is like spring breaky time period for some people, so I hope everybody's relaxing.
1:44
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I hope so too.
1:45
SPEAKER_02: And that is such a good point.
1:47
SPEAKER_02: It is spring break for a lot of studios and a lot of people out there.
1:52
SPEAKER_02: So I know that I was grateful to have a weekend off this past weekend.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, I'm actually like where I'm at in the season.
2:01
SPEAKER_02: I definitely am feeling a little overwhelmed.
2:04
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna lie.
2:05
SPEAKER_02: It is always like crazy for me at this point in the season with managing IDA and staffing judges and last-minute replacements for events and handling the logistics of that on the back end, along with our online critique service that's always super busy during the heat of the season.
2:21
SPEAKER_02: But then I'm also teaching regularly every weekend on Revel Dance Convention and creating new material for that and judging long hours for that.
2:29
SPEAKER_02: And it's just like full swing, 24-7, no days off, go, go, go.
2:34
SPEAKER_02: And to go to Miami and do nothing for like four days.
2:38
SPEAKER_02: Dreams.
2:39
SPEAKER_02: Dreams, like so needed.
2:42
SPEAKER_02: Because yeah, I definitely am feeling burnt out.
2:44
SPEAKER_02: And I'm I'm sure you are.
2:46
SPEAKER_02: I know you are.
2:46
SPEAKER_02: You're working equally as hard, Leslie.
2:48
SPEAKER_02: You are managing these events at Spirit of Dance Awards and directing them, and you were doing such a fantastic job, but they are very long hours.
2:55
SPEAKER_03: They are long hours, and then there's like the pre-work during the week, and I have like two other jobs during the week, and you know, it's it's just a wonder that nobody's falling down dead.
3:04
SPEAKER_03: But yeah, so I'm excited about our conversation today.
3:06
SPEAKER_03: I think it's gonna be a good one for everybody, dancers, parents, and teachers alike.
3:12
SPEAKER_02: Yes, I agree.
3:13
SPEAKER_02: And before we jump into our episode today, we want to tell you about our sponsor.
3:19
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3:22
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3:24
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3:28
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3:29
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3:32
SPEAKER_03: If you spent as many years as I did as a dancer, I'm sure you know it can produce long-term chronic aches, pains, and injuries because of the nature of dance, lack of rest, and time in hours of classes, competitions, conventions, and intensives.
3:44
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3:49
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4:11
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4:21
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4:24
SPEAKER_02: Alright, and it's time to hear some of our Making the Impact Award winners from recent IDA affiliated competition events.
4:33
SPEAKER_02: If you are a lucky winner of the Making the Impact Award, that means that your judges at the event couldn't stop thinking about your dance by the end of the weekend.
4:42
SPEAKER_02: This goes to one dance every weekend, any size or age or level dance, with at least one judge on your panel of judges at the event, and they will select a dance that stood out to them, whether it was through awesome choreography, amazing execution, beautiful performance.
5:01
SPEAKER_02: They want to recognize you as the judge's choice award.
5:05
SPEAKER_02: And we are excited to not only give a physical award sponsored by Making the Impact Podcast at IDA affiliated competition events, but also give winners a shout-out live on the pod.
5:17
SPEAKER_02: So I'm excited to share some of our recent winners with you all.
5:20
SPEAKER_03: From the Streets Dance Convention and Competition in Birmingham, Alabama, congratulations to Independent Dance Collective from Panama City, Florida for their small group, Amen.
5:29
SPEAKER_02: From Star Talent Productions event in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
5:32
SPEAKER_02: Congrats to Studio 68 for their large group, A River Flows in You.
5:37
SPEAKER_03: And from Axis Dance Competition in Farmington, New Mexico, congratulations to Ballet Durango from Durango, Colorado for their small group, Baroque Etude.
5:46
SPEAKER_02: Congrats to all the recent Making the Impact winners.
5:49
SPEAKER_02: And if you are a lucky winner of the Making the Impact Award, don't forget to register your award by scanning the QR code on the back of the award so we can give you a shout-out on a future podcast episode.
5:59
SPEAKER_02: Alright, listeners, it's time for this week's episode, and we are talking about burnout.
6:05
SPEAKER_02: I'm sure we've all experienced it.
6:07
SPEAKER_02: And maybe we're feeling a little burnt out at this point in the competition season because it's April and it is in full swing.
6:15
SPEAKER_02: Some of us might see their your season might already be over and you're just taking classes and no more competition, or maybe we're gearing up for recital, or maybe your season is just starting and you're just started competing at the top of April.
6:28
SPEAKER_02: Everyone's season is different, but I do know that at this point a lot of us are probably experiencing that burnout.
6:35
SPEAKER_02: For the judges, for the dance teachers, for the studio owners, for the dancers, even the parents.
6:41
SPEAKER_02: I'm sure you're burnt out.
6:42
SPEAKER_02: So we're gonna talk all about that today with two brand new guests on this week's episode.
6:47
SPEAKER_02: The first guest that I'm excited to welcome to the podcast is a brand new guest coming to us from Long Island, New York.
6:53
SPEAKER_02: She's a studio owner bringing that perspective to the podcast.
6:56
SPEAKER_02: I'm excited to welcome Christy Ann Phillips to the podcast.
6:59
SPEAKER_02: Welcome, Christy.
7:00
SPEAKER_04: Hi, thanks for having me.
7:02
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
7:03
SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for wanting to jump in and chat on this topic today.
7:08
SPEAKER_02: Really excited to have your studio owner perspective and dance teacher perspective, as I'm sure you deal with burnout often.
7:13
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
7:14
SPEAKER_04: Dancing for this many years, it's inevitable, I think, to go in and out.
7:19
SPEAKER_04: So for sure.
7:20
SPEAKER_02: Totally.
7:22
SPEAKER_02: Um, well, happy to have you here.
7:24
SPEAKER_02: If you wouldn't mind sharing with our listeners out there a little bit more about you, I mentioned you're based from Long Island, but how did you get involved in dance and when did you start your studio?
7:34
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so I have the classic.
7:37
SPEAKER_04: My mom put me in like a combo class at age three, and many, many years later, and thousands and thousands of dollars later, I'm still here.
7:47
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, I'd I'd been dancing since I was three years old.
7:50
SPEAKER_04: I started doing recreational only, and then around age 12 I switched to compete.
7:55
SPEAKER_04: I grew up competing on Long Island, and we know we did nationals in Las Vegas and Disney World and all the fun places.
8:02
SPEAKER_04: And then I went to college and I wanted to originally I was going to school for teaching.
8:06
SPEAKER_04: Both my parents are school teachers, and there was a dance company.
8:10
SPEAKER_04: I went to SUNY, Cortland, upstate New York, and they have the Cortland Dance Company, shout out CDC.
8:16
SPEAKER_04: An awesome program.
8:17
SPEAKER_04: It can be recreational or competitive, ran very much like a studio, and it was all student choreographers.
8:24
SPEAKER_04: So that's where I started dipping my toe into choreography and working with adults who just loved to dance was so fulfilling for me in that way.
8:33
SPEAKER_04: And then when I graduated college, I came home and I knew that I wanted to run a dance studio.
8:39
SPEAKER_04: So I started just trying to make a name for myself on Long Island and starting to reach out and working for local studios.
8:45
SPEAKER_04: And then um that's where I found Lori's, which has been established since 1957.
8:50
SPEAKER_04: My partner, Casey and I taught together there for two years, and then we took over from the previous owner.
8:56
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
8:56
SPEAKER_04: And that was in 2015.
8:58
SPEAKER_04: So we've been owning ever since, and we do the bulk of our choreography for the team and the bulk of the teaching, but we also have an amazing staff of teachers and front desk help and all of that to help us.
9:10
SPEAKER_04: And yeah, that's been our journey.
9:12
SPEAKER_04: We compete, we do recreational program and competitive program, ages, you know, walking to adults and everything in between.
9:21
SPEAKER_02: Nice.
9:22
SPEAKER_02: How many students do you have at your studio?
9:24
SPEAKER_02: What this is.
9:25
SPEAKER_04: I think we're like a little over a hundred right now.
9:27
SPEAKER_04: We're still, you know, we're still recovering from our COVID numbers.
9:31
SPEAKER_04: So I think I think we're about a hundred right now in this year's recreational recital program.
9:36
SPEAKER_04: And then we have about 45 students on our competition team.
9:39
SPEAKER_04: Nice.
9:39
SPEAKER_04: We're like a weird studio that has a lot of comp kids.
9:43
SPEAKER_04: Like most studios, I feel like have a ton of rec kids and maybe a third or less comp kids, but we're almost half competitive and half recreational.
9:52
SPEAKER_02: Nice.
9:53
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
9:54
SPEAKER_02: I was just curious because I know there's like a dance studio on every corner in Long Island.
9:58
SPEAKER_04: So literally.
10:00
SPEAKER_04: It's funny because there's like five studios within maybe a two-mile radius in our town, and they're all pretty good studios.
10:08
SPEAKER_04: Yes, very heavily concentrated in dance on Long Island.
10:11
SPEAKER_02: Yes, it is.
10:12
SPEAKER_02: They love it.
10:13
SPEAKER_02: Eat, sleep, breathe, dance out there on the island.
10:16
SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
10:17
SPEAKER_02: Well, thank you so much for being here and being a supporter of our podcast and joining us today.
10:22
SPEAKER_04: Yes, thank you.
10:23
SPEAKER_02: All right, and our next very special guest is a brand new guest to our podcast, and they are also an IDA judge on our roster.
10:31
SPEAKER_02: I'm excited to welcome Danielle Richman to the podcast.
10:34
SPEAKER_02: Welcome, Danielle.
10:35
SPEAKER_01: Hi, thank you so much.
10:36
SPEAKER_02: Yay! So pumped to finally meet you officially via like livestream interweb.
10:42
SPEAKER_02: I know you've been on the podcast for um, I'm you've been on the roster for the past two years, and we've been getting you out there for IDA affiliated competitions.
10:52
SPEAKER_02: And I'm intrigued because you also are a convention owner for Activate Your Artistry Dance Convention.
11:00
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
11:01
SPEAKER_02: I'm so like, I love following what you're doing and like congrats on that.
11:05
SPEAKER_02: That's really exciting, and I definitely want you to tell the world a little bit more about that.
11:09
SPEAKER_02: But while you're doing that, tell us some more about you, where you're based, how you started dancing, any career credits, and a little bit more about your convention.
11:18
SPEAKER_05: For sure.
11:19
SPEAKER_05: So similar to Christy Ann, I started dancing at three, so I've been a dance baby my whole life.
11:24
SPEAKER_05: Grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and I'm still based in Chicago now.
11:29
SPEAKER_05: Let's see.
11:30
SPEAKER_05: Went to college at ECC, it's community college to get my gen ed.
11:33
SPEAKER_05: They had a musical theater dance program, and I was pre-law major at first and dancing as a side hobby.
11:39
SPEAKER_05: And my teacher goes, You could do this for real.
11:41
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, I can.
11:43
SPEAKER_05: Okay, cool.
11:44
SPEAKER_05: So like so I went home and told my parents, I don't want to study law.
11:48
SPEAKER_05: I want to be an artist and like Oh no.
11:53
SPEAKER_05: Right?
11:54
SPEAKER_05: And my dad's a deputy chief, and my mom was like head ER nurse, so they're service professions.
11:58
SPEAKER_05: That's just kind of what our family was about.
12:00
SPEAKER_05: And they were like, Oh god, she's gonna be broke and like not gonna be able to eat, surviving on ramen.
12:06
SPEAKER_05: So I took on a couple jobs and uh transferred to NIU dance performance program emphasis in Bally and Modern, paid for my degree because that's what I had to do to make my dream happen.
12:18
SPEAKER_05: And while going to school, started dancing professionally at the same time, so I didn't want to do an and or situation.
12:24
SPEAKER_05: It was like, no, I'm gonna do everything.
12:27
SPEAKER_05: So I made my first professional company at 18.
12:29
SPEAKER_05: I've not taken any breaks from the stage, and I'm now 36, with the exception I had my son last year and was on bed rest, so I was forced to stop dancing.
12:37
SPEAKER_05: And I've not stopped performing for 18 years.
12:40
SPEAKER_05: So even I teach Monday through Thursday, my home studio, step above in Batavia, love them to death, highly advanced competitive.
12:46
SPEAKER_05: Fridays and Sundays I rehearse with a professional company called PPI on the South Side of Chicago.
12:51
SPEAKER_05: And when I'm not in rehearsal, I'm either judging for impact, inferno, or I'm with my own convention, so I'm never home.
12:58
SPEAKER_05: And I just I just I love this.
13:01
SPEAKER_05: So you know about burnout, maybe?
13:03
SPEAKER_05: Um, I'm used to the hustle because I've never taken breaks, but when I get to burnout, it's on the extreme end.
13:09
SPEAKER_05: So I feel like I can talk to those type A personalities that don't know how to slow down because that would be me.
13:15
unknown: Wow.
13:16
SPEAKER_05: Tell us a little about your convention.
13:17
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, for sure.
13:18
SPEAKER_05: So I started AYA four years ago.
13:21
SPEAKER_05: I rented a belly dancing studio in a suburb out here and held like a master class series, which is all my own students, so it really, you know, we could have done it at our studio.
13:31
SPEAKER_05: But it felt special and the vibe was nice, and there was an emphasis on compassion and kindness that I was really pushing and they kept selling out.
13:40
SPEAKER_05: And so we filled a belly dance studio a couple times, and I was like, okay, this might be a thing.
13:45
SPEAKER_05: So I hosted a free one-day convention out here in Chicago.
13:49
SPEAKER_05: I let I think about twelve or thirteen companies come completely for free, and I hired video and photo to come and just get footage.
13:56
SPEAKER_05: So I told the kids, just dance your hearts out.
13:58
SPEAKER_05: We need photos and videos, some of the do a thing.
14:01
SPEAKER_05: Right.
14:01
SPEAKER_05: And and just never looked back.
14:04
SPEAKER_05: And so now we're at the end of our fourth season.
14:07
SPEAKER_05: We're having our first summer intensive, July 19th through 21st out here, and next year will be half a decade, and it just it flew, and I'm in love with it, and it's great.
14:15
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: I love hearing that.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: That's really great.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: Congrats on all of it.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
14:21
SPEAKER_02: So fierce, everybody.
14:23
SPEAKER_02: All right.
14:23
SPEAKER_02: Well, we have a lot to cover in this chat.
14:26
SPEAKER_02: So let's jump on in and talk all about burnout.
14:28
SPEAKER_03: All right.
14:29
SPEAKER_03: Well, you know me, I like to find definitions of things.
14:33
SPEAKER_03: So I looked up the definition of burnout, and this is from WebMD.
14:37
SPEAKER_03: So burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped.
14:42
SPEAKER_03: It's a result of excessive and prolonged emotional, physical, and mental stress.
14:46
SPEAKER_03: In many cases, burnout is related to one's job.
14:48
SPEAKER_03: Burnout happens when you're overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to keep up with life's incessant demands.
14:54
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
14:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
14:55
SPEAKER_03: So I think that's um that really kind of covers it.
14:58
SPEAKER_03: Like that's, you know, life is hard.
15:01
SPEAKER_03: And I think, you know, especially in the arts, kind of Danielle, like you're saying, your parents immediately were like, oh dear, oh no.
15:08
SPEAKER_03: She's gonna be working 15 jobs, she's gonna be, you know, burnt out at some point.
15:12
SPEAKER_03: So but specifically thinking about all of our careers in the arts, I guess I want to know Christiane, you're a business owner.
15:20
SPEAKER_03: You guys are both y'all are both business owners.
15:22
SPEAKER_03: So I want to hear from both of you.
15:24
SPEAKER_03: When you get to that per point of burnout, what does that look like for you?
15:28
SPEAKER_03: Does it look like you're taking time off or you're you're you're working really hard and things are getting like falling by the wayside, or what does burnout look like for you?
15:36
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so I was thinking about this topic a lot, obviously, since we first discussed this topic um, you know, in emails together.
15:44
SPEAKER_04: And I think that when I was in college, I remember there was always this running joke of like you can't have all three, you can only have two of the three.
15:52
SPEAKER_04: And it was like getting enough sleep, getting good grades, and having a social life, right?
15:57
SPEAKER_04: And I feel like that also follows us into adulthood with, you know, career, social life, family, friends, etc.
16:04
SPEAKER_04: And then again, like self-care, getting enough sleep, are we eating well?
16:08
SPEAKER_04: Are, you know.
16:08
SPEAKER_04: And for our industry, by the nature of our industry, it's really, really hard to balance those things.
16:15
SPEAKER_04: I think more than the average person who's already struggling to balance those things, because we have odd hours and we have these extreme uh waves and you know, peaks and valleys in our season.
16:27
SPEAKER_04: We and and yet at the same time, it's like a full I mean, I don't know about you guys, but like we're all year long.
16:33
SPEAKER_04: Our studio is constantly, you know, my Compkins don't have like an off-season, really.
16:38
SPEAKER_04: They're constantly doing stuff.
16:39
SPEAKER_04: So it can get really challenging to balance that that triangle of are we taking care of ourselves in a mental and physical state?
16:49
SPEAKER_04: And are we, you know, making sure that we're filling our cups socially?
16:52
SPEAKER_04: And how is our career looking?
16:54
SPEAKER_04: And are we thriving at work?
16:55
SPEAKER_04: And a lot of times when you're thriving at work, it's because you're then, you know, or it because maybe you're giving up a little bit on the other two sides of maybe you're not getting enough sleep, or you know, in dance we're constantly eating dinner at like, you know, 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock at night, or three o'clock in the afternoon, or maybe twice, right?
17:16
SPEAKER_04: Or, you know, when you're a performer and a professional dancer, your schedule is so crazy.
17:21
SPEAKER_04: I know a lot of a lot of dancers talk about in college how they would have, you know, their workout time was like during their lunch break.
17:28
SPEAKER_04: So it's like, okay, do I have to go get my gym requirement, or do I go and get my lunch and my calories and to have energy for my PM classes?
17:36
SPEAKER_04: And you know, so finding that balance, I think, is that's when you're really finding the burnout, is when you're not you're not hitting all three, you know, something is always lacking.
17:46
SPEAKER_04: And I feel like for me personally, I find the burnout hits right after a a really big high.
17:54
SPEAKER_04: Do you know what I mean?
17:55
SPEAKER_04: Like, I think that and it's funny, a lot of these um professional athletes are talking about this now.
18:00
SPEAKER_04: Like, what happens after I win the Olympic medal, and I'm not chasing that goal, you know?
18:06
SPEAKER_04: And we're chasing that comp season, all season, all season.
18:09
SPEAKER_04: You win nationals or worlds, and then you're like, oh my god, I start choreography for next season next month.
18:16
SPEAKER_04: And like, how am I gonna top what I just did?
18:19
SPEAKER_04: Right.
18:19
SPEAKER_04: You know, we we just won, you know, we had our hip hop dance a couple years ago, won first place at the world championships, and we're like, oh my god, what are we gonna do next year?
18:27
SPEAKER_04: Like, we have to top this, you know.
18:28
SPEAKER_04: We got the same kids going on stage next year coming up as world champions now.
18:32
SPEAKER_04: We have to rede you know, so you're constantly go, go, go, and it is really hard to find that that triangle of balance, you know?
18:42
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, totally.
18:43
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
18:44
SPEAKER_03: Danielle, do you find that to be the case too?
18:45
SPEAKER_03: The triangle of balance is a challenge.
18:49
SPEAKER_05: No, because I I don't subscribe to the concept of balance.
18:53
SPEAKER_05: I think it's an illusion.
18:53
SPEAKER_05: I think it's an illusion.
18:55
SPEAKER_05: It is an illusion.
18:56
SPEAKER_05: It is an illusion, and I think sometimes when we cling to it too hard, it it makes things just more difficult for us.
19:04
SPEAKER_05: Whatever's in front of me at the time that needs my focus gets my focus.
19:08
SPEAKER_05: If it's a if it's an office AYA day, which usually my Mondays, because I'm coming off a convention weekend on a Sunday night, driving all the equipment back, so Monday is like my day, don't bother me because I gotta get tie up all the loose ends.
19:20
SPEAKER_05: Yep.
19:20
SPEAKER_05: Then I rely on my husband or my in-laws or whoever, they know Monday is my day for AYA.
19:25
SPEAKER_05: So you're not gonna get a lot of me today because I don't have it to give to you.
19:29
SPEAKER_05: So I think just setting the boundaries and being like, the scale is uneven today, but it is what it is.
19:34
SPEAKER_05: But on Tuesday, I got you, and that's your day, and AYA will be on the back burner.
19:39
SPEAKER_05: So I don't yeah, I just don't believe in balance.
19:41
SPEAKER_05: It's so it's hard as humans.
19:43
SPEAKER_05: There really is no balance.
19:45
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
19:45
SPEAKER_04: We I talk about that a lot with my partner, because I do have a business partner.
19:48
SPEAKER_04: And it's never fifty-fifty.
19:50
SPEAKER_04: 50-50 never looks like 50-50.
19:51
SPEAKER_04: It's the same thing in a marriage, it's the same thing in anything.
19:54
SPEAKER_04: It's 50-50 is sometimes 70-30, it's sometimes 20-80.
19:58
SPEAKER_04: You know, it's like whatever part needs your attention is where you have to, you know, that's that's how you achieve quote unquote balance, is by having that imbalance and allowing the imbalance to exist and knowing that you have to prioritize certain aspects of your life sometimes.
20:12
SPEAKER_02: Oof.
20:13
SPEAKER_02: Wow, yes.
20:14
SPEAKER_02: I totally I hear you on that, especially just talking to other studio owners and and business owners as well, and who do have partners.
20:24
SPEAKER_02: I'm I don't have a partner in my business.
20:26
SPEAKER_02: Leslie's practically my right hand, although I need to like pay you to be my right hand, Leslie, like more than I pay you because you do so much for IDA.
20:35
SPEAKER_02: And but my my tiny business is is I could use your help on growing.
20:41
SPEAKER_02: It's growing.
20:41
SPEAKER_02: I could use your help financially.
20:43
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if I can get you on the full time for me, but I know that like I could use that.
20:48
SPEAKER_02: I need that balance.
20:49
SPEAKER_03: If anybody's burnt out, it's Courtney Ortiz, but like again, she's she's sort of like you Don Yell, where she's like, no, the thing that needs my attention gets my attention, and that's what happens today.
20:58
SPEAKER_03: And something else, you know, not necessarily falls by the wayside, but you know, there's I think when you're when you're working in in spaces like we all work in, you know, it's it's it's easy for a lot of us too to appear like everything is going well because this is what we do.
21:14
SPEAKER_03: We're performers.
21:15
SPEAKER_03: I will perform everything going well for you.
21:18
SPEAKER_03: And then over here, I'm just like crumbling.
21:20
SPEAKER_03: And that maybe that's just me.
21:22
SPEAKER_03: Like I crumble over here, but you don't see it.
21:24
SPEAKER_03: And that's how I experience burnout is no nobody's really gonna notice except for me.
21:29
SPEAKER_03: You know, like my my 75% looks like somebody else's 100%, which is why I can get away with it, which is like not really a good thing.
21:36
SPEAKER_03: Like it sounds like a good thing, but it's performers are overachievers, right?
21:41
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
21:41
SPEAKER_04: We can't help ourselves.
21:43
SPEAKER_04: We have this on and off switch, and we will stay on until we have to, you know what I mean?
21:50
SPEAKER_04: We won't turn off until the day is done.
21:52
SPEAKER_04: Think about recital, right?
21:53
SPEAKER_04: You know, you won't go to the bathroom for 10 hours when normally you're like every two hours.
21:57
SPEAKER_04: It's just like you go into overdrive.
22:00
SPEAKER_04: Mode and you just go go go.
22:02
SPEAKER_02: I have a few perspectives, just like as I'm sitting here listening, and the the first one is just like approaching it from the professional dancer kind of viewpoint because we all are business owners here on this chat.
22:16
SPEAKER_02: Like, even though Leslie, you don't have a business, you are a business.
22:20
SPEAKER_02: Leslie Mueller is a business.
22:22
SPEAKER_02: You're, you know, you've branded yourself as an entity your entire career.
22:26
SPEAKER_02: And it's like that hustle mentality that we've talked about many times.
22:31
SPEAKER_02: We are all here today, thriving in our own businesses and careers because of how much we've networked and connected and hustled and grinded to get to these positions and create opportunities for ourselves.
22:44
SPEAKER_02: And as contractors, most of the time, which we usually are in a lot of these scenarios for jobs in our industry, you have to, you they don't just sometimes fall into your lap.
22:54
SPEAKER_02: Like you have to hunt, you have to look for them.
22:56
SPEAKER_02: And then you don't know when the next opportunity is going to come.
22:58
SPEAKER_02: So I know for me, like I struggle with saying no to things.
23:02
SPEAKER_03: Right.
23:02
SPEAKER_02: And I I film, I jam-pack my schedule and then I look at it and I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm overwhelmed.
23:09
SPEAKER_02: Like I am str I'm looking at this stressed out.
23:11
SPEAKER_02: I'm already nervous.
23:12
SPEAKER_02: I'm already scared.
23:12
SPEAKER_02: I'm already burnt out and hasn't even started.
23:15
SPEAKER_02: You know?
23:15
SPEAKER_02: So like I think that's definitely something that a lot of people feel in this world where you're like, well, I don't know if another opportunity is gonna come.
23:23
SPEAKER_02: Or so you got to me first, so I'm gonna say yes to you.
23:25
SPEAKER_02: But now, oh my gosh, my schedule's overwhelming and I don't have enough time for all these things.
23:29
SPEAKER_02: And balancing it and trying to sit make everything work is it's sometimes really tough to say no to stuff because you don't know what's coming.
23:39
SPEAKER_02: You don't know what's next.
23:40
SPEAKER_02: Whereas, like, no offense to like nine to fivers, but they know that they have their nine to five tomorrow.
23:46
SPEAKER_02: They know that they wake up and go to work.
23:48
SPEAKER_03: And that comes in every two weeks.
23:50
SPEAKER_03: It just comes in, it's the same amount of money and it's consistent and like dreams.
23:55
SPEAKER_03: But yeah, that's what they're doing.
23:56
SPEAKER_04: They know in January how much money they'll have made by the end of the year.
24:00
SPEAKER_04: Right, right.
24:01
SPEAKER_04: Their taxes are not a terrible surprise.
24:03
SPEAKER_04: Right.
24:03
SPEAKER_04: Like for the business owners, you know, my staff's hourly pay is what it is, no matter what my end looks like that month.
24:12
SPEAKER_04: So if I have a month where, you know, unexpected expenses come up, or you know, for nationals, we're traveling, we're paying for hotels, all this stuff, I have to pay for subs during the World Championships week, you know, that takes a lot out of my profits, but my staff is still getting paid exactly the same amount every week.
24:30
SPEAKER_04: So whose take home is getting affected?
24:32
SPEAKER_04: It's ours.
24:34
SPEAKER_04: Right.
24:34
SPEAKER_04: And we don't, you know, I always say with studio owners, with business owners in general, there's no clocking out really.
24:41
SPEAKER_04: I mean, you can set boundaries for sure, but like there is no clocking out.
24:45
SPEAKER_04: And especially I think when you work with kids and also when you work in something that's creative, it's very overstimulating in your mind.
24:53
SPEAKER_04: And when you leave, you know, I'm I laugh at all these TikToks where it's like dance teachers on their way to dance, dance teachers at dance, and then dance teachers in the car and they're like frozen up, just like staring into dead space, just trying to like decompress, play all the scenarios in your head, and oh my gosh, so-and-so's not nailing that turn.
25:11
SPEAKER_04: How am I gonna help them by next week when they go on stage?
25:14
SPEAKER_04: Everything all the time.
25:15
SPEAKER_04: You know, it it is, it's very loud, and it can be really hard for us to turn that off.
25:20
SPEAKER_04: And because there's no, okay, I'm clocking out at 5 p.m.
25:23
SPEAKER_04: and I'm not checking that work email until I get back in the office tomorrow at 9 a.m., we have to set those boundaries.
25:29
SPEAKER_04: We're not walking out of an office having a boss set those boundaries for us of this is when I need you on, and this is what I need you off.
25:36
SPEAKER_04: So you can easily hit a 75, 80 hour work week if you're not careful, you know, but you can also you also do have the liberty to make your own schedule, which it's nice, but really for most of us, again, we're hustlers, so we wanna constantly go, go, go.
25:51
SPEAKER_04: We're not by nature taking tons of time off.
25:54
SPEAKER_04: Do you know what I mean?
25:54
SPEAKER_04: We're if anything, squeezing everything into every last hour that we have in the day.
25:59
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
25:59
SPEAKER_05: I think it's hard to say no because our job and our true love and our therapy is all one and the same thing.
26:06
SPEAKER_05: Right.
26:06
SPEAKER_05: So if I say no to a stage performance, I'm not gonna get the love from the audience I know is coming.
26:12
SPEAKER_05: I'm not gonna get the high from like hitting a step.
26:15
SPEAKER_05: If I say no to this choreographic opportunity, this beautiful piece of art might not actually get made.
26:21
SPEAKER_05: Right.
26:21
SPEAKER_05: If I say no to booking this comp or convention, my bank account's not gonna get full.
26:26
SPEAKER_05: So like it's so hard because we know the payoff is so beautiful in what we do.
26:30
SPEAKER_05: So it makes you want to keep taking on opportunities even when it's not the most healthy option.
26:35
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
26:36
SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
26:36
SPEAKER_04: And it's and it's a unique experience, I think, when your hobby becomes your career.
26:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
26:41
SPEAKER_04: Because I think for a lot of people, I mean, obviously, people go to college and get a degree in a certain area of interest, maybe, or what they think is gonna make them good money or have good job opportunities.
26:52
SPEAKER_04: And I think for a lot of people, their job is a means to an end.
26:55
SPEAKER_04: It's a way to make money so that they can then own the vacation house upstate or go to Florida on spring break or take care of their parents or whatever it may be, put their kids in dance class, right?
27:05
SPEAKER_04: So, you know, for a lot of people the their job is the thing they do to make money so that they can then go do their hobbies when they're not at work.
27:12
SPEAKER_04: Whereas for us, you know, that was something I found really challenging when I became a a working, you know, dance instructor and not just being a dancer, right?
27:22
SPEAKER_04: Is this is now something that's was my hobby and used to be kind of a reprieve from school, home life, etc.
27:30
SPEAKER_04: etc.
27:31
SPEAKER_04: I was at the dance studio, like the clubhouse, you know, and now this is our career, which and a lot of times can be very fulfilling because when, you know, when spreadsheets are not inspiring and you're nine to five Monday through Friday, I can only imagine how burnt out you get from that.
27:45
SPEAKER_04: Right.
27:46
SPEAKER_04: Whereas for us, every class, every you know, Monday I'm teaching jazz, Tuesday I'm teaching hip hop, Wednesday I'm teaching ballet, you know, so there's variety, the kids always keeping you on your toes.
27:55
SPEAKER_04: We have that variety, and it's a creative outlet, so it does keep us going, but in the same breath, it can be challenging because you almost lose that outlet aspect of it in some essence, especially when you're worried about are you getting paid?
28:09
SPEAKER_04: You know, performing in a recital, it's true, so fun.
28:12
SPEAKER_04: Hi, grandma, get my flowers after, go to Applebee's with my besties after, you know.
28:16
SPEAKER_04: Now, performing in a show when you're a paid professional, the stakes are a lot higher.
28:21
SPEAKER_04: So, yes, you're still getting that creative outlet and that fulfillment from there, but there is a whole other layer of pressure now because your literal life depends on this job.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: Oof.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: Oh, all of that.
28:33
SPEAKER_00: Yes, that is so real.
28:34
SPEAKER_00: I feel that so hard.
28:36
SPEAKER_00: It's tough.
28:38
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
28:39
SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh.
28:41
SPEAKER_03: Let's so yeah, I'm gonna marinate on that for a little while because that is that's it.
28:45
SPEAKER_03: That's the that's the thing.
28:47
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
28:48
SPEAKER_03: But I want to switch over to thinking because both of y'all teach and like a lot, a lot, a lot.
28:54
SPEAKER_03: And since we do, we have so many parents listening, we have a lot of students, dancers listening.
28:58
SPEAKER_03: I would love to know how y'all how you've perceived burnout from your students over the past couple of years, especially with you know, coming off of the pandemic and you know, kids were really affected by everything, you know, just like everybody else were was.
29:12
SPEAKER_03: But, you know, I think it really affected kids and their, you know, their stamina and their ability to prioritize, you know, and I think burnout really has has started happening more in teens and and young people than it has maybe in the past, or maybe that we knew about.
29:26
SPEAKER_03: But what do you perceive in your kids and how do you try to try to help them through it?
29:31
SPEAKER_05: This is uh so fascinating because this weekend AYA was in Columbus, our first time, and we have a QA on Sunday morning with the kids.
29:37
SPEAKER_05: We have donuts and coffee, we talk dance in life and all that.
29:40
SPEAKER_05: Informal.
29:40
SPEAKER_05: And the directors and parents come in too, and uh one director asked that she was like, I'm noticing my dancers are burned out if not quitting.
29:47
SPEAKER_05: And does your faculty have anything, any in enlightenment they can give?
29:51
SPEAKER_05: And it literally stumped us.
29:52
SPEAKER_05: Number one, it was the first time, it's our last city, it was the first time anybody asked about the mental health other dancers, all the parents were asking about college and agents and headshot, whatever.
30:03
SPEAKER_05: So, number one, we gave her major kudos for even bringing it up.
30:07
SPEAKER_05: And it brought up a lot of things for the kids.
30:08
SPEAKER_05: One girl cried, like it was a whole thing.
30:10
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
30:11
SPEAKER_05: But I kind of had to tell the kids, I'm very empathetic that mental health is in the forefront right now, and I think that's great that we're acknowledging that even us as artists, we can reach a tap-out point.
30:22
SPEAKER_05: But I tell my kids like there's a difference between like pain and an injury, and it's kind of the same.
30:28
SPEAKER_05: There's a difference between you having stress about a momentary event and telling me you're burnt out.
30:34
SPEAKER_05: And I feel like some of my kids can't differentiate sometimes between the two, and every stressor feels like I must quit dance and life is over.
30:44
SPEAKER_05: And I try to give them perspective that, like, yeah, we were go, go, go, hustle prior to COVID.
30:48
SPEAKER_05: COVID happened, it shut it all down.
30:50
SPEAKER_05: Right.
30:50
SPEAKER_05: So we felt the extreme swing.
30:53
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
30:53
SPEAKER_05: And so now everything feels overwhelming because we were at a standstill.
30:57
SPEAKER_05: I'm like, but it may it may not be.
30:59
SPEAKER_05: So let's talk through it in a safe space and let's figure out what's like a life stress that we might be able to dance and manage through.
31:06
SPEAKER_05: And when have you become unmanageable?
31:08
SPEAKER_05: Because I was like so, I think trying to help kids navigate perspective is kind of our job now.
31:13
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
31:14
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
31:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
31:15
SPEAKER_05: I love that.
31:15
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, for sure.
31:16
SPEAKER_04: I I think for for me too, I notice it when I I mean, the same thing I was saying before with us as adults.
31:24
SPEAKER_04: Like these kids are so focused on trying to do it all.
31:29
SPEAKER_04: You know, and a big thing on Long Island, I can only speak for my area, but a big thing on Long Island is so many of my kids do multiple sports.
31:37
SPEAKER_04: Like they're competitive dancers.
31:39
SPEAKER_04: Now, to be on the competition team at my studio, minimum seven hours of class time every single week.
31:45
SPEAKER_04: They're there four days a week.
31:47
SPEAKER_04: That's to be in one competition group dance, you know.
31:49
SPEAKER_04: So some of these kids have two solos, a trio, you know, six group dances, the production, they're taking extra classes.
31:57
SPEAKER_04: But you know, we ha we have a serious requirement.
32:00
SPEAKER_04: I mean, like you said, Long Island has a lot of dance studios.
32:02
SPEAKER_04: We're a very competitive area, and these parents and these kids are spending a ton of time and a ton of money, and they they do want to do well.
32:09
SPEAKER_04: They want to be incredible dancers, you know.
32:11
SPEAKER_04: So it does take a high level of commitment.
32:14
SPEAKER_04: But at the same time, they want their kids to be well-rounded, which I always I always laugh at that because I don't necessarily think that just playing four sports makes you a well-rounded person.
32:24
SPEAKER_04: I think maybe doing a sport, maybe also getting involved in like an instrument or something, maybe you'd take up, you know, I love to like crochet or paint, like and you can be horrible at it, community service.
32:36
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
32:37
SPEAKER_04: You know, there are so many other things that you can do besides just doing a million sports to be well-rounded.
32:43
SPEAKER_04: That's a whole other conversation for a whole other time.
32:46
SPEAKER_04: But my point is I notice with my teens, especially when they start getting boyfriends or girlfriends, when things like parties start coming up.
32:57
SPEAKER_04: Also, some of my girls have jobs.
32:59
SPEAKER_04: So that's when you start to see, at least for me, that's when I start to see things like a dip in attendance or, you know, kids who used to be told, okay, I want to see that passe higher, and they would go, okay, like this, and do it right away.
33:12
SPEAKER_04: Some of them are just going, okay, yeah, yeah, and moving on.
33:15
SPEAKER_04: You know, you can see, you can see that happening.
33:17
SPEAKER_04: And I think it does.
33:18
SPEAKER_04: I think it, you know, with COVID, having everything shut down, as much as it was terrible, I think for a lot of these teens, especially competitive dancers, but even just the way schooling is these days, like, I mean, when we were kids too, but like, you know, it's just constant go, go, go.
33:32
SPEAKER_04: So it's having this that time to like do whatever they wanted, kind of, you know, they're taking up little maybe hobbies outside of dance in school.
33:41
SPEAKER_04: They had so much time like in their rooms on the computer.
33:44
SPEAKER_04: They really got a taste for who they are, I think, outside of dance in school.
33:49
SPEAKER_04: And I I think a lot of them are trying to constantly find, you know, navigate how that is gonna be going forward.
33:57
SPEAKER_04: How much of dance is my passion and and how much of my time do I want to commit to this?
34:02
SPEAKER_04: But also remembering that like some of my kids are gonna grow up and be like dental assistants and school teachers and stay-at-home moms and other other things that have nothing to do with dance.
34:11
SPEAKER_04: You know, we happened to be the three-year-olds that ended up being the 30-somethings that are still but but really a lot of people.
34:19
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, most of the girls that I grew up competing with are not still dancing.
34:23
SPEAKER_04: They're teachers and nurses and stuff, you know.
34:26
SPEAKER_04: So I think that that when they get older, like junior year, senior year, when other things start to become priorities for them as well, that's when you really can start to see the burnout, at least from my experience, is when other things start pulling at their attention and and their heart, you know, as much as dance did maybe when they were younger.
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36:27
SPEAKER_02: Even just like within dance, too.
36:30
SPEAKER_02: Like, kind of like what you said about being well-rounded and wanting the kids to do everything.
36:35
SPEAKER_02: I mean, there are kids that eat, sleep, breathe, dance, don't know anything else, and somehow fit school into the mix, but are taking every class under the sun, are are in 20 group dances, have four solos, and then are at convention and competition every weekend.
36:51
SPEAKER_02: You know, it's like when you put that much pressure on your life of eat, sleep, breathe, dance, or you're not going to be successful, or you're not going to be great, it's like going back to the balance thing, there is a way to make this work with school.
37:06
SPEAKER_02: We've done it for many years.
37:08
SPEAKER_02: Like, yes, there's extra classes you could be taking, but like if you're if your dancer is feeling like they can't keep up with the demand of that, then maybe we need to scale back a little.
37:18
SPEAKER_02: Like every dancer is different.
37:20
SPEAKER_02: And as much as mom and dad might have the funds or want them to be able to like grow quicker and get become this beautiful technician faster, it takes time.
37:31
SPEAKER_02: And I'm excited that people are eager to like want to train so heavily, but it I do also see it as it could be like a point where they it's gonna burn them out to a point where they don't love it anymore.
37:41
SPEAKER_02: And that that's what concerns me a little bit about like how intense some some dancers' schedules look like.
37:49
SPEAKER_02: Even with the addition of like that up.
37:51
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, exactly.
37:51
SPEAKER_02: Like, even the addition of like conventions in the industry or like how out of control the competitions are getting with scheduling.
37:59
SPEAKER_02: Some comps are starting on Thursdays these days.
38:02
SPEAKER_02: Like some comps go till 11 p.m.
38:04
SPEAKER_02: at night.
38:04
SPEAKER_02: Like that's been my life the last two weekends.
38:06
SPEAKER_05: Oh no.
38:07
SPEAKER_05: Oh my god, my kids at 6 30 a.m.
38:09
SPEAKER_05: call time, awards, 11 30 midnight, started on a Thursday Wednesday or Thursday.
38:13
SPEAKER_05: And I said this is a nationals at this point.
38:15
SPEAKER_05: We've been here four or five days.
38:17
SPEAKER_03: Right.
38:18
SPEAKER_03: I guess we won't go to nationals.
38:19
SPEAKER_03: We've already been.
38:20
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
38:21
SPEAKER_04: I just saw one uh starting at noon on a Friday.
38:23
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
38:24
SPEAKER_03: I mean I take a noon on a Friday.
38:26
SPEAKER_04: These competitions do not understand.
38:28
SPEAKER_04: I mean, I it's just crazy to me.
38:30
SPEAKER_04: We're an industry based around kids.
38:33
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
38:33
SPEAKER_04: Who, who, what kids do you know are available on noon on Friday?
38:37
SPEAKER_04: Every kid I know is in school.
38:39
SPEAKER_05: My kids want to take off school to go to competition.
38:40
SPEAKER_05: It's their favorite thing now, but now their teachers are complaining and they're coming to me.
38:44
SPEAKER_05: My science teacher's mad.
38:45
SPEAKER_05: It's another comp weekend, and I've missed a test.
38:48
SPEAKER_05: I'm I'm behind, and I'm like, I don't even know what to tell you.
38:52
SPEAKER_05: And then it's hard.
38:52
SPEAKER_04: It's hard because everyone's doing it.
38:54
SPEAKER_04: So, like, what are we supposed to do?
38:55
SPEAKER_03: You know, and then it's hard to like the pandemic.
39:01
SPEAKER_03: Right.
39:02
SPEAKER_02: We have a cheer comp at at you know, Friday.
39:05
SPEAKER_02: Sorry, we're gone.
39:06
SPEAKER_02: But if it's like under school's jurisdiction, then it's okay, it's acceptable.
39:10
SPEAKER_02: It's like all these extra things outside that like people aren't aren't on board with, which I get.
39:16
SPEAKER_02: But like the other thing too is like even the demand of amount of competition that studios require in a season.
39:23
SPEAKER_02: Like, I'm kind of curious to hear both of y'all's perspective from your studios.
39:27
SPEAKER_02: Cause like I know growing up, like we did about three regional comps and a nationals usually.
39:34
SPEAKER_02: And we didn't really we might do like one convention in like the fall or early comp season in January or February.
39:42
SPEAKER_02: So I I mean I've heard of some studios that are doing like upwards of six, seven regionals a season.
39:47
SPEAKER_02: Oh like oh, I am them.
39:49
SPEAKER_02: I am studios of I mean, I mean, of course, science teachers mad because you're at comp every weekend.
39:59
SPEAKER_05: Well, I can I'm gonna I'm gonna use a scapegoat.
40:02
SPEAKER_05: So I am one of the main one of the four main choreographers at my home studio, but I don't make the call on those.
40:06
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
40:07
SPEAKER_05: But like our company does do seven regionals and nationals, and then we have an elite team, and these are dancers who have kind of made a decision that dance is going to be what they do because we compete at the highest level.
40:19
SPEAKER_05: All the faculty have dance degrees, collegiate.
40:21
SPEAKER_05: So my boss is a very high standard.
40:23
SPEAKER_05: So the kids that come there, they know what they're paying for, and it's it's a lot.
40:27
SPEAKER_05: Um, and Chicago is a big dance zone in itself, so to be competitive, you have to invest.
40:33
SPEAKER_05: So our elite team gets an optional list of conventions that they can go to if they like, and some of my kids I never like they're gone every weekend.
40:40
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
40:40
SPEAKER_05: But they're the ones that have decided I want to be in the industry in a commercial way, so they know getting out there to network at convention might give them a like up if they play it right.
40:51
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, my studio is one we're one of those.
40:53
SPEAKER_05: I can't even lie.
40:54
SPEAKER_02: Like I mean six six regionals.
40:58
SPEAKER_02: So is it like two per month?
41:00
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, more or less.
41:01
SPEAKER_05: I mean, we do our showcase in January, our kids hit the ground running the first week of February.
41:06
SPEAKER_05: We don't stop till June, they get two weeks off, and then we're back at it immediately.
41:12
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
41:13
SPEAKER_01: And like like that's expensive.
41:16
SPEAKER_05: It's yeah.
41:17
SPEAKER_05: Like that is I'm not even gonna lie.
41:20
SPEAKER_05: It's a very nice studio, they have the best of everything.
41:23
SPEAKER_05: Uh they're very they're very privileged in that way, and I let them know that this is probably a little above the norm.
41:28
SPEAKER_05: Right.
41:29
SPEAKER_05: But they get a return on what they're they're getting.
41:32
SPEAKER_05: Our kids have decided to dance professionally are doing that.
41:34
SPEAKER_05: So Right.
41:35
SPEAKER_02: That's great.
41:36
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I will say, like, regarding like the commitment uh amount of events, I am fully in support of like the convention way because I feel like that at least we're training in that weekend versus just like the 6 a.m.
41:50
SPEAKER_02: call time at XYZ competition that goes until awards at 11 and you got a trophy.
41:56
SPEAKER_02: Cool.
41:57
SPEAKER_02: Like and how many times do we need to do that in a season?
42:00
SPEAKER_02: Like, how many times do we need to go to comp to just win another trophy again?
42:04
SPEAKER_02: Whereas, like, at least in the conventions, you're learning things from the educators, you're meeting other dancers in class, you're networking, like you said.
42:11
SPEAKER_02: Like, I think there's a little bit more to it if we're devoting that amount of events in in our comp in our studio schedule more towards the training educational opportunities versus just let's win first place overall at a competition 500 times.
42:26
SPEAKER_02: Like, because again, it's super expensive.
42:29
SPEAKER_02: Like, we all know comp comp fees are so expensive that like I think it's the money is better used in those educational platforms.
42:37
SPEAKER_02: And it's almost like let's do less con competition competitions and and put the other money towards the convention comp so it's like a nice balance.
42:46
SPEAKER_02: If there are, is the requirement of we need six, let's have it you know, divvied out that way instead of like just six strictly comps where I walk away with a trophy and that's it.
42:56
SPEAKER_02: Just my thought.
42:56
SPEAKER_02: But what about you, Christy?
42:58
SPEAKER_02: What's your studio looking like?
43:00
SPEAKER_04: So we have we have our full team and then we have what we call our pre-comp team and our mini pre-comp team.
43:07
SPEAKER_04: So the full team is every season we do three to four regional competitions that are required.
43:13
SPEAKER_04: So that's with all of our groups.
43:15
SPEAKER_04: We bring our production, we bring every small group, large group, duet trio, solo, everything.
43:20
SPEAKER_04: Solos are pretty much always optional.
43:23
SPEAKER_04: So if somebody only wants to go with their solo for two out of four regionals that season, they totally can.
43:29
SPEAKER_04: It's up to them.
43:30
SPEAKER_04: And I'm I'm big on that kind of with everything.
43:33
SPEAKER_04: I I have my requirements, but I also allow for them to personalize their experience because again, some of them really, really want this and like want to go off and be, you know, on this amazing amazing college dance team or go off and be on Broadway or whatever.
43:48
SPEAKER_04: And I want them to all have access to what they need for that.
43:51
SPEAKER_04: But also some of them just want to have a great experience, competition dance through high school and then go off and get their degree in whatever they're gonna do for their professional life and move on.
44:00
SPEAKER_04: So so I let them kind of choose that aspect.
44:03
SPEAKER_04: And then we also offer extra regional competitions for solos duet trios only.
44:08
SPEAKER_04: So s some of my soloists can go to six or seven regionals with just their solo if they want to.
44:15
SPEAKER_04: Or again, you could take your solo to two or three comps.
44:18
SPEAKER_04: It's kind of that aspect is personalized.
44:20
SPEAKER_04: But as far as the group the group competitions are we have three to four um group competitions that are required.
44:26
SPEAKER_04: And then nationals.
44:28
SPEAKER_04: If it's something close, we'll require it.
44:30
SPEAKER_04: If it's something far away, like Disney, where you have to fly, then we'll do an optional nationals that year.
44:34
SPEAKER_04: And then fingers crossed, every single year so far, we've been invited to the World Dance Champ Dance Championships, which is in New Jersey, which is very close for us.
44:43
SPEAKER_04: Some of them can do it as a day trip.
44:45
SPEAKER_04: So we will require things like that if if we're oper offered the opportunity for that.
44:50
SPEAKER_04: And then we also do conventions, you know, outside conventions, and then also we do, which hopefully Courtney will be for this summer.
44:58
SPEAKER_04: We do like a summer intensive where I bring in guest teachers and guest choreographers and all of that kind of stuff.
45:04
SPEAKER_04: That's also required.
45:05
SPEAKER_04: Nice.
45:05
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that sounds like a nice, a nice blend of everything.
45:08
SPEAKER_02: And I like I like the fact that there's like customization.
45:12
SPEAKER_02: Like we can customize if I do I want to do my solo today?
45:15
SPEAKER_02: I don't want to.
45:16
SPEAKER_02: I only want to do my solo twice in the season, or I want to do them seven times this season.
45:20
SPEAKER_04: Like I think we do that with our rehearsals as well.
45:23
SPEAKER_04: So we offer what's called run-throughs.
45:26
SPEAKER_04: So the studio will be open for an hour, a couple days a week, where either myself or my my co-director will be in the studio.
45:35
SPEAKER_04: And anyone who has a solo, a duet, or a trio can come in and practice their routine during that hour.
45:42
SPEAKER_04: So they when they get their solo duet trio choreography, they pay a fee that includes a certain amount of hours to learn the choreography and clean the choreography.
45:51
SPEAKER_04: They can splice it up however they want.
45:52
SPEAKER_04: So say it's six hours and they learn the solo in two hours.
45:56
SPEAKER_04: Now they have those extra four hours of basically private time that they've already purchased.
46:00
SPEAKER_04: They can do an hour cleaning before a competition, or they can do 15 minutes every other week to just maintain that cleaning, you know, consistency.
46:10
SPEAKER_04: But then they're all invited to come into these run throughs.
46:12
SPEAKER_04: And sometimes I'll literally have two kids show up for a run-through, and then ta-da, you basically get a private lesson for an hour.
46:18
SPEAKER_04: It's just you and this other girl and the choreographer, and you can just run your solos for each other and get feedback from the teacher.
46:25
SPEAKER_04: Other times it'll be, you know, the week before comp, of course, I always have like 15 kids show up to run to do run throughs.
46:31
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
46:31
SPEAKER_04: But some of them can come in to run throughs three days a week.
46:34
SPEAKER_04: So I have some soloists who are running their solo three days a week.
46:38
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
46:38
SPEAKER_04: You know, and then I have some soloists who I don't see for six weeks, and then the day before a competition, they're like, Can I come in and run my solo?
46:44
SPEAKER_04: You know, and again, I I feel like they're old enough if they're having a solo and they're doing competition dance, they're old enough to be self-motivated and learn that it it some of it should come from within.
46:54
SPEAKER_04: And if you want to do well, you kind of have to take the initiative.
46:58
SPEAKER_04: Do you know what I mean?
46:59
SPEAKER_04: So the kids who come in and really practice those solos and take those opportunities, you see it when they go out on stage.
47:04
SPEAKER_04: And the kids who don't know their choreography, because the last time I watched them do their dance was eight weeks ago, you see that on stage.
47:09
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
47:10
SPEAKER_04: But I kind of like that because if you're gonna do a competitive approach, you're basically telling me that you're ready for a higher level of commitment and I have high expectations for my dancers, you know.
47:18
SPEAKER_02: That's great.
47:19
SPEAKER_02: So I like that you put it in their hands.
47:21
SPEAKER_04: It's like ultimately theirs.
47:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
47:23
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
47:23
SPEAKER_04: I can't, I can't, I don't I always tell my kids I'm like, I cannot put on your body and go on stage and do the things for you.
47:29
SPEAKER_04: You I can tell you all the things you need to do, but you have to be the one to execute those things.
47:34
SPEAKER_04: You're responsible for your journey.
47:36
SPEAKER_02: And I think like what's great about that that method of how you have that set up for your studio is could kind of goes hand in hand with the burnout chat because it is an optional choice to come when you want to come to.
47:48
SPEAKER_02: It's not like we have this is a required class every week to run through your solo.
47:52
SPEAKER_02: It's like if you have too much homework this week and you are overwhelmed and you just cannot, guess what?
47:57
SPEAKER_02: You don't have to.
47:58
SPEAKER_02: But if you're like, oh, I have a light workload this week, I'm feeling good, I'm ready, I had a nice break, I didn't have comp last weekend, then you come in.
48:06
SPEAKER_02: Like, I think that's nice to give them the option of that.
48:09
SPEAKER_02: Whereas I don't know if that exists at a lot of other places and everyone's always complaining about like, when do I have time for my solo?
48:17
SPEAKER_01: And I didn't get my solo rehearsal.
48:19
SPEAKER_01: So Yeah.
48:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's definitely a different approach.
48:21
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
48:21
SPEAKER_04: For our groups, we're not like for our group dances is totally different.
48:25
SPEAKER_04: But for a solo, you kind of get what you give, I think, in in a lot of this this industry.
48:30
SPEAKER_04: So I think it's a good way for them to learn that they they need to be responsible for you know the progress.
48:36
SPEAKER_04: It's in a solo, it's just you, babe.
48:38
SPEAKER_04: That's it.
48:38
SPEAKER_04: There's no one else.
48:39
SPEAKER_04: That's it.
48:39
SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
48:40
SPEAKER_04: The proof is in the pudding.
48:42
SPEAKER_05: So I might have to toss that up to my boss.
48:44
SPEAKER_05: I don't know if that was gonna fly, but mostly from the parents, because they yeah, they they like their time.
48:51
SPEAKER_05: Uh, you know.
48:52
SPEAKER_04: Well, and my thing is you can pay for your time.
48:54
SPEAKER_04: You can totally pay.
48:55
SPEAKER_04: If you want a weekly hour, yeah, I'm here.
48:58
SPEAKER_04: I have a private lesson fee, and you can totally buy yourself an hour every single week.
49:03
SPEAKER_04: You know, I have no problem with that.
49:04
SPEAKER_04: But some people don't want to do that.
49:07
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
49:07
SPEAKER_04: And so My thing is I'm not going to expel a ton of my energy trying to get someone to be motivated to practice their solo if it's like dragging a bag of frocks.
49:17
SPEAKER_04: Do you know what I mean?
49:18
SPEAKER_04: Like if they if they don't want to do it, then I'm probably not gonna get it out of them.
49:23
SPEAKER_04: You know, it ha they have to learn how to and and even if I can jump through hoops and juggle and and and put on my best, you know, MC show for them to try to motivate them to practice their solo this one week, you know, how realistic is that?
49:35
SPEAKER_04: You're 16, 17.
49:36
SPEAKER_04: When you really want something, I know you get it.
49:38
SPEAKER_04: You know, these kids have editing skills on TikTok and they can contour their face for the gods and all these things.
49:44
SPEAKER_04: You know, when they really want to learn something, they do.
49:46
SPEAKER_04: So, you know, I'm I'm sure you prioritize getting your Harry Styles tickets.
49:49
SPEAKER_04: You were right there on midnight getting that getting that concert ticket or Taylor's whatever.
49:53
SPEAKER_04: To shut down the internet, yeah, right?
49:55
SPEAKER_04: So if you're all there if you really care about something, make it a priority.
49:59
SPEAKER_04: And I think that if you're gonna be a competitive athlete, that should be I think that that's a a reasonable expectation.
50:05
SPEAKER_04: I agree.
50:05
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, totally.
50:06
SPEAKER_03: I want to know, Christy.
50:08
SPEAKER_03: Are you a parent?
50:09
SPEAKER_03: I am not.
50:10
SPEAKER_03: So this is for Danielle, being a parent.
50:13
SPEAKER_03: And congratulations, you're still a new parent.
50:15
SPEAKER_03: So that must have been an exciting year.
50:17
SPEAKER_03: Oh, with stress.
50:19
unknown: Yeah.
50:19
SPEAKER_03: Exciting, but talk about it.
50:21
SPEAKER_03: I want to it was tough go.
50:23
SPEAKER_03: I want to know more about that because we do, you know, we have a lot of teachers that listen.
50:27
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
50:27
SPEAKER_03: And people who work just as sounds like just as much as you do.
50:30
SPEAKER_03: You know, you're there at the studio every night, you have a family, you have a business, you also have side businesses.
50:35
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
50:36
SPEAKER_03: How do you and you know, I love your perspective on, you know, you get you get what I can offer you when I can offer it to you.
50:42
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
50:43
SPEAKER_03: And that's just how it is.
50:44
SPEAKER_03: How I want to hear a little bit more about, you know, any advice you have for other teachers who are kind of living this parent teacher life and doing it, doing it well.
50:53
SPEAKER_03: Like you seem to be doing it well.
50:55
SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
50:56
SPEAKER_05: Like you said, we're we're performers.
50:58
SPEAKER_05: This is uh Yeah.
50:59
SPEAKER_05: This is all a facade.
51:00
SPEAKER_05: Just like this makeup on my face right now.
51:02
SPEAKER_05: I bought it at Ulta.
51:03
SPEAKER_05: This is not this is not my face.
51:06
SPEAKER_05: No, it's my war paint.
51:08
SPEAKER_05: This is what we put on to handle our handle our business.
51:11
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
51:12
SPEAKER_05: I would defin I know I see a lot of things on like the dance teacher pages on Facebook.
51:15
SPEAKER_05: There's a lot of teachers that are like expecting or like, you know, soon to be due.
51:20
SPEAKER_05: So that in itself was a whole monster.
51:23
SPEAKER_05: And my pregnancy was super difficult.
51:25
SPEAKER_05: Bed rest twice, ER twice.
51:27
SPEAKER_05: I was losing my baby.
51:28
SPEAKER_05: He was my rainbow baby, so I'd already had one, and like it was it was wild.
51:33
SPEAKER_05: So just knowing when to slow down, number one, you know.
51:37
SPEAKER_05: Some things are more important than dance, which is was never my mantra until my son.
51:42
SPEAKER_05: This has to come first.
51:44
SPEAKER_05: And he was definitely very, very much so planned, very much so wanted.
51:47
SPEAKER_05: So I did whatever was required.
51:49
SPEAKER_05: I taught zoom in a chair.
51:51
SPEAKER_05: Nice.
51:52
SPEAKER_05: Wow, double wearing.
51:54
unknown: That's crazy.
51:55
SPEAKER_05: I had teachers' assistants in the studios, my advanced kids, and I could be like, okay, Tondustep, Padre, hit a triple.
52:00
SPEAKER_05: They would do the things and I would explain the things.
52:02
SPEAKER_05: So, like, relying on the people you can trust to help you was was also very, very important.
52:07
SPEAKER_03: Relying on the people you can trust.
52:09
SPEAKER_03: That's the one.
52:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
52:11
SPEAKER_05: My my boss gave me my dancers who were already my soloists.
52:14
SPEAKER_05: We already had a rapport, and so when I they know how I work.
52:16
SPEAKER_05: So when I was like, Can you explain demonstrate this?
52:19
SPEAKER_05: They would do it.
52:20
SPEAKER_05: After my son was born, I already had a mindset like I'm 36, my life is established, so you're gonna fit into this little groove.
52:28
SPEAKER_05: Right, right, you're new here.
52:30
SPEAKER_05: Right.
52:30
SPEAKER_05: I'm not I I love people that like live and die for their kids, but my son will become 18 one day and he'll fall in love with someone and he'll be on his way.
52:39
SPEAKER_05: So nothing was going to stop.
52:42
SPEAKER_05: You know, my mom always says one monkey doesn't stop a a show.
52:44
SPEAKER_05: But she's not a monkey, but like, you know, the business was going.
52:48
SPEAKER_05: I'm already choreographing, I'm already judging.
52:50
SPEAKER_05: So my son goes to convention.
52:52
SPEAKER_05: This this is what mommy does, and this is what we're doing.
52:56
SPEAKER_05: He loves music, he would kick in the room at competition, he likes the bass.
52:59
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, I just he he rolls with me.
53:02
SPEAKER_05: I don't believe in putting my my passion away because then you kind of lose yourself.
53:07
SPEAKER_05: And I think that also leads some people to feeling burned out because they lose touch with what brings them joy.
53:13
SPEAKER_05: And he brings me joy in the most extreme way.
53:17
SPEAKER_05: But my art is like my whole life, you know.
53:20
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, he comes along for the ride, he goes everywhere.
53:23
SPEAKER_05: Got a backpack, here we go.
53:24
SPEAKER_05: Some crackers, let's let's do a road.
53:28
SPEAKER_05: And he's almost two, so it's almost time for mommy and me class, and he will be right there learning uh some some junior hip hop and all the things.
53:37
SPEAKER_02: I really like hearing that perspective because I think that's probably something that a lot of people struggle, especially when they're trying to decide if it's time for them to start a family.
53:45
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, how do I balance that with this beautiful career that I love and have created for myself?
53:51
SPEAKER_02: Where where is their time to put in a a child into the mix?
53:56
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it obviously it's a huge commitment, life commitment.
54:00
SPEAKER_02: And I I think that all the time for me.
54:02
SPEAKER_02: Like, I I don't have enough hours in the day, and I do not have a kid, and I don't run a dance studio, and I make my own schedule, but I still never have enough time to get I don't even like sometimes I just forget about lunch.
54:17
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes I for like I'm like, oh no, I need to take like look right now, I need to go take a shower.
54:22
SPEAKER_02: It's been a minute.
54:22
SPEAKER_02: Like, let me go to, you know, it's like I don't, I don't know if I could do it.
54:26
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'm so inspired by you because I'm like, you can do it, then that means I could do it.
54:31
SPEAKER_02: But at the same time, like I can only imagine adding that extra layer to your life of now I'm taking care of another human being and and prioritizing them first, like you know, and yeah, you still have to work and make money this this month and put food on the table and things like that that you've always been doing, but then it's like the even the extra financial amount of like putting another human into this world on a on an artist's budget.
55:00
SPEAKER_05: But if I can be very transp transparent, the money never came into play.
55:06
SPEAKER_05: It's not because I'm rolling in money, this is the first year that like my company's like in the black and I can like do stuff, um such as being entrepreneur.
55:13
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I was actually more afraid of the physical because being a dancer, I was like, this is gonna wreck my body, and then here's my career down the drain in place of this thing that I want.
55:22
SPEAKER_05: So I put it off forever and I'm like, well, clock's ticking.
55:25
SPEAKER_05: So I guess if I want this mom experience, I'm just gonna have to do it.
55:29
SPEAKER_05: But eventually I just settled on we're athletes, we know our we know our bodies in the market, but I want to get back into it.
55:36
SPEAKER_05: Okay, that's what's going to happen.
55:38
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
55:38
SPEAKER_05: So once I let go of the fear, it made it a lot easier just to just to jump in, I guess.
55:43
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
55:44
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
55:44
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
55:45
SPEAKER_02: I love hearing that.
55:46
SPEAKER_02: Congrats on that, because I need to be I need to be more fearless like you in my life.
55:51
SPEAKER_05: Oh no, I'm not fearless at all.
55:53
SPEAKER_05: Yes, you are, girl.
55:54
SPEAKER_05: I just I just you just start leaving.
55:58
SPEAKER_02: You haven't stopped dancing.
56:00
SPEAKER_02: You had a baby, and you are still taking the baby on the road, like fearless.
56:05
SPEAKER_02: Like I love it.
56:06
SPEAKER_05: Well, thank you.
56:07
SPEAKER_05: I'll I'll receive that, but I don't feel fearless.
56:10
SPEAKER_05: I have tons of anxiety, but I have no choice.
56:14
SPEAKER_05: This is a I love this.
56:15
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
56:16
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
56:16
SPEAKER_04: What does Taylor Swift say?
56:17
SPEAKER_04: Fear fearless doesn't mean that you that you're not afraid.
56:20
SPEAKER_04: It means that you're afraid, but you do it anyway.
56:22
SPEAKER_04: Correct.
56:23
SPEAKER_03: Ooh, thanks, Taylor Swift.
56:26
SPEAKER_03: T Swift, the Queen spitting the good advice.
56:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
56:29
SPEAKER_03: Well, I think I liked what you said, Danielle, about, you know, and this is this I've been in a lot of therapy.
56:34
SPEAKER_03: If you've listened to the podcast, you know that.
56:35
SPEAKER_03: Yes, therapy.
56:36
SPEAKER_03: Yes, but like receive it.
56:38
SPEAKER_03: Receive help.
56:39
SPEAKER_03: I think when you're feeling burnt out as a teen, as an adult, as a business owner, as a teacher, whatever, as a parent, you know, and it's again, especially with people in the arts industries, not all of us are type A, but a lot of us really like to have control and do everything and prove to everybody that we can do it.
56:56
SPEAKER_03: Because people told us when we were 18, oh, are you gonna you're gonna be a starving artist?
57:00
SPEAKER_03: Are you sure you really want to do this?
57:01
SPEAKER_03: Like we all want to prove something.
57:03
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
57:03
SPEAKER_03: And even if that is just proving that I can survive as an artist, it makes it very difficult sometimes to ask for help and to receive help when it's offered to you.
57:13
SPEAKER_03: And I really think that that's one of the key things to help avoid burnout is you know, learn about yourself, learn how you deal with adversity and busyness and overwhelm and figure out, okay, like, am I willing to accept help and am I willing to ask for help?
57:28
SPEAKER_03: Because I think even just a little bit of assistance, whether that's taking something off your plate, you know, during your schedule or you know, offering to take care of your baby or offering to tutor you in something, whatever it is, that can really go a long way to combat burnout before it even happens.
57:44
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I would say too, for a lot of dance educators, go work for studios where being reasonable is on the table.
57:49
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
57:50
SPEAKER_05: If I've worked on the opposite end where nothing is reasonable and it adds to my burnout, like if my son needs to go to the studio, he is welcome.
57:57
SPEAKER_05: His play pen goes, and my boss never makes an issue about me being a mother and a dance teacher.
58:02
SPEAKER_05: She does not make me choose because sometimes I have to do both simultaneously, and she's always reasonable.
58:08
SPEAKER_05: If something like when I had to go on bed rest, it wasn't like I've had people tell me when I had to take time off that I was gonna tank their studio because you're the only hip-hop teacher.
58:17
SPEAKER_05: If you go, what do we do?
58:18
SPEAKER_05: And people put a lot of pressure on me to have to keep pushing when it wasn't healthy for me to do so.
58:23
SPEAKER_05: So I think if you're a studio owner too, like go into it with some just be reasonable.
58:27
SPEAKER_05: You keep your staff, you retain much better when you meet people at a human level.
58:31
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and we're modeling that for our students, you know?
58:34
SPEAKER_04: We really are.
58:35
SPEAKER_04: We have to we have to have compassion for people and for ourselves, and we do have to model that behavior for our students because they are also feeling overwhelmed, and it's important that they ask for help.
58:45
SPEAKER_04: I mean, if you look at the rates uh for teens, the mental health, it's it's really rough, and you see some pretty tough tragedies happening with with really young kids because they are so overwhelmed and you know, there is a constant grind me mentality of go, go, go, and don't take, you know, don't miss any opportunities.
59:05
SPEAKER_04: Take every single opportunity that comes your way.
59:07
SPEAKER_04: And, you know, I'm all about taking opportunities and working hard and absolutely to get your dreams.
59:13
SPEAKER_04: You can never ever, you know, just sit back and expect it to fall into your lap.
59:17
SPEAKER_04: You m you definitely have to put the work in.
59:19
SPEAKER_04: But I I I agree.
59:20
SPEAKER_04: You have to have an environment that invites a certain mentality and a certain lifestyle, you know.
59:27
SPEAKER_04: Like the other day I had I I came home and I told my husband, I was like, today was the best day, and it had nothing to do with dance, even though I taught for six hours and I had we had great classes, you know.
59:37
SPEAKER_04: It was a great dancing day.
59:38
SPEAKER_04: But what made it special for me was that I had one of my students who's going through boyfriend drama, she needed advice.
59:46
SPEAKER_04: Miss Christy, can I talk to you for a second?
59:48
SPEAKER_04: Blah, blah, blah.
59:48
SPEAKER_04: I need a little bit of advice.
59:50
SPEAKER_04: Then an hour later, one of my girls who graduated last year comes strolling into the studio.
59:54
SPEAKER_04: Surprise, I came to watch rehearsal.
59:56
SPEAKER_04: And I was just like, you know, this is what it's about.
59:59
SPEAKER_04: It's this is the clubhouse.
1:00:00
SPEAKER_04: This is their safe space.
1:00:02
SPEAKER_04: This is the place where, you know, I remember myself when my when my first high school boyfriend broke up with me, I was in utter distress, you know, sobbing.
1:00:10
SPEAKER_04: And I remember my mom being like, Let's go, put on your tights and your leontard, you have ballet tonight.
1:00:15
SPEAKER_04: I'm bringing you into the studio, and I don't care if you have to cry at the bar.
1:00:19
SPEAKER_04: You know, and it wasn't about, and that wasn't the the grind mentality for her.
1:00:23
SPEAKER_04: It wasn't like, I'm paying for these classes and you better go.
1:00:25
SPEAKER_04: You know, I I didn't grow up with parents who who had that mentality, but it was more just like, you're going to feel better if you go to the dance studio right now.
1:00:32
SPEAKER_04: You're going to be with all your girls.
1:00:33
SPEAKER_04: My best friend brought us brownies that night.
1:00:35
SPEAKER_04: We sat, my dance teachers was cum were compassionate to me.
1:00:38
SPEAKER_04: They weren't, you know, ripping me apart because I wasn't at my best.
1:00:41
SPEAKER_04: You know, they were understanding of the fact that I'm a human being, you know, and you have to be like that with your students, with your staff, with your clients.
1:00:49
SPEAKER_04: I mean, I obviously have a business mindset and I I want to make sure that I'm constantly in the black and and, you know, able to provide for myself and my family and and everything and grow the studio.
1:01:00
SPEAKER_04: But at the same time, if I have a a client who's been dedicated to me for eight years and they have a a great kid that brings a lot of value to the studio, and they say, you know, listen, my husband's, you know, getting laid off, and I need you to make a payment plan for me or something, I am never gonna be like, absolutely not.
1:01:17
SPEAKER_04: That's your fault.
1:01:18
SPEAKER_04: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
1:01:19
SPEAKER_04: You know, we have to have a human side to this industry.
1:01:23
SPEAKER_04: And I feel like so much of dance can revolve around being perfect and precise, and you have to have the makeup and the hair and the costume and everything just so and I mean, you see beautiful dancers and and they execute this amazing skill and they're still always getting that feedback.
1:01:36
SPEAKER_04: Okay, next time I'd like that to be a little more turned out.
1:01:39
SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
1:01:39
SPEAKER_04: You're like, I just need a quadruple leg holder, and you're telling me a correction.
1:01:43
SPEAKER_04: Are you kidding?
1:01:43
SPEAKER_04: You know, there's this constant push for perfection.
1:01:47
SPEAKER_04: And, you know, I think we all feel it, you know, especially with social media.
1:01:52
SPEAKER_04: I I feel it all the time.
1:01:54
SPEAKER_04: I see these amazing coaches with these teams that they look like militant, you know what I mean?
1:02:00
SPEAKER_04: They are so perfectly uniform and everything is snatched.
1:02:03
SPEAKER_04: And and I and I want my dancers to have the best.
1:02:05
SPEAKER_04: So obviously I'm always striving for excellence from them, but we we are human beings at the end of the day.
1:02:12
SPEAKER_04: And especially when you're working with children, when you're in your teen years, it's one of the most awkward and uncomfortable times to navigate, you know.
1:02:22
SPEAKER_04: So it we do have to have compassion and and our staff is giving up their, you know, normal hours, right, to to meet us where we're at, working those five to ten hours, four to ten, three to ten, missing dinner.
1:02:35
SPEAKER_04: I'm sure they all have family.
1:02:37
SPEAKER_04: If you have staff with children, you know, I have I have some of my staff have kids, and same thing.
1:02:41
SPEAKER_04: Their kids are growing up like in our lobby at the dance studio, you know.
1:02:44
SPEAKER_04: But but now they're dancers on my team.
1:02:47
SPEAKER_04: And I remember, you know, playing with puzzles and stuff on the lobby floor when they were three, and now they're, you know, ten and hitting beautiful clean pirouettes on the competition stage, you know.
1:02:57
SPEAKER_04: And that's because we made space for that.
1:02:59
SPEAKER_04: We allowed our teachers to bring their their kids in and and be in a a space where they were welcomed, and we saw them as humans, and you know, if they have a an emergency or or something they need to prioritize that's not dance, we don't demonize them, we don't vilify them for that.
1:03:13
SPEAKER_04: We make sure that there's space for that.
1:03:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:03:16
SPEAKER_02: That's it's important.
1:03:17
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it is.
1:03:17
SPEAKER_02: It's super important.
1:03:19
SPEAKER_02: And it's really nice to hear that for both of your studio cultures as well, that that is so offered and accepting because like like you mentioned, Danielle, I don't I don't think that it may be it for everyone everywhere.
1:03:32
SPEAKER_02: So that's really refreshing to hear.
1:03:34
SPEAKER_04: And one day I want to be a mom, and I'm definitely bringing my kid into the lobby of the dance studio.
1:03:43
SPEAKER_05: Like they can be there, you know.
1:03:45
SPEAKER_04: It's so true.
1:03:46
SPEAKER_04: It's so true.
1:03:47
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:03:48
SPEAKER_02: Well, y'all, this was a lovely chat, and I definitely think it's needed at this time of the season, like I said.
1:03:55
SPEAKER_02: So I'm grateful for both of your perspectives and experiences and sharing that with the world and with all of our listeners out there who may be also experiencing some burnout at this time and every year at this point in the season.
1:04:08
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much to Christy and Danielle for joining us today on the pod.
1:04:13
SPEAKER_02: And how we always have our guests lead us out on making the impact is just with one final thought on the topic today, which is all about a burnout.
1:04:23
SPEAKER_02: Ready, psycho.
1:04:24
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, in terms of burnout, what I would say most important is find something that's your foundation that keeps you grounded because it will just solidify you when the chaos is is swirling.
1:04:36
SPEAKER_05: Every morning I wake up at 7 a.m., I talk to God, I meditate, I journal, and then my day can start.
1:04:41
SPEAKER_05: So no matter what, I can always go back to that.
1:04:44
SPEAKER_05: So just have something to keep you grounded.
1:04:46
SPEAKER_05: That would be my little tidbit.
1:04:48
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
1:04:49
SPEAKER_04: I think a b a big thing for me, i it's a it's a more recent revelation is make friends in the industry and don't be afraid to talk about the ugly, talk about the scary, talk about the stressful.
1:05:04
SPEAKER_04: Something that can sometimes turn a little spicy or a little chaotic, but I love so much are the Facebook forums because you know, sometimes I have to mute them because they get crazy.
1:05:15
SPEAKER_04: But I do I do feel a huge sense of relief.
1:05:20
SPEAKER_04: And also this podcast, which I have to say, I'm such a huge fan, I'm geeking out on the inside that I'm on here with you guys.
1:05:28
SPEAKER_04: But truly just making connections, you know, I mentioned bringing in guest teachers, you know, you don't have to do everything yourself and you don't have to reinvent the wheel.
1:05:37
SPEAKER_04: You can reach out for help, and other people have great ideas.
1:05:40
SPEAKER_04: And, you know, if you're ever feeling like you just got the nastiest dance mom email, or I'm just I hate my routine this season and I'm so defeated, I'm gonna, you know, just go on one of those Facebook groups or reach out to someone else in the industry, and I'm sure there's a story that will top whatever horrible stories in your head that will make you go, thank God, I am not alone.
1:06:02
SPEAKER_04: I am not the only person who's going through this.
1:06:05
SPEAKER_04: And I really think that having that sense of community is so crucial in dance.
1:06:10
SPEAKER_04: You know, we're not against each other, we're all for the same thing.
1:06:14
SPEAKER_04: We all are here because we have a love of this amazing sport and and art, which is dance, you know.
1:06:20
SPEAKER_04: So reach out to each other, you know, be compassionate to one another, and really, you know, remember that we are a community.
1:06:26
SPEAKER_04: We're here for each other, and you're never alone.
1:06:28
SPEAKER_04: There's always someone out there who's gone through what you're going through and can help you navigate it.
1:06:34
SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for tuning in to this week's episode all about avoiding burnout.
1:06:38
SPEAKER_02: Be sure to follow our guests on social media.
1:06:41
SPEAKER_02: You can find Christy at Ms.ChristyLBC and Danielle at Danielle Richmond Choreography.
1:06:47
SPEAKER_02: Also, don't forget to check out Danielle's convention.
1:06:50
SPEAKER_02: Activate your artistry.
1:06:52
SPEAKER_02: They are hosting their first summer attempted in Chicago this July, from the 19th to the 21st of 2023.
1:06:58
SPEAKER_02: Visit their website and Instagram at activate your artistry to learn more.
1:07:03
SPEAKER_03: Don't forget to follow Making the Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Sun Podcast, Google Podcasts, and pretty much everywhere you listen to podcasts.
1:07:10
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1:07:16
SPEAKER_03: Join us at ImpactFanSeducators.com slash Platinum Premium or click the link in our show notes.
1:07:22
SPEAKER_02: Are you looking for even more personalized, in-depth feedback on your standard judges critiques that you've been receiving at competition this season?
1:07:29
SPEAKER_02: Once you really know how to take a dance to the next level, then check out our service, IDA's online judges critiques, where you will receive up to 10 to 15 minutes of post-critique additional feedback.
1:07:41
SPEAKER_02: You can even request a judge that specializes in your submitted dance genre, and they will go back through your routine from beginning to end and pause the video to elaborate even more on those specific corrections.
1:07:53
SPEAKER_02: Critiques start at only$35 on our website.
1:07:56
SPEAKER_02: Submit your dance now at Impact DanceEdjudicators.com slash online critiques.
1:08:01
SPEAKER_02: We can't wait to see your dance.
1:08:04
SPEAKER_03: Season four of Making the Impact is wrapping up soon, but stay tuned for a few more great episodes, including Die Hard Dance Dad and our next studio spotlight episode.
1:08:14
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode.
1:08:16
SPEAKER_02: We'll see you next week.
1:08:17
SPEAKER_02: Until then, keep dancing.