Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Studio Spotlight - Studio Bleu Dance Center

Transcript

Studio Spotlight - Studio Bleu Dance Center · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:51
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome to the next episode of Making and Cast at the Competition Podcast.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_03: I'm your host, Courtney Oxford, and I am here with my co-host.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_03: What's up, Courtney High?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_03: I'm doing so good.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_03: It is March.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_03: It is, I know, crazy, right?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_03: And competition season is here.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm doing real good, real busy, traveling every weekend, judging, teaching, all the things, but I'm so grateful to be back to work in full swing.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_03: And how's it going for you, Leslie?
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Same, just busy and out of town, and I love it.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: And it's almost not winter anymore.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I also love that.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_03: I know it's been such a cold winter up here in New York.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's rough.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, excited, excited for spring and warm things and more dancing.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, me too.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I hope that everyone is enjoying their competition season, the start of it.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_03: If you are heading to competition soon, I'm wishing you the best of luck.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_03: And to all of our fans out there who are listening to our podcast, whether you have heard this before or maybe you're a new listener who newly discovered our podcast, we have a Facebook community for the podcast that we would love for you to come join and chat with us over there.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_03: It's called Making the Impact, a Dance Competition Podcast Community.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_03: So if you haven't joined yet, head on over to Facebook, search for Making the Impact, and you'll find our group.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_03: There's a few entrance questions that we just want to get to know you a little bit more and see how you're connected to the competitive dance world.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_03: You can also share with us your email if you want to be added to our newsletter to get our weekly updates for when our podcasts release every Thursday.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_03: And we also ask what your favorite podcast episode is.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of people have said, I haven't started listening yet, but I can't wait to start listening.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_03: Or some people will share an episode all the way back from season one that they that they still love, which is so cool.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_03: So it's we have this is episode 93, y'all.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_03: We're getting close to 100.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_03: It's crazy to think that we're getting close to 100.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_03: So there's a lot of people.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, and especially over on Facebook, we can go even further with the conversations that, you know, we have about an hour of every podcast.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: So we know to get more voices involved and get more perspectives on different things and just learn, learn more about the dance community.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's what's special about our Facebook group.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we keep it, we keep it very polite here at making the impact, unlike some other Facebook groups in the dance community.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: So please join us.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: We'd love to have you.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, we'd love to have you there.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_03: And another thing I'd like to mention to all of our listeners out there, if you haven't participated in a previous IDA virtual competition, we have recently relaunched our latest solo-only competition and it's all virtual, y'all.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_03: So you get to compete alongside other dancers from around the world.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_03: We are currently have we currently have registration open now.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_03: So if you would like to have your dance critiqued and scored by a professional pre-screen IDA judge, then submit your dance now and register on our website.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_03: We have slightly revamped our virtual competition where one judge now will provide you with a standard judge's critique just like you would get a competition.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_03: And then they will also include additional feedback where they will go back through your dance from beginning to end, start and stop your video, and elaborate even more on personalized feedback for an additional 10 minutes post-critique, which is such an awesome service and very similar to how we run our online critiques as well.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_03: Our virtual competition critiques are here to be a training tool for your dancers to progress throughout their competitive season.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_03: And you even have the option to resubmit a new recording of the same solo multiple times into our event to receive new feedback from different judges.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_03: You'll receive now a new broken down score sheet that will show you exactly where your points were deducted, and that will be in technique, performance, execution, and more.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_03: Entries are$55 to participate in our virtual competition, and you can even request a genre-specific judge to your critique that specializes in your submitted dance style.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_03: All contestants will receive an IDA virtual competition patch mailed straight to you, as well as the opportunity to be considered for individual special awards, overall sponsored prizes, and a chance to recompete in the live stream top 20 challenge for cash.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_03: Head on over to our website now to learn more about our virtual events and enter your solo now at ImpactDanceAdjudicators.com/slash virtual competition.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: And listeners, if you are a longtime listener or if you're a new listener, we would love to remind you about our buy me a coffee option that we've added this season.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: If you like what we do here and you have it in your heart to support it, we have an option for you to monetarily support us now.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: From$3 to$30 to$300.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: We haven't gotten a$300 donation yet, but you never know.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: There are options.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: So if you visit uh our Kofi link that's linked in the show notes, you can uh send us a quick donation.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: All of your donations go directly towards producing this podcast.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: We are on season three right now, and we have many more to go because there just seems to be more and more topics to cover.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: So we hope to be doing this for a long time, and we can't do it without support.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: So we really appreciate any support you can give us.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: And even if that also means without donating monetarily, you can always leave us a review or a rating.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: We are always so appreciative of that, and we'll always give you a shout out if you do.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: And speaking of, we have got a couple here from Kofi.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: Stephanie Callaher says, thank you for all the amazing tips for this new dance mom navigating a foreign world at a very competitive studio.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, Stephanie.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I happen to know Stephanie personally, and she is at a very competitive studio, and she was a swimmer.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: So she is was lost and now is not lost because of us.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you for your support, Stephanie.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: And coming from Apple Podcasts, Morgan R2004 says, the best of the best.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: I absolutely love this podcast.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: I get so much great information as a dance educator and dancer.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: I highly recommend it.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you, Morgan.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: We appreciate you.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: And to everybody who's supported us over the past couple of years, we appreciate you too.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_03: We love you all.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_03: All right, everybody.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_03: This week's episode is our very next studio spotlight feature, which we are so excited about that we started including in season three this season.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_03: And we've featured so many great studios already.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_03: So this is our fourth studio spotlight.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_03: And this studio that we are chatting with today has been featured in Dance Magazine.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_03: They are one of the largest competitive studios in the country with a very large boys' dance program.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_03: I can't wait to hear more about that.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_03: They were a top five studio of the year at Stardance Alliance, and you may have even seen them on multiple episodes of Dance Moms.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_03: I'm so excited to welcome Studio Blue to our podcast and the owner, Kimberly Rishi.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome, Kimberly.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a pleasure and an honor to be here.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: So excited.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, we are super excited to have you, and I can't wait to learn more about your studio and your program.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_03: And if you wouldn't mind sharing a little bit more about you, a little bit of your background, where your studio is located, as well as any other things you'd like to share as far as accomplishments that your studio has received over the years.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_03: Any additional ones that I didn't mention that you'd like to tell the world?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_03: And tell us more about you.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: My goodness, let's see.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I originally am from Pennsylvania.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: I came from a studio that is still in existence today.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: It is the oldest studio in the entire country.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: The name is Nardi.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: They are 88 years old, and I am still in contact with the owner who is my who was my original ballet teacher.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: And my original tap teacher, who gave me such a true love of tap, is still there as well.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: He's retired, but still still in touch with him.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: So that's such an honor to have started off my dance journey with Nardi's in in Pennsylvania.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: My parents drove when I was three, 45 minutes away to that studio.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure why they selected that one, but that's the one they selected.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's a good one.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so grateful that they did.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: I was a terrible clutch.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: I bumped into everything, I tripped over everything, and I still do today.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: So my parents thought, why not try her and dance?
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that'll make her a little bit more graceful.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: It definitely was a great opportunity to find the love for the art.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: I did not get any more graceful and I was terrible for a few years, but eventually it caught on and I just loved it so much.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that with hard work you can achieve anything and achieve any goal.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: I moved to Virginia when I was in high school and went to McLean High School and became a part of the Fairfax County, Loudoun County area as it's known today.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Very appreciative of coming to such an amazing area.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: It has a huge opportunity for performing arts with DC being so close.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: I did not have an opportunity to have a dance structured competition program.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: So a fun fact about me is I own the largest dance studio, competitive studio in the country, and I did not compete as a child myself.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: I fully whole wholeheartedly believe in the competitive environment and having a competition studio, but I think it was interesting that I never competed myself.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: I was also a theater girl and background in in theater and voice and singing.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um so a lot of the things at Studio Blue that we also have here is also in the entire performing arts area.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: I would leave high school early and go to do dinner theater and was not of legal age to serve alcohol, but I would sit in the green room with my chemistry book, and I would get home at midnight every night after the show, and I would have some pickles and some cheese, and I would sleep for a few hours, and I would get up, I'd sleep maybe you know, three hours, four hours, and then I would go drive to do an early magical singing rehearsal at the school by 6 a.m.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of my background.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: I went to George Mason University and such an amazing program.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an active alum there as well.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: The person that is in charge running the program, I did my pro my dance program with her.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's amazing to see some of our students move on to their amazing program.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then I started to teach at a studio.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: It was called the Academy of Dance and Movement.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the recommendations was that you should teach in a dance studio at college.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I had a person who was in the program with me.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: We're still friends to this day, and I tell her that this is actually all her fault.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: But she introduced me to her studio that she grew up and her owner, who was like her second mom, Miss Arinetta Manley, and I began teaching at the studio, and that is what Studio Blue has become today.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: So like you took it over?
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: I did.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: I got bullied into it a little bit, to be honest.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_03: When was that transition?
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_03: What year was that?
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I let's see, I took a transition into the business world and went to Marymount University to receive my master's degree in business and human resources and started in a software company.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so had a very different lifestyle of running a human resources team.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: I traveled the world helping with mergers and acquisitions.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: And on the side, I would go to the studio and choreograph a tap solo on a Sunday night at like seven o'clock at night.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I did I did keep in touch and I did continue to teach throughout, just not on a on a regular weekly basis because of my travel.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: About 15 years ago, the owner said to me that she was going to retire and she had 80 students at the time total.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: And she asked if I would like to take over the studio, and I said, No, I don't want to own a studio.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm good.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And she said, Please, I don't want the kids to have to go to other studios.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: They're such a family.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: And you taught two of the the kids that are now teachers here.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like you need to do this for them.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, I don't think I'm I I don't I don't think I'm actually qualified to run a dance studio.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have any qualifications.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: And Miss Darinetta said, Well, you have a dance degree to business degree.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I think you could just figure it out.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: So she told me that she was requesting that I do it for one year.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: I promised her one year and I said, That's it.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's all I'm doing.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: It I'll finish off the lease for one year and I'll do it uh as a team with those other the the other teachers helping me.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna just do this as a team.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it's been 15 years.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: So during that one year that you said you're only doing were you still working your full-time job?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: So fun fact also about me is that I don't require sleep.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_03: Clearly.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_03: I think you mentioned that when I wrote, when I reached out to you about this podcast.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody there was another studio director that had asked me, what makes you so special and unique?
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, I I didn't say I was special or unique.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: And they said, Well, give us one thing that just kind of stands out.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Well, my parents didn't require sleep, so it's genetic, I guess.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: I I can't take credit for it, but I literally do not require but a few hours of sleep a night.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just up, I'm just up more.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh hours.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: You have more hours in the day.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, exactly.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, what we all wish for and dream for.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: I wish I'd be able to do that.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: I know uh they the teachers here are like, you're a robot.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why aren't you tired ever?
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I can just say it's it has to be genetic.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_04: Wow.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_04: Wow.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_03: That's crazy.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm just curious now that we're we've gotten into like, okay, so you've you took over the studio and it turned out to be 15 years later and you're still there.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: What shifted the name?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what's the impetus for Studio Blue being Studio Blue?
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we just wanted to try to we did it after two years.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think we kept the name for two years.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: And with Miss Arinetta's blessing, we decided just to do something completely out there and a little bit different, a little bit that didn't really mean anything.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely this is a team effort here, and I am taking out the trash and doing everything like everyone else's.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it was never about me having my name be a part of the studio.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted something, you know, that didn't really mean anything.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: And we we looked at Studio Blue.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think lots of people like to make fun of our colors are purple and black.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and they were the original colors from the original studio, and we kept those.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it's Blue B-L-E-U.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's the French spelling, and it means peace, longevity, happiness, tranquility.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, air, water, you know, all of those.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: So we just wanted a name that, you know, really just was just gonna be unique to us, and that we weren't trying to, you know, build any kind of special name with with her name on it or my name on it.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: So we just I love that.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: Well in Studio Purple doesn't sound quite as classy.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know, like so you know, definitely everybody just says blue.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, did you go to blue?
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, did you graduate from blue?
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, are you a blue dancer?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: So it just kind of it just kind of stuck.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: And purple, you are correct.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: That just kind of sounds like Yeah, no.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great color.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Great, great for the jackets.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Great color, great, great jacket color.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_03: Wow, that is that is awesome.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_03: So 15 years you've been doing you've been doing the studio owner game.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_03: You obviously love it.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: I do love it.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: I do love it.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: I I I think back.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: The funniest thing is Miss Erinetta, who unfortunately passed away right before COVID started.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, sorry.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: And we include her in everything that we do, and her core values are still our core values today.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: I laughed though.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: She gave me a stencil notebook that had 12 pages on it.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: And not I don't mean like a big piece of paper.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean like a little piece of paper.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: And it said, do these three things, and at the top of the page it had January, do these three things.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: February, do these three things.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that was supposed to be my roadmap on how to run a studio.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: That was like her advice to you.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, really, this is it?
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is all I have to do?
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: I can probably do this.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I just think it's so funny, like from all those years ago, to you know, look at the transition of of where we came from, you know, all after all these years.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: So all right, so you started you started teaching there when there were 80 students, or you started taking over there when there were there were 80 students.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: How did you go?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: How many students do you have now?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: So we have between it's a hard number to say, right, because we have so many different programs that are included.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: We have a competitive program, we have a recreational program, we have a pre-professional hip hop company, we have a ballet conservatory, we have a theater company, we have vocal private, we have piano lessons, we have a Disney program that is a year-long program where the dancers perform uh in Disney in December, but it's a year-long program.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: We have vocal groups that go and they perform just as different groups.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: So we have so many different makeups of kids.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: We have a junior theater festival.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: We just went to a national competition in Atlanta.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was about a week and a half ago, where 150, you know, comp uh companies come together where they're singing and dancing.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: So we have a ton of of just private, dance private, and we're here seven days a week.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: I get here around 7 30 in the morning and we're here till about 10 at night.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so I don't really know the number.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's I mean, we have probably like 2,000 kids in classes throughout the week and throughout the night that we service in our community.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's that's just that's amazing.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's it's almost like you're a one-stop shop for all the things you would want to do in the world of performing arts.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: Performing arts, yeah.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like truly.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that uh you know, you partner with the right people that are your right leaders in each of those subdivisions.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it goes back to my heart was always obviously a part of of dance.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: I I you know, majored in dance, but it was always the singing and and the theater and and all of that.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: I love, you know, the photography part of it.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: We we partner with the photography, you know, two different photography, you know, professionals.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so we try to bring as much in as we can to service whatever the kids are doing, preparing them for college auditions, preparing them for theater, you know, they have lots of self-tapes that they have to make for theater for colleges, different different things.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we we try to get into a little bit of of whatever makes sense for us.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's so great to hear how much of the other aspects of performing arts is incorporated into your studio training, whether it's required or optional, because like you said, Leslie, it's like a one-stop shop.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_03: And I feel like that a lot of competitive dancers, at least, especially when our podcast is geared around that world, are closed off completely from singers and musical theater and plays and musicals.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_03: I literally can't tell you.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_03: I did not grow up going to musicals.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_03: That wasn't something my family did.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_03: Wasn't something that like I've heard about them, I knew about them, but.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: I wasn't exposed to actual musical theater and singers and other styles of performing arts outside of dance until my senior year of high school when I did the Young Arts program and went to Young Arts Week in Miami.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_03: And that was my first time seeing other things besides dance.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_03: And it was a whole world to me that I felt like as a competitive dancer my whole life, I never even knew existed.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_03: So it's amazing your dance, your dancers, especially, but all of the the performing arts students get to see everything else that's out there.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I love that.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: The young arts program is amazing.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: We've we've had students attend that as well.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I think there's a lot of crossover opportunities that happen.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying that it, I mean, everything is a la carte here, and you can choose to do whatever you'd like.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: And you can dabble a little bit if you want to try something that you might not have tried.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: I remember going to the Mayflower Hotel in DC when I was a kid, and I auditioned for Annie and got down to the last 50 people.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, we all know they chose Sarah Jessica Parker.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I was so recently so excited to be able to watch a few months back one of my kids be on Annie Live on NBC.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I just kept saying, Oh, of course it's this show because I have to relive the whole Mayflower experience all over again.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: But I think I think there is a lot of opportunities here.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: We are the largest competitive studio, but we don't focus on just that, just the dance competitions.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Although we love them and wouldn't live without them.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: And dance competition season is, you know, it's right around the corner for us here in March.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, I wanted to incorporate other things.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: I had a little girl, her mom called and said that they had an assignment in school and they had to draw their favorite season.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: And what do you think she drew?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: She drew competition stage and her friends dancing and the light.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the teacher was like, What is this?
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: And like the fall leaves.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: Your favorite season, like fall, summer.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: She was like, This is my favorite season.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's competition season.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was one of the funniest stories.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, competition season is so important and so crucial, I think, to developing young leaders, whether they continue in dance or theater or or music or voice.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: But uh yes, I I uh I'm glad that we've incorporated a little bit, a little bit of everything.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: We like to do a little bit of everything here.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: Would you say that, like I want to kind of hone in on the competition aspect of your program in a minute, but would you say that a lot of your competition-focused kids do branch out to the other things, or do you have more of the kids who are like, Nope, I'm just on this one track?
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: We have a little bit of everything.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: We have dancers who absolutely their goal is to be in a ballet company.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: And they definitely train hard.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: We are a huge ballet studio here.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, we partner with someone that runs a conservatory and trains our kids.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: But you know what?
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: They also like to get on that stage and maybe do a lyrical contemporary routine on the competition stage.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: We do have some kids that are, you know, they just want to do hip-hop and they just want to compete in one dance in hip-hop.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what we want to see them do as well.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I think it's exciting to hear too, the incorporation of singing.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_03: And a perfect example of what you just said, one of your students already, a young student booking Annie Live.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I hope if there's any listeners out there who watched Annie Live, I think it was on NBC, is that right?
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_03: And it was over the holiday season.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_03: It was so inspiring to see young, talented, triple threat dancers that I'm sure every one of those kids are probably competition dancers.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_03: But they were singing with their voices.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_03: Hello, not with things like we do in musical competition.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_03: They were singing.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_03: And it was just so inspiring to and it's exciting to hear that because of your program, because of the opportunities that you have in this like a one-stop performing art style studio, that that dancer probably does take voice lessons, whether it's group lessons or private lessons, and that's what got her the job.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_03: And it doesn't even have to be about, you know, getting jobs as a child, but even knowing if you are a dancer and you know you want to move to New York City or Los Angeles, the more you are able to do the better.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_03: And if you do want to be on Broadway, you have to know how to sing, even just a little bit.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_03: And if you can start, that's something I wish.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_03: Like if my studio had what your studio had growing up, I wouldn't have been playing catch up my entire professional career because no one taught me how to sing.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_03: And I would at least have the basics, the foundation, the, you know, to get myself have the tools to succeed.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_03: So it's it's really exciting to hear what you're offering to your dance community and your arts community down in Virginia.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: And we have the the opposite.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: We have an amazing actor who can sing but can't dance and hadn't taken dance classes and definitely needs help now, just in a private capacity of very focused specifically to him or her to be able to be getting caught up so that they're auditioning for college for for programs, but they need to learn how to move as well on on a stage.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_03: Move, yeah, they're they're gonna be a mover.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_03: And at least you're giving them a strong mover.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_03: And at least you're giving them the basics on knowing how to move around and know their positioning and things like that.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, there's so much that goes into it, and it sounds like you're really setting up all of the students properly.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_03: So congrats on that.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_03: It's great.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, Leslie, like you were mentioning, I'd love to I'd love to hone in on the competitive.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_03: Let's talk about the dance department at your studio.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_03: And let's start with the competitive students.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_03: So what does their the what does the competition team look like?
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_03: How many dancers are currently on that team?
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_03: What are the requirements?
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_03: Do they have to audition?
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_03: What's their class schedule like?
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_03: Things like that.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_03: Give us the rundown.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I think I mentioned we're a little bit a la carte here.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: I do, it is, it is a unique studio in that we do like our dancers to be able to do other things.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: I had a senior who graduated last year and he was an all-state football champion at his school.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: And he loved to dance.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: And he was able to do both because we really strategically sat down and said, What what what is it that you want to do here?
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: And and what groups do you want to do, and how do you want to spend your time and how many hours do you want to be here?
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it is a very large studio, but I think with my HR background, for me personally, it's very much strategically sitting down with each of the families and looking at specifically Leslie or Courtney, like let's look at you.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: What are your goals?
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: What are your expectations?
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: What are you putting into this?
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it be two hours a week or whether they're homeschooling from here and being here during the day and learning also other things.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: How to be a studio owner, how to be a teacher, how to start learning how to choreograph.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we have over, you know, 300 competitive dancers.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: They're ages two and a half to 19.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: We have a ton of boys, which just kind of happened here, to be honest.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it happened years and years ago.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: We were on the Harry Conock Jr.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: show one time with all of our boys and hanging out with Harry Conock Jr.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: who absolutely coincidentally was in that Annie Live show with with my girl Kennedy.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I think strategically you can be on our competitive team if you're here two hours a week and you just want to train for an hour in hip hop and do one hip hop routine.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: Or if you say, like, this is what I want my life to be.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: I want to be a competitive dancer.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: I want to, or I want to go to college and be on the dance team.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many different or I want to get into a collegiate dance program, but we have 52 teachers.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's a part-time job for me.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: Just my gosh, managers that everyone is getting what they need in order to service our our our kids and be there for our kids.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: We have lots of everything.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: We have lots of male teachers, we have lots of female teachers, we have lots of specialty teachers, we have teachers that specialize in acro or gymnastics or contortion or Broadway tap or rhythm tap.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: So it's there are, as I mentioned to you, the the teachers, there are a few that have been here since they were two, four, five, and seven years old.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: And we are old now.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been a minute.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a minute.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: None of us are related.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: We're related by choice at this point.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: And even the people that have been here, you know, subgroup B that haven't been here since they were a child, they've been here for a good 14, 15 years.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: So we tend to really act as a family and get through everything together.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_00: But the team kids are tremendous leaders.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: It is amazing to watch them.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: They get they get a big board of like written lessons and quotes each week.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm trying to train them to be to be leaders.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: And not just for me, it's not just about dance.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's all the other traits.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard work and it's time commitment and organizational skills and communication skills and all of those things.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: They have an opinion of what their schedule is.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: And we are a large studio, so if they miss a class, they can come to a different class on a different night of the week.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: Whether we have technique classes or you know, ballet classes, or turns and leaf classes.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: We also do master training classes each week in just different genres.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's just more training that they're getting in in jazz or contortion or hip-hop or or or tap or or acro.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: We have adult classes here as well.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that was my segue.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: We have an adult competitive team, so they are a part of our competition team and they are serious.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god! They are Friday night rehearsing, they are Sunday morning rehearsing, and they are off.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: Now, are these like dance parents or are these just people from the community?
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I think if I opened it up, we would have a lot of people.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um but right now, currently, currently it is just anyone that is a dance dance family member.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: I would be so intrigued if you opened it up to the community, like with the way your business already runs.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like people people know you in your community, I'm sure, even if they're not associated with dance.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: They do.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: That would be so interesting.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: You you let us know when you do that.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: I I know.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've been like, I don't know, we like we we we we you know, we you could do it, you know.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: So and you know, something I'm really, really proud of with the team kids, especially, is they have a true love for the community, and we do tremendous outreach to the community, and they need to learn how to give back to the community, and they want to do that.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: So they learn that at as at a at an early age.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: We have we were the first studio, there was a mom here, and I was talking about doing a dance marathon, and that turned into I Dance for a Cure.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's 10 years old, we were the founding studio.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: We have just our studio have raised 175,000 for pediatric for research for kids with cancer, and we have rolled that out internationally.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: So other studios around the country and internationally have been doing that.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: And we do a lot of just different community things.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: We partner with the St.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: Lucie Project uh for food and had a whole huge food truck, you know, donating food.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: We do uh mobile hope where we're donating coats.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: We do a Loudoun County, we do a family, adopt a family at the holiday time.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: So we try to we try to really give back to our community.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_04: I love hearing that.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_03: And I would love to link to that in our show notes to learn more about the you said it was called I Dance for a Cure.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_03: Is that what I dance for a cure?
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like I've definitely heard of that as well.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_03: So love to link to that in our show notes for our listeners to check out and learn more.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's so exciting to hear.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_03: It's I truly believe you when you say that you don't need sleep because I don't really know how you're doing all of this.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like as it's a team effort.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: It is all of us every hour, and it is who's getting the kids into the cars through the car line.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's who's, you know, doing these private sits, who's uh it is literally everybody at all times.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: But I will tell you that the team kids are so committed to each other.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: They are really work hard, play hard.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: They are relaxed and funny and loud.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: We are a bunch of loud people, I have to tell you.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't matter if there's 25 of us at some place at a convention or if it's all 300 and something of us.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're just we're just loud and happy.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really truly a home away from home.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: But the older kids look after the little kids, the little kids look after the younger, even baby kids.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: But they do.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: They they they work hard, play hard, they're committed to coming here.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: The dance family community here at Blue is committed to our home away from home.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: And they have shown that over and over again, and I'm so grateful for all of the dance families here, but I really feel like we are helping to raise such tremendous young ladies and gentlemen as they as they all grow older.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: But they it is a wild party.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: I've had people walk in and say, Is there a party going on?
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_00: Nope, that's just this is it.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_00: This is what it looks like.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: We have 12, we have 12 classrooms and a vocal and a piano lab.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a it's a lot of moving pieces, uh just you know, managing the different rooms and the different genres, and kids learn how to read the schedule and where they're going and what room they're going to.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: They welcome new students.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: They are very encouraging and inviting.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: And oh, let me show you our dance right away.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, somebody's out today.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's okay.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be a fill-in.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: Let me take give me a video and I'll learn it really quickly.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like there's a lot of life lessons that they're being able to use through the dance competition team that they're able to apply in real life someday.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_03: IDA's virtual competition is back, and registration is now open for a solo-only event.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_03: Compete alongside dancers from around the world and receive a detailed personalized receiver from the free screen IDA.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_01: I want to go there.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_01: Can I can I come down?
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'll be a part of your adult.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: So for the adult accepted.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_03: I would love to hear what is your so for your competition team, still speaking on that.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_03: What how many competitions do you guys go to?
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_03: What types of competitions do you go to?
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_03: Is there a requirement to be on the team as far as like team competitions?
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_03: And do you also allow your dancers to go to competitions on their own without the studio?
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_03: Tell us more about your sketch.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it is again a little bit unique here.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: We do five competitions regionally every year.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: We always have.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: We do a national competition every year.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: We do various competitions, try to mix up, you know, each each season and look at dates that work that we're able to get feedback from our judges.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that that's such an important part of their journey.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: I was a judge for years and so blessed and loved being a judge and seeing, you know, what that side of it was.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: So we like to space things out.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: We do conventions also.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, kids can go to conventions on their own.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: They can go to other competitions on their own.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: They coordinate everything through us and we prepare them for it.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_00: We can watch things live.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_00: We can definitely, you know, keep up with them and how they're doing at that convention during the day.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: You audition to be a part of our team, and you can choose to do whatever genres that you want to do.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: So again, it's back to I don't really like to tap.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really want to tap.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know you guys have a great program, but I I don't want to tap.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: They can come back, you know, in November, December and say, I really think I want to like do a tap now.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of fun.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: I see them all in the yellow room and they're doing tap.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: So it's also a very fluid situation here.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the other unique thing about us: you don't actually have to go to all of the competitions.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_04: So the five that you require, the whole team doesn't have to go.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have grandma's 90th birthday during a competition weekend, you should go to grandma's 90th birthday.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: So we have a dis different cap for each of our groups at each of our competitions.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: So we always have a backup plan.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: We uh and it doesn't matter if somebody's on a on a, you know, we we had a a dancer who last season went to the two first competitions and then I had a huge opportunity to be away for something and wound up keep being away and away and away and never made it back to our competition season and was so happy and proud that they did not make it back.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: But so the dancers are very versatile in okay, who's going to this competition?
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, how are we gonna fix our dance?
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because guess what happens?
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's in real life, and we could get to a competition, and we could have somebody that hurt themselves or has a cold or can't come that day last minute, and we can't hold up a competition for us because we are in the hallway practicing and changing dances because they need to learn how to be on time and be a professional.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_00: So we try to have uh, you know, them fix their dances themselves.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_00: It looks different.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: All every time we go to a competition, the routine will be different.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so intrigued.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_01: So do you have like necessarily like understudies, or it's just sort of whoever like whatever they can do, they figure it out?
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_00: Good question.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: Both.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_00: Both.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_00: We we will have some some understudies for some of the pieces.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a partnering piece, that's gonna be really hard to change last minute.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a piece that has, you know, Miss Mirinda Davis and there's eight crazy lifts and they're being thrown over a door.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_00: I I think we need to have an understudy just in case so that person can do that.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: I remember, you know, again, being in dinner theater and I definitely was a swing and you had to learn all the different parts just in case that night they were like, okay, so you're doing this part and this part now.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_00: Get get on stage.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like that really helps the kids when they move on to other other places.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're able to pick up choreography so fast and so quickly.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: They're able to reverse it.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: If they did it on the right, they can actually like reverse it and then say, that's okay, I'll do this person's part on the left.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_00: So good question.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_00: We have we have both scenarios.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_03: I really love hearing that because it is so true and so important.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_03: I've actually I recently worked with a studio and it was act one of the first times that they had said understudies learning the dance as I was choreographing it.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_03: And I just I don't see that utilized enough in competitive dance.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_03: And I totally understand many studios aren't as large as yours, where they might not have the dancers that they can throw in as understudies or learn that or be the backup.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_03: But we've all been in those situations, or I'm sure a lot of studios and even dancers can relate when, like you said, the scenario of, oh my gosh, someone's out.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_03: What do we do?
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_03: Do we just have a hole?
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_03: Do we have like a mid competition in the hallway reblock, or do we throw the understudy in?
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_03: And it is so smart and such a great skill for young dancers to learn what it feels like to have to kind of just be thrown in and figure it out.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_03: That is what happens on Broadway.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_03: There's that term we hear all the time.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_03: The show must go on.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_03: Like we've we've Heard it a million times, the still will always go on.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_03: But it, you know, absolutely it's a matter of like, are they prepared?
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_03: Is it gonna go on seamlessly without a like you know, a flaw?
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_03: Like obviously, understudying and being a swing is an extremely hard skill.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_03: But if dancers can start learning that young, they're gonna be so much more valuable.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_03: Again, see like that skill plus the singing aspect that you incorporate is really setting them up for so much success, regardless if they I have a I had a young dancer who is a competitive dancer, and he was recently on a Christmas story national um tour.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_00: And that is exactly what happened.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_00: They got on the bus one day and said, Okay, this main other character uh is not going to be able to do the next few days show.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_00: So who can learn the part and the lines and the scenes and the dance scenes?
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_00: And my boy was like, I'll do it.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: And they said, Okay, you have you have until we get it's the bus ride.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_00: So you have until we get there, and we will do a run through of the show, and hopefully you'll be okay.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, Absolutely, I'll be fine and went on.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_03: So that I mean that's truly like my biggest fear in life, something like that.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_03: Which I terrify, honestly, and Lindley knows I just recently dealed with like a potential swing offer that I just got a few days ago for a very a show that's already in rehearsals, that's already been learned by the cast.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_03: And I've never swung in my professional career.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_03: And it was it was a very scary, somewhat offer of like making the decision on can I do this?
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_03: Can I mentally handle this?
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_03: Do I feel like I could achieve like make this happen?
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_01: And what did you say?
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_01: It was like seven, probably seven.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_03: It was a value would have had seven different female ensemble tracks that so opened and like five and it would have opened, it would have been a week of fairly rehearsals.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_03: And yeah, it was just too many things.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_03: And if I would have had the experience of swinging, I would have felt more comfortable um making that decision.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_03: So that's definitely a great skill for dancers to learn.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_03: And I love hearing that.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_03: And I I do want to also mention that I think that, like I was saying before, it's the whole thing if grandma has a 90th birthday and it falls on competition week and you we want you to go.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_03: I think a lot of studio owners have different perspectives on that.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_03: I think that a lot of people are like, team comes first over prom.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_03: Team comes first over grandma.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_03: And we have to remember like that's a once-in-a-lifetime thing.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_03: Prom is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I've I've had a kid who has come to the dance competition on Sunday morning, still with the prom hair and the prom makeup, and changed in the car with sweats and obviously stayed out most of the night and was there for her team.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, she, you know, wasn't there for two numbers the day before because she it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to miss a high school show and and have regrets about well, what what if I did that?
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_00: Or again, I remember my one teacher who has been here since she was four years old.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_00: She said, I have something to tell you.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know that competition in two weeks?
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's my grandma's 90th birthday.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm gonna miss being there for the kids because I want to go to my grandma's 90th birthday.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, it definitely is a challenge for the teachers, for for the choreographers.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely is it a challenge?
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, 100%.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it attributes and helps to the the training and the environment and the culture that we've created here, and it helps them become, you know, better again, whether it's it's in dance-related things or not.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_00: It it it's you're able to on the spot be like, okay, I'll do it.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'll learn the speech last minute and and I'll be able to give it tomorrow and and have the confidence and have the ability to be able to feel like you can you can achieve any goal if you work hard.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_03: I think it says a lot about teamwork too, like from the very beginning of like that mentality going in, if everyone's aware, hey, we're gonna have understudies.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_03: Hey, we're gonna have a second cast ready to go for this.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_03: And as long as people aren't abusing the fact that, oh, you know what, I don't feel like going to comp today, just put my understudy on, because in the real world, that also does happen very often.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_03: But you know, these are students, these are dancers, and it really does say like, we're a team, we gotta step up to the plate.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_03: All right, understudy, it's a team, like we're a team, let's go on, we gotta do this, we gotta make this work, we gotta take one for the team.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_03: So as much as some people might look at it as uh if they're choosing grandma's 90th birthday instead of the team, then then that's then they're not supporting the team and it's not teamwork.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_03: I kind of see it as as long as you as the studio has set up alternative methods to make sure the team continues forward and succeeds, then it is teamwork.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_03: If that person's not there, it is okay.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_00: And and we have students that are away, you know, auditioning for we have, you know, 20-some seniors every year.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_00: So we need for them to be able to be away on the weekends auditioning for for for college CS programs and for their future.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_00: So the kids are amazing taking videos and and putting everything on you know, a private YouTube channel, and everybody gets videos.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_00: So even if you're not there, you know your team is there.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_00: They know you were there with them too, and that you're just doing something that you have to take care of.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_00: And on the other side, they are putting in the work and they're like excited and appreciative for a video that they can learn and watch and come to the next rehearsal and say, No, I I know what I'm doing.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_00: It is a lot of teamwork, a lot of teamwork between the students, between the teachers and the students, and uh again, between the parents and the families that coordinate everything with me.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's a blessing here.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_01: And do you kind of serve as like the studio manager as well, or do you have a front desk person or a billing person, or it's it's you?
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_01: You have great my mom owns a studio, it's very small compared to yours, but I'm like, there's all these other things.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_01: How do you do all that?
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I have a studio director, and her name is Maggie Larkin, and she was nine and a half, nine and a half, and came up to the front desk and said, I want to learn how to run a studio.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Great, love it.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_00: I love training kids, I love 360 degree feedback, I love all everything about this.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_00: Every break that you have, or whatever extra time that you have, come on up and I'm gonna teach you.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_00: And she is our studio director today, and I would choose her above anybody that had 20 some years of experience of running a studio because she is always a little bit of a step ahead of me.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_00: I might be over here and she's like, that's great.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_00: You and your ideas.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_00: We have to get done this, this, and this today.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_00: You want to do that?
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_03: It literally feels like Leslie to me.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_03: Today like Leslie keeps me in track.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's this time.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_00: What are you doing?
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's hilarious.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_00: And she is objective and she is loving, and she I the amount of growth that I have gotten to witness from her, you know, you know, as such a young kid as to someone, you know, in their mid-twenties is a phenomenal feeling that I have uh after watching her do that.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um now I'm just like when you first said you were talking about her, I I thought for a split second she was still nine.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, no, but we do have kids that are like, here's a funny story.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're taking temperatures at the door during COVID, and I'm running around, and Maggie's running around, and the seven-year-old is like, Wow, Baylor's busy.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, it can't be that hard, right?
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I look up and she's taking temperatures at the door and no one's question no one's questioning it.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right, they're like okay, getting her do it and answering the question and coming on in, and she's like, Look at the schedule over there, it'll it'll tell you where to go.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_00: So we have lots of lots of younger kids too that are like, Can I be Maggie?
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like, sure, you gotta you gotta put in the time.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_00: So she's a tremendous leader in a role model now, and she is literally uh a little bit of ahead of a you know, ahead of me each time, but it's a great pleasure and joy to to watch that whole thing happen.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_04: Love that.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_04: That's so great.
• 52:48
  SPEAKER_03: I'd love to hear a little bit more about your recreational program for the studio as well as your boys' program that you briefly mentioned.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_03: How I know you said it just kind of came about, but how many boys do you have?
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_03: What is their focus?
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_03: Are they taking all styles or just certain styles?
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_03: Tell us more about that.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_00: Our recreational program is just as important as our competitive program.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_00: And our competitive teachers teach our recreational dancers as well.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it's very important to me to have whatever you're coming, if you're coming for an hour class once a week, I want you to have the best teacher and the best experience that you can have as well.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_00: We have classes during the day and classes each day and into the evening.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_00: They are a mixture of everything as well, whether they are tumbling tricks classes or mix of ballet jazz classes or ballet tap classes or jazz or hip hop or lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, tap.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_00: We do classes uh for recreational dancers also on Saturday.
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_00: And we know all of their names as they walk in as well, and are excited if they're again just here for that one hour class once a week.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like it brings them joy and gives them so many other things as well.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: Our boys program, even back in the day with the 80 students only, we had a ton of boys.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not sure if it was just you know, we did have some siblings that the boys were like, Oh, I could stay in the lobby, you know, whatever, you know.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know, I guess I'll just jump into class.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_00: We have a graduate, he graduated last year.
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_00: He's already been back three times to visit and teach and choreograph and still does things, which is amazing.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember him being seven and just in the lobby, and he was so bored, and he was like, What should I do?
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_00: What should I do?
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: What just nonstop and I was I I literally said, I'll I'll I'll do anything.
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'll give you five dollars if you go into the class.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: The pink room that you're sitting outside of, I'll give you five dollars or a drink or or something.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_00: Just go in the just go in the pink room.
• 55:08
  SPEAKER_00: And he was like, Okay, he wound up dancing every day the rest of his life.
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_00: So much and dances he he went to young art.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh he was on So You Think You Can Dance.
• 55:18
  SPEAKER_00: Oh he, I mean, such a love of dance and choreography and teaching and theater and everything, but it all started with me because I just I couldn't, I I just couldn't for an hour.
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_00: He just kept talking and kept asking questions, and his name is Lucas, and we talk about this all the time and about how like if he you know never went into the pink room, like his life would have been very different.
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of people walk in, and I do have to say, if somebody's on a tour, I have to say all the boys that you see attend.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_00: They are students because I think there's so many of them, probably about a hundred, that you uh you start to look around like where what were they just all hanging out in here or what are they doing?
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_00: And they have the choice as well.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like the football player that I was talking about, he just wanted to do hip-hop and it was amazing.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_00: We have some boys that just want to do ballet only and you know, go to you know, a college dance program for ballet or be in a ballet company, and we have some boys that just want to tap, and we have boys that that do that do a little bit of everything, so it's honestly their choice of what they want to do.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_00: Funny story: the boy who was a football player, he invited his boys' team.
• 56:41
  SPEAKER_00: There was five boys, and he wanted them to perform at the pep rally at his high school in front of everybody's senior year, and invited me.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, wow, that's pretty great that he's gonna get up in front of the whole school and do this.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_00: And all the boys were like, Yeah, it wasn't their school.
• 56:59
  SPEAKER_00: They were like so excited, they were so excited to to support him.
• 57:03
  SPEAKER_00: His name is Wesley, and he came out with his football gear and his football team, and they broke through everything and it was great, and then all of a sudden, he took his shirt off and had his hip-hop shirt and on underneath everything and got out there and the crowd ran wild, and it was a wonderful thing to see such a supportive community of you know, here's this kid, he loves hip hop and he loves to dance, and here's his all his boys supporting him, and it was a wonderful feeling to see that entire school just support him.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's really awesome.
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just I mean, like the confidence, you know, of that moment for all the boys, even if it's not their school, you know, like I think that's that's pretty amazing.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_00: I I really sat there and thought, I wonder how this is gonna go.
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_00: Could go many ways.
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know.
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_00: So exactly how you said it.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_00: It was just so inspiring and so great.
• 58:00
  SPEAKER_00: So one of the other boys was like, Well, my school wants this to do it now.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh over here.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_00: I said, Oh, okay, this is called the King's Tour.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_00: Their dance was called the King.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my god.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I kept saying, Oh, this is this is the Loudoun County Kings and Fairfax County Kings Tour for the school.
• 58:15
  SPEAKER_03: So that's so awesome.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_03: That's really great.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_03: Well, way to inspire so many male dancers in your community and area.
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_03: I know that there's probably a lot of studios listening that are like, darn, I wish I could get one boy in my studio.
• 58:32
  unknown: You know.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_03: You guys have a hundred that are doing all different types of styles of dance.
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_03: So that's really exciting.
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_03: And I love hearing that.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_03: I love it, it's so unique to hear this like a la carte style that you offer.
• 58:46
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like that not a lot of studios have that, and there's really strict requirements with the competition team and the amount of technique classes.
• 58:54
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm sure there is some of that still, obviously at yours, but just all of the electives and um things that they can do is really awesome to hear.
• 59:02
  SPEAKER_03: So it sounds like it's working.
• 59:04
  SPEAKER_00: Is working for us and it's something that we all enjoy here, and it is it does have its challenges and definitely takes more time.
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I commend all of our staff and our teachers for being able to make it work for all the students to be able to have such, you know, multiple of different experiences.
• 59:26
  SPEAKER_00: But they are very committed to each other and to the dance competition team, and they know it it truly brings them value.
• 59:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think it's it's a win-win for everybody.
• 59:37
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just like I said, just we really wanted to focus on the kids training, but still be obviously in the competitive world and truly believe in that.
• 59:46
  SPEAKER_00: So it's this is kind of how we uh it's working for us.
• 59:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, everybody's gonna find what works for them.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_01: And what so we didn't really cover why you decided to turn the studio into more of a competitive studio, which you you said you didn't compete growing up.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_01: So was the previous iteration of it already competing?
• 1:00:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 1:00:06
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 1:00:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, they did.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_00: So when I was a teacher at that studio when I taught in college, it was a competitive studio.
• 1:00:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I actually remember being so surprised.
• 1:00:19
  SPEAKER_00: This is another funny moment, but I remember being president of my sorority, and I couldn't make a competition, but I wasn't paying attention to where it was.
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I got to the sorority function in St.
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_00: Louis, and I heard I saw the dancers with all of their dance costumes running around, and I was like, Well, this is cool.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I want to go see the dance competition and snuck away, and sure enough, the studio was there competing.
• 1:00:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like I just wasn't paying attention.
• 1:00:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so I f I actually got to see, you know, the kids compete far away, but the previous owner did do competitions.
• 1:00:55
  SPEAKER_00: My previous dance studio, the one I was talking about, nerdies in Pennsylvania, they did not compete when I went there.
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_00: They do compete now.
• 1:01:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:01:05
  SPEAKER_00: They are a competition studio now.
• 1:01:07
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 1:01:08
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody evolves.
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_00: You you have to, yeah, right.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to keep in reinventing yourself and keeping things fresh and and being cre creative and and you know, continuingly trying to move the bar and keeping everybody inspired.
• 1:01:25
  SPEAKER_03: So with that being said, what do you feel like the future holds for Studio Blue?
• 1:01:31
  SPEAKER_03: Where do you see yourself?
• 1:01:32
  SPEAKER_03: Is there any things coming soon that you're looking forward to?
• 1:01:37
  SPEAKER_03: Or uh new ideas, new opportunities, or where do you see the studio or yourself in 20 years from now?
• 1:01:45
  SPEAKER_03: You've already had 15 under your belt.
• 1:01:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's still very hard to say that I've been here for 15 years since uh I really, really committed to just one year only.
• 1:01:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I remind Miss Arenetta's three wonderful daughters of that all the time as well.
• 1:02:04
  SPEAKER_00: There is a huge senior scholarship that is given each year to a senior here in honor of Miss Serenetta, too.
• 1:02:11
  SPEAKER_00: So where do I see myself in 20 years?
• 1:02:14
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
• 1:02:15
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 1:02:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, definitely have been approached about, you know, having multiple studio blues, and that is not something that I ever ever wanted.
• 1:02:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously I didn't want one.
• 1:02:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, having multiple ones was definitely not.
• 1:02:32
  SPEAKER_00: I just really think that you should try to do kind of like the inn at Little Washington, you know, that restaurant, you know, what an amazing experience and one of the best restaurants in the world, just an hour away from here.
• 1:02:44
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, it's it's one location.
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's you try to do one really well.
• 1:02:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to get back into judging.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_00: I feel guilty when I'm not here on the weekend with the kids, even though I get so much out of judging, so many things, and I love it so much.
• 1:03:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to, you know, maybe get back into that.
• 1:03:05
  SPEAKER_00: But really, I have such a a wonderful mixture here of being able to have such an appreciation for the art while also utilizing my human resources background, you know, having goal sheets for the kids and having them fill out, you know, what are the three things they're going to do to try to help them also achieve that goal along with us.
• 1:03:27
  SPEAKER_00: So there's lots of just different tools and different things.
• 1:03:30
  SPEAKER_00: We have some exciting, you know, things coming up and some dancers that are on that are going to be on some things coming up that we're unable to announce right now.
• 1:03:40
  SPEAKER_00: So that's exciting to be able to continue to have, you know, kids be able to move on and and move on from here.
• 1:03:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm truly happy when kids leave here.
• 1:03:52
  SPEAKER_00: I had mentors that obviously got me out of school somehow and allowed me to do other things and and mentored me and progressed, you know, my training.
• 1:04:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I love when kids are able to leave here as well, even if they're before they're they're seniors, that they're able to to they they still take a piece of of blue with them and they're always a blue, you know, dancer and they always they're always a a part of us here too.
• 1:04:20
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't know in 20 years.
• 1:04:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not I don't know.
• 1:04:24
  SPEAKER_00: I I can't in the blink of an eye, 15 just happened.
• 1:04:28
  SPEAKER_00: So just try to be, you know, continue to innovate and be creative and be able to provide our our our kids more opportunities and you know, have you know, continue to bring in more people to educate them and help them and come up with, you know, more programs here that I think would be beneficial to them.
• 1:04:49
  SPEAKER_04: Love that.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_04: Sweet.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_04: Well, Leslie, feeling good about it?
• 1:04:52
  SPEAKER_01: I am.
• 1:04:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think this was all encompassing.
• 1:04:55
  SPEAKER_03: So inspiring to hear your studio.
• 1:04:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's very I'm really excited about this one for all of our listeners because I feel like that everything that you've you've talked about as far as how Studio Blue runs is very different from a lot of the other spotlight guests that we've had this season.
• 1:05:12
  SPEAKER_03: So I think this will be really a really fun episode for a lot of our listeners to hear a new side of this beautiful dance world and studio life.
• 1:05:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:05:21
  SPEAKER_00: It was truly an honor just speaking with you and being a part of this.
• 1:05:26
  SPEAKER_00: What a what a wonderful whole concept this is, and so much education goes on for so many people by by listening to this.
• 1:05:36
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you both very much.
• 1:05:38
  SPEAKER_00: Of course.
• 1:05:40
  SPEAKER_03: So, Kimberly, how we usually have all of our guests lead us out is with just one final thought, final bit of advice, anything you'd like to share to all the listeners out there, coming from the owner of Studio Blue, Kimberly Rishi.
• 1:05:55
  SPEAKER_00: What I would like to leave everybody with is that while everyone is unique in their own environment, we are so blessed, all of us, to be able to enrich the lives of all of these young children and teach them other things.
• 1:06:15
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to make sure that everyone here from Studio Blue takes a legacy from me of working hard and being kind to everybody.
• 1:06:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that we are all truly blessed to be able to do what it is that we love to do, which is to educate and train our children.
• 1:06:36
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just such a great job that we all have.
• 1:06:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we are all truly grateful to be able to do it.