Inquiry

What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?

Running my own dance academy has brought out qualities in me that I didn't know I possessed.
I am extremely passionate about the school for several reasons and I'm very proud of what it is and hopefully what it will become.

I started out in August with the intention of just running one kids class and one adult class. I put out a few leaflets and posted an advert on our village diary website. The first week just one child turned up for the Ballet/Tap class. I remember walking away feeling really disheartened and ready to give up and throw in the towel. A career in the dance industry is a hard path to take and especially if your trying to set up you own business. I was feeling low and disappointed but my passion for dance took over and pulling my shoulders back I went to teach the class the next week. I'm really glad I did as it went from just being one child to four.
Suddenly every week I had a new child turn up and in just over a month I had a class of ten kids.
It began to feel like I was running a small business. I suddenly had a bit more to organise with bills, invoices, emails and ordering dance uniforms. It was only a one hour class but with preparations and organising this took several hours. I found none of this a chore though. I was earning a little bit of money but it wasn't the money that was making me enthusiastic, it was the fact I could see how my class had grew in the last few weeks and the prospect of what it could become. I loved the fact that the kids really enjoyed the lessons and came back each week but it was also the parents who were really supportive and encouraging.
I set up a website www.rossettdance.co.uk and attended our village festival to spread the word about the dance classes. This helped again in building my numbers.
At Christmas I decided that I would get really serious in advertising the classes but also expand and open new classes. Although my kids class seemed to be a success my adult class was not having the same luck.
I designed a brochure advertising the kids classes and adult classes along with the new timetable and I posted them through all the doors in the village. My persistence and determination surprised me as I had not realised before I could be so passionate about something without anyone telling me to do this or do that. I was doing it all myself. I was making work for myself. I was looking into and exploring ways I could expand my business and then going out and putting these ideas into practice.
My dream came true...Rossett Dance was suddenly no longer just a class but a school.
My kids class more than doubled, I had three adult classes that grew in number and my new classes brought new faces also.
The fact the school has grown bigger obviously doubled my work load in my spare time. It takes me over a few days now to sort out bills, emails, uniforms and letters
But as I said before, this is not something I dread doing or I get frustrated with. I love the fact that the only reason I do have a lot of invoices to write and emails to send is because I have a good amount of students that attend Rossett Dance.

I admire dance schools who have started out the same as me. Setting up a few classes at a village hall and over time growing and expanding and then becoming a big, ever growing, successful school and also a good business. The school I trained at from a young age did exactly that.
My ambition is to be as successful as Tozer Studios (please follow the link for more information- http://www.tozerstudios.co.uk/).
At some point in the future I would like to have my own building where I can set it up how I want and have as many classes running as possible. I want to become known as the school to go to for dance in my area. It is going to be a big step financially and at first I may feel more of a loss than a gain but I hope with persistence, passion and hard work my dream will come true.

I want my academy to be more than just a place for kids to come and dance though. I want it to be a place where adults feel welcome and can come to enjoy dance socially. As I wrote earlier, my adult classes have grown since seriously advertising after Christmas but there is still a lot more room for improvement.
My big question is: How can I attract adults to Rossett Dance? How can I make them feel welcome within my school?

When I first opened Rossett Dance, August 2012

                                   
                                                 

What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?

Dance is one of the hardest careers you can get into.
We start dance from a young age, for example, I started ballet and tap when I was just two years old. From then on I attended classes every single week. It went from once a week, to twice a week to eventually four or five times a week I would be dancing.
I took exams in all styles starting from preparatory up to advanced level. I was involved in festivals and performed in shows and pantomimes to eventually I got to the point where I got accepted into a dance college, The Hammond, where I danced five days a week, 9:00 am to 6:30 pm.
In the last year of college I started auditioning. I graduated from The Hammond and I was still auditioning. Every audition was the same. Hundreds of dancers fighting for a job. Each girl with probably a similar sort of dance background to me just waiting for a chance to achieve their dream.
Eventually, after much hard work, I got a job as a performer with a well known cruise company.

There are two things that I would like to talk about that make me angry, frustrated and sad.

Firstly, I get upset with people who don't understand a dancers world and consider dance as a hobby and not as a profession.

There are people who don't appreciate the hard work that dancers do and the let downs and disappointment that we go through at auditions.
I know it is hard to get a job in any sector due to the times that we are in at the moment, but at least when they are successful in achieving the job/career they want it is acknowledged and understood as a decent, normal and money earning profession.

I am now a qualified dance teacher with the IDTA which is a well established examining board and one that I'm very proud to be apart of. I teach most evenings and every Saturday. My days usually consist of preparing for those classes and working towards higher qualifications in teaching. I don't earn a full time wage but I'm happy because at least I am doing something that I have a passion for.
But as it is part time work and part time money people question why I don't have a "normal" job. I am sure if I was to say I had a full time job as a receptionist or shop assistant a lot of people I know would say 'well done, at last you have a job!' but if I was to say that I had received an offer to work evenings for a big dance school, I am sure that this would not be seen in the same light and as easily praised. It seems ridiculous as I have been working twenty three years to get to the point where I can have a career in dance, not as a shop worker!

The qualifications I have are not really understood by people who are not in the dancing world. This is one of the reasons why I decided to start the BAPP course with Middlesex University. I plan to go on to gain a PGCE and at least then this qualification should not be questioned.

Secondly, what frustrates me is I feel that sometimes as dancers we don't get the help and support we need to lead us down the right path.

As young dancers all we know is that we want to become a performer or a teacher. To dance in the West End and tour the world or teach in a well established school or college. We attend a dance school, take exams, move onto a college, start auditioning and achieving qualifications but all the while thinking is this going to work?

I personally feel I didn't get enough support, careers advice and answers from teachers in school and college to guide me down the right route for where I wanted to go.

Eventually, at twenty five years of age and after twenty three years of training I feel that I know where I am heading. The qualifications I will gain in the next couple of years will enable me to get that full time teaching job in a college that I have wanted ever since I was eighteen.

To me it has been like being in a maze, going in different directions, seeing which way will lead me on further or which will just end abruptly, maybe with a qualification but not with an answer or clue as to how I can reach my destination.

Sadly, after a lot of stumbling around in the dark a lot of dancers grow tired and disheartened of not getting anywhere and they give up their dream. If they had the answers then maybe they would be able to begin the climb on the ladder to the career they want in dance.

A friend of mine from college never gave up. She knew she wanted a career in dance, her love being ballet and after so much hard work she has now begun her journey touring in a National Ballet. I really admire this friend and I am confident that she will keep on climbing the ladder to success.

What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?

To become a teacher after performing was always the plan.
To love teaching and it being one of the biggest passions of my life I didn't anticipate.
This only happened last year after returning from a seven month contract touring America.

After performing professionally I matured as a person and dancer and this affected me as a teacher. I felt confident within myself and that I could deliver classes the students would love and learn from. Being confident in your own ability does wonders. As I have matured with age and experience I have improved as a teacher and because I am confident in my ability I love what I do.

I enjoy entering the studio not knowing exactly how the class could go. It could be hard work and stressful and by the end of it I feel I haven't got through as many things as I wanted. Or it could be the opposite and I have achieved more than expected. Either way, it is always a positive feeling I get as I know the students are progressing and learning and that is through me and my teaching.
I love that students ask me questions and fully respect my opinions as a teacher. I always recall me when I was a student and the respect I felt towards my dance teachers. I aim to be like one of those teachers that I felt a big respect for and that a student can rely on for support and mentoring.

Rosalind Renouf, a friend and mentor is somebody I admire for their passion in teaching. She manages her school completely for the love of dance and not for any financial purpose. (Please visit her page for more information - http://www.deanrowdancing.co.uk/)

What do you feel you don't understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?

At the moment my big question is will I eventually be able to make a living from solely teaching dance?

Currently, I teach about fifteen hours a week and for that amount of time I do earn a good amount of money, but it is not a wage I can live off forever.
My aim is to build up my dance academy with 100 to 200 students and to eventually teach in a dance college. I hope that my academy will be an ever growing profitable business and that my dream of earning a job in a good college come true.

Until that point though, this question remains unanswered.

A school I teach for in Warrington run a successful business. They deliver brilliant classes that the students enjoy but they also deal with the business side of things professionally to ensure it works financially. (Please follow the link for more information - http://www.stageproacademy.co.uk/)