EMPOWERING children at North Shore Dance Studio
ABOUT ME [FUTURE GEMS]
Let me tell you a little story about me… I started dancing when I only a little girl, 3 years old and a budding ballerina at heart. I was obsessed with pink, kid high heels and dressing up as a princess. I couldn’t wait to twirl up on the stage in a beautiful tutu like the big ballerinas. So what did I do? I nagged mum to start me in dance lessons (sound familiar?! I thought so! 😉)
I was only 4 or 5 years old when I was entered into my first Ballet exam and I adored being the star in our concert performance. I still remember the first dance I ever did – we started skipping onstage in different coloured flower tutus (mine was yellow) dancing to the all time classic “raindrops keep falling on my head” Then I got the results of my exam – I passed! But here comes the first hurdle…… My mum was convinced that the next level of dancing was the progression to pointe shoes (yeah right mum, at the tender age of 6!!!)
Now, I was born with a genetic condition that affects the bone structure in my feet. Essentially it stops me getting onto a full rise, alters my balance and weakens the structural support in my toes. (a perk is that it gives me a killer arch which is amazing when doing tendues!) I was told that if I ever went on pointe, I would collapse as my feet would not be able to support me.
So I stopped dancing for a few years. I missed it and wanted to start back, so I did but this time in some other styles as well as Ballet. By 10, I was determined to run my own dance studio and started creating business plans, timetables and enrolment forms (I was an ambitious kid!) Well of course, I had people say “you won’t be able to do that… What’s your back up plan? How are you going to afford that?” So stubborn me became DETERMINED to do this as well as to go en pointe. I made it my personal mission to empower children to dream and believe that they can achieve it. I worked my way up; training on pointe and competing in eisteddfods. I started assisting dance classes and then taking on my own. I became qualified, started this studio and continue to grow everyday. I am living the dream ✨
ABOUT YOU [OUR DREAM FAMILIES]
You, the person reading this, are so different to the hundreds of others reading this. I can bet, that if you have two kids, they are also entirely different. No two beings are the same. We have different motivators, different beliefs, different passions and different dreams. What led you to our page, is probably very different to the next person that comes along. You might have a little girl that has been nagging every second day if she can do dance classes. You might have a child that really struggles socially and so you want to develop those particular skills. Maybe you have a particularly shy little one and you want something that can help bring their confidence out.
Your child will also have a very different reason for why they want to come to dance class. For some, they have seen Emma dancing on stage and want to be just like her. Maybe they have dreamt of dancing en pointe like the big ballerinas. Maybe their best friend does dancing and so they now want to try it. Or maybe they have seen tap shoes and think it would be cool to wear high heels (I have heard that one before)
Whatever the reasons may be, we as your child’s mentor, will guide and empower them to achieve their full potential. We will spark their imagination and the possibilities that are within them. We will encourage them to dream big and will support them in whatever their heart desires. Whether they dream of one day being a doctor, or one day teaching dance to kids. Whether they dream of travelling the world or conquering poverty; we will support them.
Regardless of whether this comes from a 3 year old or a 14 year old – we will never belittle their dreams and ideas – because when you do that, you limit the possibilities which otherwise would’ve been endless. No matter how bizarre their dreams may seem, we will always empower them to imagine what it would be like and to feel the power of dreaming. Because, once upon a time, I was that little girl, dreaming of running a dance studio. I was encouraged to follow my dreams and not listen to those that belittled them and so here I am; empowering others to do the same.
ABOUT US [YOU AND ME TOGETHER]
As your child dances their way through our Stages of Learning, their goals and desires will change and our expectations of our students also change. As they head into our final stage ‘Graduate Gems’ featuring our Diamond Level, they will reach a whole new level of empowerment where opportunities present themselves to lead and guide those below them. At this stage as they embark on high school, we redefine what our goals are in life and as teachers, we help empower them to achieve those goals.
However, where it becomes really special, is when these students do a full circle and are completely empowered through our Assistant Teacher Leadership Program and then begin the process of instilling our core values of Inclusiveness, Friendships, Confidence, Family and Empowerment, to our younger students. As a result of this, our squad dancers also feel a whole new sense of these values and the bonds they form with each other and also their students, is truly spectacular.
We empower them to help in the decision making processes of the studio. They form our SRC team to help bring new and exciting ideas to the studio. They become senior squad buddies for their younger students and help bring community and connection through our specialised holiday events. All of these things, help to bring about after school and employable skills and truly make them valuable members of society.
Whether these students end up in a teaching career or not. That’s not what is important. It’s their ability to take initiative, to wear a uniform with pride, to be on time to events, to communicate with adults and children alike, to lead a group with confidence, to be organised and disciplined and finally to work as a team. We empower our students to be leaders of tomorrow.
We are excited to be enrolling for the new year. Please get in touch if you are interested in getting started and we’d love to have a chat and see if we are the right fit for you!
Simply fill out an enquiry form below and we will be in touch to get to know you and your family a little bit better.
