Your Studio Will Never Be The Same. Here's Why.
Life is very different now from what it was a month ago.
COVID swept into our lives suddenly, demanding attention, disrupting our established way of doing things; forcing us to think on our feet, adapt, and implement new strategies in an attempt to keep calm and dance on.
They say you can’t teach a new dog old tricks, but COVID has all our asses in business bootcamp.
No matter what stance you and your business have taken in the wake of this global pandemic, we’ve all been forced to think outside the box, get creative, and flex our resiliency muscles. No matter whether your dance studio is now offering online classes, or if you’ve shut your doors to wait it out, your studio will never be the same.
When the dust settles, when we can hug our students, laugh with our staff, put our hands back on the studio barre and hear class music pumping out of big speakers rather than our tinny phones, it will be a beautiful thing, but it will never be the same.
When the dancers come back to class, they won’t be the same people they were when they left. They’ll have physical differences, sure - they might be a bit taller, or have (regretfully DIY’d) quarantine bangs, but their insides will be different too. They’ll still be in mourning - grieving for the performances and competitions they missed, the weeks of not being able to connect with their friends and teachers, and yet… they’ll be stronger. Their inner teachers will be bolstered. Their hearts and minds even more ready to be opened, and ready to receive. Their eyes will be watching you from a fresh perspective, their ears will be longing to hear your words forming both the old, and the new corrections.
And you, my friend. You won’t be the same teacher when you get back.
You too, will arrive back in the studio stronger, wiser, more resilient. You are the walking, talking, breathing evidence that you can do hard things. That your mind can hold every challenge, and match it with every solution. That your heart can hold every sorrow, and match it with every joy.
That you can stare fear dead in the eyes, and say, ‘I won’t be broken.’ That your love for your students, your community, your staff, and for dance is un-freaking-paralleled. Each night, when you walk away from class, or lock the studio doors behind you, there will be new meaning to the phrase, ‘I did the best I could.’
None of us will be the same people. None of our businesses will be the same.
And that’s a good thing.
COVID has broken us down, and as we put the pieces back together, it would be a waste to not see the opportunity to rebuild into something better, stronger, and more beautiful than before. Can we put ourselves back together gently, knowing that our experiences during this crisis have revealed who we really are, what we really value, and how fiercely we show up for what we value.
We can allow this to define us, paralyze us, and harden us, or we can allow it to change us.
This is a chance to redefine who you want to be in the world, and what you want your impact to be. This is a chance to redefine your studio, what you want it to be in the world, and what you want its impact to be.
Things won’t ever be the same. Here’s to claiming the beauty of that.