All Feet Can Dance

So here we are, the middle of July and finally coming to the end of my first season with Absolute Dance Inc and also as a newcomer to the city of Calgary.  The past year was wonderful.  I left Ontario in June of 2010, to come work for Absolute and dragged my husband along with me.  Circumstances demanded Erika and Meaghan to put a lot of trust in me and I also had to go on the great reviews from colleagues since I was unable to come out to Calgary to check things out myself.  Turns out I couldn't have been happier with the result.  Absolute Dance offers a unique studio setting where fun, friendship and laughter are the backdrop to the daily grind of studio life.

Having a few dance gigs under my belt (and some not so great), my husband can attest to the fact that no matter how terrible the situation, I find it impossible not to get attached to my students, young and old.  Even after teaching summer camps that are a week long, you recognize a student's abilities and weaknesses and take them on as your own.  When your students struggle, you take that on and when they succeed it brings a feeling that is hard to beat.  I have found myself in a career that, despite the ups and downs, brings so much happiness and fulfillment to my life.  Like every other work experience, I have grown attached to the people and students I have met here in Calgary only this time it's different since I know there is a future here for me.  The thought of working with the people I have met over the course of several years is exciting and inspiring to me.

In March, Absolute joined forces with Living Social and offered an incredible online promotion for our Adult Dance and Fitness classes.  We had a huge response and had to work fast to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate all the extra people.  As a teacher, I was a bit nervous at the thought of teaching different people each week and having to juggle a wide range of abilities in the same class.  It was a challenge but, as usual, after the first couple of weeks, we all seemed to ease into the routine.  I must say that over the course of the last four months there have been many people that I would have loved to have had in my class on a regular basis.  What really impressed me was how many people had the courage to come into a class they knew nothing about and participate fully with no judgement of themselves and a completely open mind.  Starting up in dance as an adult is not an easy thing to do and I applaud anyone who makes the effort to take themselves out of their comfort zone.  I also met a lot of people who were "seizing the day".  They had always wanted to try dance but never could as a kid and now was their chance to have a go at it.  The promotion brought large numbers to our classes which increased the energetic atmosphere at the studio and brought a sense of community.  There really is nothing better than standing in a crowd of 20 people, working through a fluid port de bras, or peeking in on a Hip Hop class with blasting music and sweating bodies moving in unison.

So as the promotion comes to a close I know I am not the only one that hopes to see many of those people come through our doors again.  I know that many will simply carry on to the next deal but at least I hope that their experience with us sparked some interest and appreciation for dance and that our visitors, like me, realized that all feet can dance.