HOW DANCE SAVED ME

In 2020, I made the difficult decision to give up a career in public education as a school principal to open a studio (with the help of my amazing business partner husband). Why give up a six-figure job to start from scratch? Why become an entrepreneur during the most volatile time in our culture with quarantine/Covid 19?

I had given up teaching dance in 2010 to become a full-time elementary principal. My job was... well, stressful isn't even the right word. I love kids. I love teachers. I love learning. But this was beyond what I was physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of. I poured my heart and soul into it for almost 12 years.

And then when quarantine hit, and I was trying to run my school virtually, something in me started stirring. A need, a longing. I was scrolling through YouTube one day in April 2020 and found a virtual barre class. I was supposed to be looking over student report cards, and I just felt the need to dance. So I dug out my ballet slippers and followed the instructor for 45 minutes. And then I sat on my basement floor and cried. Hard. For how long, I'm not sure. But something in my brain and my heart said, "Amy, this... this is what you need. Why aren't you doing this?"

My story is a lengthy one, and there were many cogs in this wheel that had to align, but align they did, and here I am. Two years later, I am a full-time dance teacher in my own studio. I've never been happier.

I don't know where I would be today if I hadn't happened upon that virtual dance class. I believe there was something at work, knowing I needed dance back in my life. It literally saved me, from depression and anxiety, from monotony, and helped me forge ahead into the dream life I've always wanted.