There are no real secrets to success it is the end result of working very hard, having excellent preparation and being willing to learn from all failures. It is not pleasant to fail in any venture but if you can step beyond it and realize that you are capable of moving forward despite having failed then you will find yourself on the road to success. When Steve and I were performing with our adagio act we would continually rehearse on the lifts in our act or work on new combinations of lifts and sometimes things would go wrong and we would say to each other, "That was amazing!" "What happened?" It was exciting to know that out of something going wrong a more beautiful and exciting lift had been created! Once you understand that there really is no failure and you are willing and able to adapt until you get it right, the sky is the limit!
Owning and operating a dance studio is quite a complex business because in order to be successful you have to be willing to take calculated risks, be true to yourself and your passion and be willing to surround yourself with the best quality people in your faculty and staff that you can find. You also have two clients and it is important to please both. Every year that you are in business there will be success stories and others that you would rather forget about but the key is not to dwell on those moments but simply to understand that they helped you to see the light and shown you ways that you can strengthen and improve your business.
As dancers we fail over and over again! How many times must a dancer fall out of their pirouette before they learn how to hold their bodies correctly so that it can rotate successfully? How often does a dancer throw themselves into a turn or leap and fails miserably by falling into a heap on the ground? I always applaud my dancers when they are willing to go for it, to try something that they are afraid of not being able to do, to be willing to feel uncomfortable because I know those are the dancers that are going to be successful.
So much emphasis is put on our students at school to pass examinations and so little on experiencing the mode of learning and learning from. We have a wonderful opportunity to let our students know that although we all like to have high grades and do well in school and dance and life it is also okay to fail as long as we are willing to learn from it. Just as in competitions there is a panel of judges who give their opinion, it is only feedback and whether your dancers get the highest award or just wish they had, it is an opportunity for them to listen to the feedback and be grateful for the lesson they can learn from it. We all know it is not about winning but it certainly does beat losing! You, your staff and faculty and your students can all benefit from failing from time to time, sure it can hurt but it forces us to push forward past boundaries that didn't need to be there in the first place. It leads us to a place of healthy growth, a win- win situation for all!
