Kicking Off Season 23
Season 23 at MDU … I could have NEVER imagined what this year would look like!
Now that we’ve gotten started with classes, I’ve had some time to reflect over the many changes we’ve implemented and what the future might hold.
Looking around the studio and seeing our staff and students back in action, I can’t help but feel a lump in my throat and a few tears in my eyes. I’m imagining where I was 23 years ago, just getting started. I’m feeling the weight of responsibility, to ensure my team has a safe place to work. I’m loving the joyful expressions I can sense under our kids’ masks, their eyes lighting up at being back in the classroom.
It is a jumble of emotions, amplified by the new normal we are living and working and learning in. But most of all, I think, I am proud of where we stand now. And not just as MDU, but as a leader to our network of More Than Just Great Dancing!® studios. Together we are all proving that it is possible to gradually, cautiously, safely dance in-person again.
Since the pandemic swept us all up in its tidal wave in the spring, we have emerged stronger than ever. It’s taken a HUGE effort and commitment by our staff and our dance families, but I believe we are here now, serving up the transformative power of dance, because of how we reacted and persevered all those months ago.
And since then, we’ve made more pivots than I can count … certainly more than I would ever choreograph!
We’ve become tech-enabled, making it possible for our students who want (or need) to continue learning from home to do so in a streamlined way.
We’ve been wearing masks, following our Safer Studio™ measures and doing our part to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
We’ve made changes to our curriculum across genres and levels, to ensure all our lessons and positive reinforcements are no-contact.
We’ve updated our facility to set up a traffic flow conducive to physical distancing, and we’ve closed certain parts of our space to avoid gatherings.
We’ve kept our employees working, and even hired new ones, including alumni! Their work has, perhaps, more meaning than ever nowadays.
We’ve opened our Third Option™ Learning Hub, supporting local families AND local schools by offering a way for kids to learn and study while their parents go back to work.
We’ve adapted our way of thinking. We know, for example, that we’ll provide meaningful performance experiences this year, even if we don’t know exactly what they’ll look like yet.
In an industry that has been turned upside down in many ways because of the pandemic, I could not be MORE PROUD of the way we are paving a path forward for our staff, students, families, and fellow dance studios. While we wouldn’t have ASKED to make so many changes, we have CHOSEN to view the future through the lens of opportunity.
Where do you see opportunity in your business these days? With as much as we entrepreneurs have been through these past several months, I believe that our personal and professional growth will continue based on our attitude and our actions.
I am grateful for another dance season to lift up our community and bring joy into our students’ lives. It may look different, but perhaps that makes it even more special. <3
Love, Misty
