To The Pointe

Eight years ago I had just graduated from BYU with my degree in dance education.  If I was staying in Utah I would have been able to get a job as a full time dance teacher in the schools.  However, we knew we were moving to Wisconsin, where that was not an option for me.  All of the girls in my program who wanted jobs were getting them, all in Utah, and I was the only one leaving.  I was very excited for our Wisconsin adventure, but for multiple reasons, I was having a hard time even bringing myself to look for a job out here.

Richard, being the good husband that he is, started taking matters into his own hands.  He took to the internet to search for dance job postings in Wisconsin, and then looking on maps to see where the studios were located.  I talked to a few studio owners on the phone while we were still in Utah, and it always ended up becoming apparent in the conversation that I was not someone they were looking for and I would not be a good fit in their studio.  These were competition based studios who mostly wanted jazz teachers.  I was neither interested or educated in those aspects of dance.  

In July Richard found a studio called To The Pointe in Hartland, Wisconsin, 30 minutes west of where we would be living.  They were looking for a dance teacher.  We exchanged a few emails and I talked to the owner, Nina, on the phone one evening.  The conversation went great and I hung up the phone and bounded out of my bedroom with relief and excitement.  This had potential.  The owner was leaving on vacation after we talked, so she arranged for me to have a phone interview with two other teachers at the studio a few days later.  I remember that day well.  I was a nervous wreck.  I was cleaning houses at the time and I had told my boss I had a phone interview that afternoon and I would need to step outside for a bit when they called.  I still remember the house I was at when my phone rang, I remember going outside and sitting under a tree.  These two women, Sally and Lori, were so nice to talk to.  My nerves quickly calmed and we had another great conversation.  

We arrived in Milwaukee on August 1, 2007.  The very next day, August 2nd, Richard and I and my mother-in-law got in the car and drove to Hartland so I could interview in person.  I am pretty sure I spent three hours there, talking, discussing, meeting people and seeing the studio.  We set up two days for me to teach some classes for them so they could observe.  The classes went great, they offered me the job, and I accepted.  That was the start of wonderful years at To The Pointe.  

I was able to teach at To The Pointe all four years Richard was in medical school.  They were so kind to accommodate me as my schedule and hours changed when I became a mom to Marshall, and a mom to Bridget, and as we balanced Richard's hectic schedule.  I was given performance opportunities, which I am so thankful for and had so much fun doing.  I was even able to work in the schools as opportunities presented themselves.  Those were long and exhausting days, trying to get middle school students to find the art in dance, but they were also very rewarding.

After four years I needed a break.  I felt burned out as a teacher and as a new mom to two kids.  Once Richard started residency I quit, but still continued to sub and perform as our family schedule would allow.  After a three year break, and one more baby, I decided to come back for a year.  Richard was incredibly supportive of this, even though that meant he was both mom and dad on Monday nights.  

Going back to work this last year made my Mondays crazy.  But, once 4:00 rolled around and I was in the car on my way to work, I was so happy.  It was wonderful, and fun, and therapeutic, and refreshing to be moving, creating, dancing, and teaching again.  It was fun to form more relationships with these girls and their moms.  It was fun to see them work hard, progress, take correction, improve, and try new things.  I spent the entire last recital show in the wings wondering if I should come back for one more year before we move away.  I wrestled with that decision for a weekend.  But, I kept reminding myself that for now, this needed to be it.  We have a fun, but also stressful year ahead of us, and I can't add one more thing to the mix.

I am so grateful for my experience at To The Pointe.  It has given me so many opportunities I never expected when I moved out here.  I have also met so many incredible people.  Talented and smart teenage girls and wonderful and supportive moms who have shown so much kindness to me and my family.  Not to mention the faculty I have been able to work with at To The Pointe.  Some have come  and gone in my years here, but some are the same.  Regardless, these teachers, dancers, and educators are top notch.  I've learned much from them as a teacher, but I have also so valued their friendship.  We have enjoyed teaching together, dancing together, problem solving together, brainstorming together, venting together, and laughing together.  I will forever be thankful for these people and experiences.  

To The Pointe, and all you dancers and teachers, past and present, thank you for eight remarkable years.