When Dreams Come True

I have always been a dancer. Since the day I could walk on my own two legs it seemed there was nothing more I wanted to do than dance. My Mom put me into ballet at the tender age of three and from day one I was hooked.

When I was nine years old I moved across the country, from Edmonton to Toronto, to attend Canada's National Ballet School. I will go more into detail about this period of my life in later posts as it shaped me in so many ways but for now, all you need to know is that I was there. After graduation I danced for a year with the National Ballet of Canada before joining the Hamburg Ballet in Germany. This was another life altering experience for me in many ways and after 7 years there, a back injury brought me back home to Canada to dance for the Alberta Ballet. I was a dancer there for five years but after the birth of my first child, I decided it was time to move on to something else. The question was... what?

I tried a few different things and spent some time at university working toward a bachelor of education degree but nothing seemed to feel "right". I missed the smell of the studio, the camaraderie between the dancers, and any chance to be backstage in a theatre. I felt a piece of me was missing and I badly wanted that part of myself back.

Before I left my life as a professional ballet dancer, I had been thinking about teaching. It was an idea that never left me while I was trying other things and eventually it became my way back into the world I so loved and missed. I started teaching at the Alberta Ballet Company and doing some guest teaching at schools around Alberta and in Japan. I really loved being able to share my knowledge and experience with the next generation of young dancers but I knew that I wanted to be my own boss and have a say in how the school I taught at would be shaped and the type of environment there would be. The stars eventually seemed to align when my husband, also a dancer, retired form Alberta Ballet and our old colleague Tara did that same year too. We decided the time was right and and so we opened the H/W School of Ballet here in Calgary, Alberta.

What an adventure it has been. Some of it good, some of it great, and some of it downright frustrating and difficult! It was such a steep learning curve for all of us. We had the dancing part down but it was everything else that was overwhelming to say the least. Negotiating a lease space, marketing our new studio, accounting, scheduling, contracts and hiring staff, putting on and managing performances and the list goes on. My dream of having my own studio had come true but the reality of it was somewhat of a challenge. There were many times I wished I had someone to talk to who understood what I was going through or who could give me advice but sadly, that wasn't the case. Of course I had my family and friends but I needed to hear from people in the industry. Others who had embarked on this same journey who would be willing to share their experiences in an honest way.

I don't claim to be an expert. I am still learning as I go and continue to experience the highs and lows of running a business, trying to balance work and home life, and now, keeping things going in a pandemic! I still have days where I feel overwhelmed and overworked but I wanted to share my journey with you in hopes that if you are going through any of these same issues, or thinking about turning your dream into reality, you have someone to connect with. I will be sharing ideas about ballet technique and teaching strategies, stories of the business and our successes and failures, insight into the life of a professional dancer and studio owner, and the stories of a woman trying to be a good teacher, a good leader, and a good mom. I hope you enjoy and please send me your thoughts and stories or let me know if there is anything you would like to hear about.

Galien xo