How ‘The Brainy Ballerina’ was Born
Welcome to The Brainy Ballerina® Blog! Since the very beginning of The Brainy Ballerina®, I have wanted to start a blog. It’s FINALLY happening! 🥳 I have so much helpful content coming your way…but before I dive into the nitty gritty, I wanted to share with you how The Brainy Ballerina® was born!
The idea for The Brainy Ballerina® came to me where all my good ideas come…in the shower 🚿
But before we get in to that…let me go back.
After a 9-year career as a professional ballet dancer (the last 7 of which I spent dancing with Missouri Contemporary Ballet), I retired from the stage in June 2018. Stepping out of my role as a dancer with MCB was challenging, but I truly felt ready to take the next step in my career.
I had my path all laid out for me: After 4 years serving as Director of the School of MCB while also dancing full-time, I would finally be in a place to focus my energy on making all my big plans for the school a reality. Plus, I was also stepping into a new role as Associate Executive Director of MCB. Honestly, I could not have been more excited to take on this next phase of my career.
And then two months after I retired…everything changed. My husband got an amazing job offer. In an entirely different state. After lots of discussion about where we saw our future going, we made the tough choice to move.
I had to give up the career I had worked so hard for.
We moved in the middle of the school year, so my options as a Dance Educator were limited. But I was sure I wanted to continue working in the ballet world (it’s all I knew!), so I took a job working as an Academy Administrator for a local ballet school. And I HATED it. (To be clear…I loved the school I was working for and still think it is an amazing place. It’s just that full-time administration was NOT the job for me.)
I missed teaching so much. I would sit at my desk in the lobby listening to the classes going on all night and wishing so badly that I could be the one in the front of the classroom. So I started trying to figure out a way I could fill that huge missing piece in my life while still staying in my current position (I really needed the job!).
And that takes us back to the shower. I’d been mulling over business ideas for weeks, but nothing was clicking. And that’s when it came to me like someone had lit a lightbulb over my head.
💡The Brainy Ballerina
It just made sense. My entire career as a dance educator was built on my passion for training not just strong and technical dancers, but smart dancers. Dancers who are curious, capable, sharp, aware, diligent and thoughtful. So what if I wasn’t teaching in a studio? I could still find ways to pass along my knowledge and give dancers the tools they need to succeed!
And that’s how The Brainy Ballerina® was born. I started exclusively with an online shop filled with printable resources for aspiring ballerinas and dance educators who were seeking a deeper level of education. I spent every spare moment creating resources including terminology flashcards, worksheets for learning stage directions and ballet history, and easy-to-follow summaries of classical ballets. I wasn’t sure if anyone else was going to see the value in what I was producing…but with over 180 sales in just 2 years, I know now these resources are SO needed.
Since that day in 2019, The Brainy Ballerina® has grown more than I ever imagined. I’ve added tons more printable resources to my arsenal. With the power of Zoom, I’ve hosted workshops and provided career mentoring services to dancers all over the world.
I can confidently say…this is just the beginning. I have BIG plans for The Brainy Ballerina®, and I cannot wait to share it all with you!
I am so happy to have you along for this crazy ride. Be sure to follow The Brainy Ballerina® on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and Pinterest…I’m constantly putting out helpful tips and tricks for ballet dancers and teachers! If you’re ready to go all in…my mailing list is always the first to gain access to everything I have coming up. And of course, subscribe to The Brainy Ballerina® blog to be alerted when a new post goes live…I’ve got so much to share with you!
Happy dancing!
💛Caitlin
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