Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Gallagan.
Hi Julie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve been dancing my entire life (since age 3). I have always loved dance so much and when I was facing high school graduation, I couldn’t imagine a future without dance in it!
I decided to pursue dance as a major at Otterbein University. I had the time of my life and learned so much during my four years of college. I got to do a lot of performing and choreography during those years. I learned from so many talented and amazing people.
Shorty before graduation, I took a teaching job at a near by studio and from 1996-2016 I taught at several area studios around central Ohio. I even started and grew my own competition line within one of those studios.
In 2016, the opportunity presented itself for me to open my own studio. This was something I had dreamt of since I was a little girl. I am so thankful every day to have my own studio, a place where dancers and their families can feel welcomed. I love the family atmosphere and nurturing environment of my studio.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Owning a business is certainly not all sunshine and rainbows. As a studio owner, the hardest thing to overcome during these last 9 years has definitely been the pandemic. We weren’t allowed to have in person classes for several months, which forced us into online classes. The whole dance industry was a mess for several years do to the effects of COVID. Thankfully we survived!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a business owner and a teacher, I’d say what I’m most proud of is the family atmosphere at my studio. It’s the ability to draw a child in from their first class and make them feel that they belong here. Young dancers come to our studio once and they want to come back again and again. They’ve had fun learning, they feel seen and loved. I attribute this to our small class sizes and committed and caring staff.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The biggest change I see is kids wanting to be in front of screens much more than they used to. As long as parents continue to combat that with wanting to get their kids up, moving and exposed to the arts, our industry will always thrive! Dance has its way of finding the kids who are just meant to dance. I just hope that some of those kids always continue to find us!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://devdanceco.com/
- Instagram: développé.dance.company
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/17B1zUfJqM/?mibextid=wwXIfr
