Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Adams.
Hi Jamie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always loved dance. I was never the best dancer, but dancing made me happy. I loved the freedom of movement, the chance to leave my worries behind for a while and just be in the moment. I loved the feeling of accomplishment as I mastered a challenging skill. I was able to get a scholarship for college thanks to dance. I studied business management and childhood development. I kept dancing through college- you couldn’t keep me away. It was too much a part of who I am.
Twenty-five years ago I was teaching dance classes at studios around the valley and juggling caring for my children. I was unhappy with the culture of these studios. I wanted something different for my children. They both showed an interest in the performing ats and I wanted to support that. After a lot of discussion with my husband, he encouraged me to start my own studio. He finished a little dance room in the basement of our little home on Blossom Street. I wanted to create a space where children could feel loved and could gain confidence as they learned to dance, tumble, sing, and act.
I had hoped to teach a few neighborhood kids and maybe down the road I could grow into a bigger space. With the support of kind neighbors and our wonderful community my little studio grew quickly. We were able to hire additional teachers and the business exploded. We quickly outgrew the tiny in-home studio we had built. We got to a point that the business was taking over our home. We knew we needed to downsize the business or go all in and get it out of the house. My husband encouraged me to try expanding outside our home. We agreed that if we didn’t try we would always wonder “what if?” We were also aware that we could fail big time. It was scary.
Well we found the right people to help us move forward and found the right place to build our facility. In 2017 we moved into our beautiful, new, state of the art building. It was amazing! A dream come true! and so scary! Eight years later we are still here. we survived Covid and the aftermath. We are growing and thriving. We have a fantastic staff of talented like-minded instructors who believe in my vision and help maintain the culture of love and kindness that we worked so carefully to create.
Our programs are growing, and our students are thriving. We have had an interesting adventure as we have built and grown this business. My dreams and plans for the future are big and exciting. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I believe that overcoming challenges makes us stronger and it makes us realize what’s really important. We have had our fair share of challenges. When the studio was in our home it had benefits and challenges. It was so great to work from home, to create my own schedule and to be able to be with my kids. As things grew it became challenging to have people in our house all the time. We got so busy. I needed help. I couldn’t manage it all by myself. Learning to hire and manage employees was both challenging and rewarding. Making the decision to move the business outside our home was a hard and scary decision to make.
Once we were no longer a home based business so many rules changed for us. There were so many more expenses too. We have continued to learn and grow from these challenges.
Covid was a crazy challenge. Knowing my employees and students were looking to me for answers was a lot of pressure. I worried about our studio families and wanted to help them in any way I could. Needing to shut down right before our end of season recital was really hard. When we were able to reopen and I saw our students back in classes again I cried tears of joy. I love and adore each of our students. They are so important to me. I had missed them. We were able to put on our recital in the summer and most of the families were able to join us for that.
The recession afterwards was another challenge. Trying to keep things going as the cost of everything skyrocketed was not easy. When times are hard, services like ours are often cut from families budgets. Thats pretty challenging.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Gotta Dance offers a variety of classes such as Ballet, Pointe, Creative Dance, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Breakdance, Ballroom, Contemporary, Acro, Tumbling, Toddler Classes, Musical Theater, Combo Classes, and classes for special needs students. We also offer Adult dance and fitness classes!
The performing arts creates connection and joy. By working to reach goals, students gain self discipline and confidence. The ongoing friendships made in these classes is priceless. This joy, confidence, and sense of belonging is what we strive to create for our students and staff at Gotta Dance.
Our goal is to showcase the wonderful talents of the children and youth in our community and to do so in an loving and safe environment, to promote the healthy self expression, and to encourage the acceptance and safety of all.
At Gotta Dance, we guard against the sexualization of youth by keeping our movement, music, and costumes age appropriate, clean, and modest. We work hard to create a family friendly and loving environment where everyone feels welcome.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
You never know what you are capable of unless you try. Don’t let fear hold you back. Confidence comes from action. Do the thing that scares you. You can do it! It might not be easy but it’ll be worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gottadanceut.com
- Instagram: gottadance_em_ut
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/gottadanceut
