Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Hansen.
Hi Megan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up dancing on and off through my early years as a child. I really fell in love with dance when I was 12 years old after being placed on my first competition team. I had two inspiring teachers who really loved their students.
They pushed each of us to excel quickly through hard work. I enjoyed being part of a team and expressing myself through the art of dance. Throughout high school, I danced on the Lone Peak High School Drill Team. My coach, Nikki Ames taught me so much about dancing and leadership. She gave me so many opportunities to help me grow. Nikki has a gift of building people up to reach their full potential.
Our team won the State Championship in my Senior Year. It was an amazing highlight of high school. After high school, I continued taking dance classes while in college at Utah Valley University. I was hired as the Head Drill Team Coach at Lone Peak High School while I was in college. I tried my best to follow in Nikki’s footsteps. I had so much help from local dance leaders in my community and together my team saw a lot of success! After coaching for 4 years, My husband and I moved about 30 minutes away and were pregnant with our first daughter. We decided to open my own dance studio in my new community, Saratoga Springs.
We began small, in the basement of my home. The studio quickly grew each year and after 8 years of having the studio in our home, we were able to expand into a beautiful commercial building in Saratoga Springs. I currently work with a staff of 25 amazing women who are passionate about helping their students excel in dance and life!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Owning my own business has been a great fit for me. I absolutely love working with dancers and other women. I enjoy leading others and find a lot of joy in seeing dancers grow up with us.
I also love the business side of running a studio. The greatest challenge I have had over the last 10 years is finding a healthy balance between being a mother to 4 girls, a wife, and a business owner. I have learned that I am at my best when I am able to get support from others! At times I am a bit of a control freak! But having help and learning how to delegate has been a game-changer for me!
As you know, we’re big fans of United Dance Center. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At United Dance Center we teach students ages 3 – 18 years old. We specialize in teaching jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, and hip-hop. We offer both recreational classes and competitive teams. We are known for teaching strong techniques in an uplifting and creative environment. I am most proud of having a fantastic group of teachers who are extremely talented. The teachers I work with are so passionate and go above and beyond to create an amazing experience for their classes.
At United, you will see us working together as a staff to build students up. As the owner, I love being able to stop in classes often to watch dancers light up while dancing. I also focus on parent communication, newsletters, emails, accounting, marketing, web design, and a lot of costuming!!
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I believe an essential quality for a business owner is to be passionate and love what they do.
I have always been a very passionate person and love the feeling of hard work paying off! I believe being passionate and hard-working have helped me most in becoming successful!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.uniteddancecenter.com
- Instagram: @uniteddancecenter
