Winds of Change

Well I was supposed to have my first lesson since shut down tonight. Spoiler alert – it didn’t happen. I’m not totally shocked because I knew OwnerGuy had to confirm with Mini and it turns out there are still some things keeping her from coming back to the studio right away.

But that’s not the only thing that’s happening. OwnerGuy also let me know that JoNY was leaving the studio. I mentioned she had bugged out of here at the start of lock down. After a couple of months away, she ended up coming to the decision that she needs to go in a different direction so she won’t be coming back.

This is the downside of going to a Famous Franchise. I think it takes a lot to decide to turn this into a career and my guess is that unless you are interested in competition or want to get into studio ownership/management, it just isn’t a path that a lot of people are going to follow. I mean if you are the pro part of a pro/am, you are working and it is hard on the body.

Yes, this throws me for a loop and puts the whole dance plan up in the air. Now, I’m not going to say that all is merry and bright because losing a teacher you’ve built up a relationship with sucks. I will say that it is a little less devastating than when Kid T left. I can’t say why. I just go by how it feels.

OwnerGuy also spoke with Z who seems to be willing to step in this time. As he said, we are both in different places than we were when we worked together. Its an option. I’m still not sure that her style really works for me. Plus, she’s super busy with her competitive students so I’m not sure how easy it would be to find times.

If Mini decides to come back and stick around, then that is a more viable option. Don’t know what we would do with the various patterns I’ve been learning with JoNY or what dances I would continue forward with. Lots of things to think about.

Is leaving the Famous Franchise an option? I did try out the other studio and I know a few people there. I think part of the problem before was trying to work with two studios. I spent most of my time with the Famous Franchise and that didn’t leave me enough time to really feel like part of the other studio. If I did make the move, I could take advantage of their group classes. Of course, with the COVID monster, they are also only doing private lessons so it isn’t an option now.

And, I haven’t been able to dance in over two months and my world hasn’t ended. Could I just walk away? I mean it is an option to consider. Lets call it the least likely outcome but you kind of have to sometimes take a step back and wonder if they universe is sending you a message. I mean things sometimes happen for a reason. The challenge is not always knowing what that reason is. Again, it would be unlikely because I still want to dance. But I’m in a place where I can say walk away without totally freaking out so I have to put it in the decision matrix.

It sucks but then life has basically sucked since March so why should this be any different.

I do have to give JoNY a lot of credit. She stepped up to take over after Kid T left and we had a successful run. The highlight is probably our Fox Trot routine we did at the last Showcase. It is always sad when a dance teacher exits the building. It creates a hole that eventually gets filled although in a different way. Such is the life at a Famous Franchise.