Can you believe it, we are celebrating our 10th year anniversary and the dance school continues to grow from strength to strength! As we approach this amazing milestone, we have taken the time to reflect over the years and wow what a reflection it has been!
Interestingly enough, Miss C kept a journal at the beginning of her journey, so whilst she is celebrating her mum's birthday in London, we thought we would share an insert from her journal, 10 years ago (don’t worry, we asked her permission).
Insert 1:
I was the typical girly girl, all in pink and loved anything that sparkled. As like the majority of children, I myself fell in love with dancing. At the age of 3 I was enrolled in the Manor School of Ballet where I danced my way through various styles of dance, including jazz, tap, modern highland and ballet. I took part in everything the Manor had to offer including various performances and all examinations. Even though I loved to dance, when I turned 14 I gave up dancing to concentrate on my new found love, being a teenager.
As a teenager I was not the typical girly girl but more like Kevin the teenager. I found the world to be a very dull and boring place and detested school. Unfortunately I was always in trouble and didn’t stick in. When I turned 16 and the leave from school was an opportunity, I took this with welcoming arms. Even though I was not the hardest working at school, I was throughout my career. I obtained a qualification within business administrator through my apprenticeship and continued with this role within various companies. As I loved my job I found myself to be a very driven and confident person and went on to progress my career within the motor trade. I had found my new love.
The job was enjoyable and the team was great (I even met David, my husband, within this industry) but I knew this wasn’t the career for me. I had always wanted to work with children and teach! At this time I found myself to be more mature and ready to study and re-train. I took up evening school where I studied child development and from this I then went back to studying full time, passing college with an A grade, my first ever A!
Whilst I was studying I took up a part time position teaching dance within a dance school in Livingston. This dance school was different from Manor, as it was more fun and exciting. All the children loved it and as a teacher my confidence and self esteem soared. My relationship with my employer was great, my rapport with the parents was building but most importantly my bond with the children was unbreakable. I worked hard for my employer as I always wanted her classes to be the best and hated the thought of upsetting anyone.
As I carried on working for babyballet Livingston, I fell in love with my new job and everything
about it. Even though I was enjoying myself I wanted to push myself even more and with the fantastic support from David and my family, I managed to do just that. In December 2011 we decided that I too could become a franchisee and promote this great dance school throughout other areas in Scotland. I had finally found my calling and my wonderful journey had begun.
At the age of 24 I have had a fantastic amount of experiences and wonderful opportunities, however, I can’t help but notice that my life has gone around in one big circle. When I was a child, I was a girly girl who loved the sparkle and dance. As I grew, so did my personality and mind but now at 24 I find myself beginning my life as the girly girl who loves to sparkle and dance once more. This time I am doing it with the support of babyballet and my wonderful family.
Miss Charlotte signing the first babyballet franchise contract in November 2012
Each week we are going to bring you a new insert from Miss C’s journal as we celebrate with her and the team on their amazing journey.