Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolyn Wells.
Hi Carolyn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
As a former professional dancer and long-time teacher, I’ve always wanted to start a studio… one day.
When I found I was pregnant with a girl, I started to put my ideas on paper and started to look around New Braunfels. My real estate agent found a perfect location but it was February, my daughter was due in June, and the dance season doesn’t typically begin until August/September. But everything fell into place and I found myself signing a lease when my daughter was just 3 days old. I like to say, I had twins. We opened with 30 students and had 60 dancers in our May recital in The Brauntex Theatre in New Braunfels.
We are in our 8th season with almost 550 dancers, 4 large shows a year with our biggest recital at The Tobin Center. We’ve also grown from a staff of 3 to a staff of 12 and from one suite & one classroom to two suites and three classrooms. Plus, I’ve had 2 more kids! It’s been a ride!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not smooth. Growing quickly definitely presented many growing pains. Not only was I adjusting to being a new mom, then a mom of two plus learning to be a boss and putting my artistic side on the back burner.
There were many tears. My number three was born a couple of weeks before everything shut down so that was a huge struggle… taking our entire business online, dealing with a newborn and no sleep, all kids at home, and figuring out what to do with our recital.
So many hard things at once but we learned so many new things that we’re still doing today!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Before opening my studio, I had the opportunity to perform as a dancer professionally.
This allowed me to get paid to see the world touring Alaska, Central America, South America, and even Antarctica while dancing on a cruise ship. I also had the opportunity to perform as a Radio City Rockette throughout the United States. I love bringing this aspect in as a teacher to my classes and encouraging our dancers to pursue their dreams and to think outside of the box.
I also get the chance to pass on my knowledge of eye-high kicks to our performance teams. What makes us different from other studios is our focus on being wholesome, our communication, and our drive to be better as dancers, leaders, teachers, and people.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
My first boyfriend was my husband!
Contact Info:
- Email: dance@dancebydesignstudios.com
- Website: www.dancebydesignstudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dbdstudios
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancebydesignstudio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRL_aNBvvHgbM1auIeeM-gQ?view_as=subscriber
Image Credits
Loft Photography, DbD Photos
