Our Story...as told by Janice
No, I’m not Haleigh’s mother, but I love her like a daughter! Haleigh and I first met when she was about 10. My daughter, Christy, is the same age as Haleigh. In fact, their birthdays are only 18 days apart. They danced together at Steps Dance Center and attended the same middle and high schools.
When I “retired” from my full time job, I was looking for something fun to do. Both of my children were not living at home so I was trying to figure out what to do next; I was too young to really retire! So, I started working part time at Steps to stay in touch with dance and perhaps boost my real estate career. Haleigh had been an assistant teacher throughout high school and continued to teach a couple of days a week while she was in college. We worked the same shifts and Haleigh always told me she wanted to open her own studio some day. Whenever she talked about it, she asked if I would work with her at her studio. I smiled politely and thought....isn’t that sweet! Even though she talked about it all of the time, I didn’t really think she was serious. She is so talented and had so many opportunities with dance ahead of her I figured she would dance professionally before she opened that studio!
Several weeks before her graduation, she called me and said she was really going to open a dance studio! She had found the perfect area and wanted to open in 2012. That would give her a year to work and plan. She wanted to know if I would work at her studio. I mentioned it to my husband, who suggested that we do it together. Business partners, co-owners, co-founders! I proposed the idea to Haleigh and the rest, as they say, is history! However, Haleigh called me several days later and said she thought we should open immediately! She's a bundle of energy so I shouldn't have been surprised. We hustled like crazy and even though we missed our target opening date of August 15th (a mere 3 months after we got this crazy idea!) our first day of class was October 11, 2011. We had 13 students!
It has been the perfect partnership. I have an extensive business background, including working with start ups. Haleigh has an extensive background in dance, choreography, performance, and teaching. We have learned so much from each other and continue to do so. We have tons of fun planning and working together. We don’t really notice the age difference. Haleigh even taught me some ballet!
But more than anything, we realized that it’s true...when you are doing what you love, it doesn’t really seem like work! It is so fulfilling to see the students light up when they learn something new, to have them run in to the studio to tell us something or just to be happy to see us. It’s been wonderful to get to know so many people. One of our students told us that Fusion feels like family! That, to Haleigh and I, is the best compliment ever.
We invite you to come see what The Fusion Experience is all about!