Jena Minnick, Founder and President of the Dance Discovery Foundation and Owner and CEO of South Coast Conservatory, joins ChedHER to discuss how her nonprofit uses dance as a tool to change lives for the better, and what kind of career opportunities are available in the dance industry.

chedHER

Career Opportunities in the Dance Industry

joining us now is Jenna Minnick, founder and president of Dance Discovery Foundation and owner and Ceo of the South coast conservatory, a brick and mortar dance studio. It's so good to have you on the show. Tell us more about this mission and what kind of programs you offer through this Foundation. Oh, good morning. And thank you for having me. Um, this Foundation offers programs that are about bringing dance and performing arts education to places and students who otherwise wouldn't have that opportunity. We strongly believe in these lifelong benefits, uh, physical, social, emotional and developmental benefits of dance and the performing arts. And so we work with people from all places to bring people together. Dance is a way of uniting people and discovering yourself that crosses all language boundaries, cultural differences and um, has been proven for centuries to be able to help people discover themselves and not only themselves but others and this program or this Foundation is about giving back over and over again. I love that. And from the footage that we're showing you have community members participating all the way from little kids to adults. I'm wondering if you've gotten any feedback from these participants on the impact that Dance Discovery Foundation has had on the community? Well, we've had the opportunity to reach the lives of about 5500 students and we're about to reach another 2000 with our school outreach program. There are many alumni adults today that come back and tell me their stories how one day or one year of doing this kind of open their eyes to who they are on the inside and just discover so many different career and college path. I am delighted when I follow them on social media or they reach out to me or one of their educators and share their show, their story of how it impacted them. It's been um wonderful to see that through raising money, finding resources, volunteers, educators, and so many incredible people when they come together, what kind of impact it makes on our community's youth Angina. You have 30 years of experience in this field of dance, tell us more about your career journey and how you got to the place you are today. Well the performing arts is one of the rare industries and rare careers that start as a child and that's when I started, I started in my training in ballet and musical theater very young. I was the middle of five kids. So performing was my like way of being noticed and I was able to do this through scholarships all the way through college and when I had the chance to give back, I couldn't wait to do it. Um I was not a natural dancer. Most people don't think they are, but through hard work and discipline and through that perseverance and joy and passion, I was able to graduate and then shift my focus to business. When I was in college, I found that a whole different forms of art and I was able to work with great leaders, industry leaders and home that skill. But my very first job was actually teaching dance, it was very rewarding to be able to have that connection with students and see that aha moment in their eyes. And I've been doing it part time ever since with the business background. I was able to see the behind the scenes career aspects needed to make this possible. So while honing those skills and working part time when the opportunity came up to acquire the studio I was working at, I took it, I was a young mom and I thought what a great way to balance my background and my love and also be there to support my family. Um, I have now four kids and they have always been my inspiration and actually my best mentor for being a business leader. In the last 20 years, we've been able to expand our operations to south coast conservatory. Uh dance store called dance supplies unlimited. Uh, Dance Discovery Foundation was founded and through it all being a mother helped me become a better collaborator, a listener, um, stay focused even though you're very distracted in the arts and in motherhood, having those goals and vision very clear has what's been the way I've been grounded and um, also having a great team of educators around you of great accountability team has made this journey possible. I love your story and also your candor that you didn't necessarily feel like a natural, but you were able to pivot your career and that being said for those who are watching, who are maybe interested in the world of dance, what other types of career opportunities do you think are out there in this industry and just about a minute left here, you bet. Well there's a lot of myths that the only opportunity is performing and yes, you can perform in a lot of places on stage, television, film, uh you know, amusement parks, cruise ships. But I mentor and teach many high school students about these pathways and they extend much further from directing choreography, educating from production design, costume design, kinesiology, physical therapy, studio ownership and many more, wow, the business is really the possibilities. Sound limitless here. I really appreciate you joining us. That's Jenna Minnick, founder and president of Dance Discovery Foundation.