A Spark

Every idea starts with a spark. Maybe it is something you see or hear. Or how, suddenly, something makes you feel. But when that light bulb flickers on, it can light the way down a new path.

I opened Premiere Studio of Dance 15 years ago. At the time, I was a student at Trent University, and though I had been teaching dance part-time for years, I decided that it would be best to focus my time and effort on my education. At the studio where I had been teaching, parents heard I was taking an ‘early retirement’, and one in particular approached me to say that her daughter enjoyed my classes, and asked if I would be willing to teach her privately next year. I contemplated the opportunity, then decided that, above all, I really do enjoy teaching – and that if I was going to make the effort to plan, to find studio space, and to teach one child, then perhaps I could offer this to more people and make a night of it.

So, in spite of my rational thought . . . I did it. Although it was a challenge to balance my academics with starting up a new business, my parents never hesitated in their support. My friends, while they thought I was crazy to commit to this idea, didn’t voice their concerns too loudly. After all it was just one night a week…

As a wise man once said, “we started from the bottom, now we’re here”. Fast forward 15 years and the studio has grown from church basements, to Market Hall theatre, to the old Parkhill restaurant space, and finally to the PSD studio which has become a second home for many children, and a supportive network for many families. We are teaching 7 days a week, 12 months a year. Three studio rooms are packed with dancers of all ages sharing their passion of music and movement.

At some point a spark lit every dancer’s path to our PSD doors. Perhaps they saw the latest hip hop routine on So You Think You Can Dance? Or they heard a piece of classical music and just felt like moving. A mother’s little boy busts out moves she has never seen before, and knows those moves deserve to been seen by the world. A retired woman, who always wanted to take tap, walks through our door.

It all begins with a spark.