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It starts the same every day. The alarm goes off. We sigh and I hear the dogs yawn and stretch. Emmy plants a wet good morning kiss on my nose. The water turns on. The closet door creaks, and that's when I roll over. He heads to the coffee pot, laces his boots, and shuts the door. It's quiet again. Sometimes I get a 'morning, I fed the dogs,' and occasionally I get the sweetest kiss on the cheek. I live for that kiss on the cheek, but he knows I'm tired, (probably because I'm snoring) and he lets me sleep. Fifteen hours later... The dog barks. I walk in the door. I set down my things and get covered in sloppy Presley kisses. Ember howls and I shush her. I peek my head in the bedroom and usually he's out like a light. I sigh. I head to the coffee pot. It's got to be set for 5:00a. I follow my bedtime routine and carefully slip into bed. Sometimes he wakes up and a hand reaches for mine. I love those nights. But most night's he's exhausted, and I try not to wake him. On some nights when I get home all is right in the world... because he's awake. He waited up for me. Those nights are the best nights. The hardest part of owning a dance studio is not answering endless e-mails or fielding numerous messages a day. It's not picking out music and choreographing routines. It's not exchanging costumes, running to the post office, It's not hearing 'miss meg' endless times a day or rubbing tiny ankles where tap shoes have kicked. It's not catching up on book work, or running social media, or cleaning up endless amounts of hair on the dance floor (so. much. hair). It's missing dinner, not hearing 'how was your day,' and longing for goodnight hugs. It's consecutive days and nights of two ships passing in the night. Of surviving off of a few text messages a day, the occasional phone call, and I don't know how many 'I miss yous'. I remember when I wanted to open the dance studio, one of my dance teachers told me this would be the hardest part. And that if and when I had children it would be even harder. And here we are 7 years later... she wasn't wrong. But the truth is, I would not change it for the world. I absolutely love what I do... and I am thankful every day for Mr. Miss Meg and the sacrifices he makes so I can continue to live my dream. ...because the hardest part of being a dance teacher, is being the person waiting at home for them. 
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Okay so I'm not new here.But I'm new to this. Blogging in the dance world. I've always wanted to share my thoughts and experiences stemming from my work as a dancer and dance studio owner/instructor, but I've just never done it. And it isn't like I'm at a loss for words... iykyk. I guess I just thought that business was business and that I shouldn't let my personal life trickle into my work life... At least that was until I had the BEST coffee chat with a dear friend, fellow business owner, and dance mom who just might have convinced me otherwise. Because if we're being honest here, my work IS my life, and I am my business. And so here it is. My very first post. Because I'm certain if I don't just go ahead and post something, right now, that I won't at all.
I'll start with a little about me: dance history edition. My name is Miss Meghan Libous, owner and instructor at Signature Dance Studio. I was born and raised in Binghamton, NY where I began studying dance around the age of seven. At the time, I had no idea that my tiny tap shoes and imperfect pirouettes would so quickly become the passion that would propel my life’s journey. I began teaching dance at age 16 and quickly realized that my passion for dance lay not only in its physical movements but also in the thoughtful and intentional choreography that translates on stage. I took time away from my home studio to attend college and while I coached our college dance team for some years, I truly missed teaching dance in the studio setting. I didn't skip a beat and dove right back into teaching as soon as I graduated. Working the littles was where my heart lied... There's just something so dang special about watching a student fall in love with dance. It never. gets. old. Some years later when my personal life led me to the Homer, NY area {wow, almost 11 years ago} I found our area to be missing a school of dance where all dancers would be able to learn not only the fundamentals of dance but also about life, love, and friendship... I hadn't found a studio that felt like my home studio, like family. It is the mission of Signature Dance to not only grow beautiful dancers but more importantly beautiful, kind, compassionate people and we do it through forging connection, community, family. So, with the encouragement of those very same people who taught me everything from how to point my toes, to how to be being kind and loving, I did it. I opened the doors to my very own dance studio. SDS is entering its seventh year as a local dance studio, and it's been a dream come true ever since.  I'm lucky to get to work alongside two other incredible teachers and have the kindest, most loving, encouraging, supportive students, and a community of dance parents/family/friends that pour into us daily. We hit the dance family JACKPOT here and it's not lost on me. So, welcome! Welcome to our little corner of the internet, my little choreographer's corner. I pour my heart into my studio and my students, find myself always thinking about it, talking about it, losing sleep over it... pretty much obsessing over it. So now, I guess the next best thing to do is write about it. I think this will be a beautiful, safe space to share my thoughts, lessons I've learned, what led me here; my mind is 'twirling' with ideas. I think this will be a sweet little addition to our studio and a great chance for us to get to know each other better, for me to share what's on my heart, to encourage other dance studio owners/instructors, be a transparent, real, raw, role model for my students... Ugh. Just ALL of it! I'm really looking forward to seeing where this takes us. And I'm really glad you're here. With love, Miss Meg |
