Episode 31 - The Dance Studio Owner

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Transcript

This transcription is automated, therefore it may not be 100% accurate. It is to be used as a guide only as the AI bots may have some things wrong.

0:00:00 - (Nicole): This episode of bring your kid to work is brought to you by Lioness Media.

0:00:04 - (Nicole): It's time to bring your kid to work.

0:00:07 - (Nicole): Hey everyone. It's time to bring your kid to work. It's the family podcast that explores the world of work through the eyes of parents and their kids. Each week we interview one parent and their child to chat about what they do for work, what they like, what they don't like, and how they got there in the first place. Let's find out who we're talking to today.

0:00:30 - (Nicole): Our two fantastic guests today are Lianne and her daughter Lottie. Lianne Clark is a dancer, a ballerina with years of experience who has always loved kids. After some years as a successful professional dancer, Lianne had her first of two daughters. She always thought she would teach one Day, but a huge gap in the Market in her home suburb got her thinking. Maybe she could start her own studio. In the six years since West End dance became a thing, she's grown the studio to over 300 students doing not just ballet, but hip hop, contemporary, jazz, tap, acro, musical theatre and dance cirque from tiny tots all the way up to adults. She brings with her today her daughter Lottie, who loves to dance but doesn't see it in her professional future.

0:01:21 - (Nicole): She's enamoured with space and would love to live on the International Space Station one day. I loved having Leanne and Lottie in the bring your kid to work studio. This was such a delightful chat. I learned a lot. I know you're going to love it too. So let's get on with the show. Welcome to bring your kid to work. I am really excited to welcome Lianne and Lottie today. And this episode is called the Dance studio own.

0:01:50 - (Nicole): Yay. Very exciting.

0:01:52 - (Nicole): That's your mum, isn't it, Lottie?

0:01:54 - (Lottie): Yes.

0:01:54 - (Nicole): Yeah. So your mum owns a dance studio?

0:01:57 - (Nicole): Yes.

0:01:58 - (Nicole): Wow, that's really cool. I'm going toa ask you all about that in a second. But I wanted to know how old are you and what grade are you in at school?

0:02:06 - (Lottie): I'm eight.

0:02:07 - (Lianne): And excuse me, you're not eight. You get too excited to be eight.

0:02:14 - (Nicole): Oh, you not quite eight yet.

0:02:15 - (Lottie): I can't remember.

0:02:16 - (Lianne): You can't remember how old you are? You're so nervous. You're seven.

0:02:20 - (Nicole): You're seven. But are you turning eight next? Is that what happens after seven?

0:02:25 - (Nicole): Okay, cool.

0:02:26 - (Nicole): I'm just trying to remember because I'm old. I don't know how this works anymore. So you're seven? Ye going to turn eight?

0:02:33 - (Lottie): Yes.

0:02:33 - (Nicole): Excellent. What grade are you in at school, Lottie?

0:02:36 - (Lottie): Two.

0:02:37 - (Nicole): Grade two. Oh, that's a fun grade, I think. I really liked grade two. I had the best teacher. His name was Mister Gwynn. Do you have a good teacher?

0:02:45 - (Lottie): Yeah. Yeah, I have a boy too.

0:02:47 - (Nicole): Oh, really?

0:02:48 - (Lottie): Yeah.

0:02:48 - (Nicole): Is he your first boy?

0:02:49 - (Lottie): Yeah, yeah, Mister Gwynn was my first boy.

0:02:51 - (Nicole): Oh, my gosh.

0:02:52 - (Nicole): High five.

0:02:53 - (Lianne): That's amazing.

0:02:54 - (Nicole): What do you love most about school, Lottie?

0:02:57 - (Lottie): I think I get to make more friends and it's fun to have friends.

0:03:05 - (Nicole): Yeah, that's the best part. Hanging out with your friends, isn't it? Yeah, that was my favourite bit, too. What about subjects? Are there things you like to do at school during school time?

0:03:15 - (Lottie): I think I like Mather most because when we start math, there's this thing called math mental, and it's where you go your times tables and your one plus one, then.

0:03:27 - (Nicole): Yeah, yeah. And it's like a computer thing or you're on the iPad, something?

0:03:31 - (Lottie): No, no, we do it on a book.

0:03:33 - (Nicole): Oh, and do you do it like to a time? You have to like a stopwatch or something?

0:03:37 - (Lottie): No, we just do it for ten minutes and then we start math all together.

0:03:41 - (Lianne): Oh, that's cool.

0:03:43 - (Nicole): Now, I called this episode the dance studio owner because that's what your mum does. What does it mean to be a dance studio owner? What does she do all day, Lottie?

0:03:52 - (Lottie): Well, sometimes she stays at home and organises things for the studio because she's getting a bit old and she doesn't teach many classes. But when she's not at home, she usually does teaching or she is being a release teacher.

0:04:13 - (Nicole): Yeah. Right. Okay, so she's at the studio teaching classes or she's at home organising all other people who are doing the classes for the dance studio.

0:04:23 - (Nicole): That's right.

0:04:24 - (Lianne): And do you dance?

0:04:24 - (Nicole): Two.

0:04:25 - (Lottie): I do five classes and four types. I do two ballet, one tab, one contemporary and one circus. And my favorite one is circus.

0:04:34 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:04:35 - (Nicole): Leanne, when Lottie described what you do.

0:04:37 - (Nicole): As a job, did she do a great job?

0:04:39 - (Lianne): I'd say you very much simplified my role as a dance studio owner because it's definitely much more than just organising and teaching.

0:04:47 - (Nicole): Yeah, tell me about it, then.

0:04:48 - (Lianne): I feel like my job is more. Well, sometimes I feel a bit more like an event planner because it's just the calendar rolls and there's another event and then one finishes and then I have to start planning the next one. And then I have to make sure the staff are all on board. I have to make sure they all know what they're doing for their classes. There's a lot preparing class content so like curriculum for all the classes. Then there's the big concert which is like producing a whole production.

0:05:16 - (Lianne): And because we're just a dance studio, we're not a big musical theatre company with million dollar budget, I end up doing basically everything. Costume planning, music planning, lighting, everything.

0:05:28 - (Nicole): Wow.

0:05:29 - (Lianne): Yeah.

0:05:29 - (Nicole): You are a jack of all trades when it comes to performing.

0:05:32 - (Lianne): Yeah, sometimes I do feel a little bit like that.

0:05:34 - (Nicole): Yeah, that sounds very exhausting. I'm feeling tired just thinking about all the things your mum has to do.

0:05:38 - (Nicole): Lottie.

0:05:39 - (Nicole): Is it tiring, you reckon, for mum?

0:05:40 - (Lottie): Yeah, ye. But she sleeps in when she hasn't got anything to do, so she got time to rest.

0:05:47 - (Nicole): Yeah, that's important.

0:05:49 - (Lianne): Do I get time to rest? I don't know if I do.

0:05:53 - (Nicole): Mums don't often get very much time to rest, but that's okay.

0:05:56 - (Lianne): But I am guilty sleeping in.

0:05:58 - (Nicole): If you can get it, I say go for it. When you decided to have your own dance studio, how did that come about?

0:06:06 - (Lianne): I don't think it's something I ever planned I would do. Yeah, I guess when I was a professional dancer, becoming a dance teacher almost kind of felt like being a failure of a dancer. So there was kind of a bit of this sort of notion about it that, I don't know, it was kind of looked down upon in the professional dance world, like, oh, you don't want to be a dance teacher after performing. But I kind of stumbled upon it when I came back to Brisbane and I really enjoyed it and I really loved the choreographing aspect of it, but more so, I really loved the business side of it, which I guess I discovered because I had a different business before West End dance, which was a dance photography business. Ah.

0:06:43 - (Lianne): So doing that, I got to travel around, visiting lots of different dance schools across south east, Queensland. And I guess after that experience and seeing how everyone else runs their systems, everyone else runs their concerts, everyone else runs their photo days, I don't know, I guess it kind of inspired me to do my own and see if I. I guess I see if I could do it better.

0:07:06 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:07:07 - (Lianne): And also there was nothing in West End at the time.

0:07:09 - (Nicole): That's very true.

0:07:10 - (Lianne): So I had Lottie and I was at the point in my life where I was teaching at a dance school which was 45 minutes drive from West End and she was two. And I was kind of like, oh, maybe I'll look at putting her into classes soon. But I. One didn't know where to send her. And I didn't want to send her to a school that comes with the stereotype of a dance studio where it's competitive and has that sort of a toxic environment that can be known in a dance studio.

0:07:37 - (Nicole): The one I went to when I was a kid.

0:07:38 - (Lianne): Yes, yes. I'm sure a few parents are probably a little bit traumatised from the childhood dance schools.

0:07:43 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:07:43 - (Lianne): And there wasn't a dance school in West End, so me and my partner, we sort of sat down, we had the discussion about, you know, this seems like a really good hole in the market for us. Maybe we should look at the idea. But being west End and being so close to the city, it didn't seem financially viable at all.

0:08:00 - (Nicole): Like, I didn't.

0:08:01 - (Lianne): Didn't seem like something we could do at the time. We had money to ask and we thought, oh, we'll just box that idea and put it away. Maybe when Lottie’s in school, we'll think about it later. And then about two weeks later, I happened to walk down the street of a for lease sign, which happened to be over the road from the local school. And I knew it was a yoga studio previously, so I knew it was a big open space.

0:08:21 - (Lianne): And so I got home and I said to ash, my husband, I said.

0:08:24 - (Nicole): I think we should just give them.

0:08:26 - (Lianne): A call and see how expensive it is and. And have a look. And we did, I think, that very same afternoon. And we. Silly me. I - maybe not silly me. Crazy me. Signed the lease within a week.

0:08:39 - (Nicole): Wow.

0:08:40 - (Lianne): And we decided we were doing it. Yeah.

0:08:42 - (Nicole): That is amazing.

0:08:43 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:08:44 - (Nicole): So your job before this, before having a dance studio, was dance photography?

0:08:51 - (Nicole): Yeah. Yeah.

0:08:51 - (Lianne): And I did the two alongside each other for about three or four years as well. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. What do you reckon, Lottie?

0:09:00 - (Nicole): I still feel very tired.

0:09:02 - (Lianne): Yes. Y when someone asked me, oh, you look a bit tired. Are you feeling okay? And I'm going, this is just the normal tired. There's like variations of tired. Yeah. Y that is very true.

0:09:14 - (Nicole): Loie, was that your mum's first job, dance photography? Do you know if she had a different job first?

0:09:19 - (Lottie): I'm not sure, but I think, yeah, I don't know.

0:09:22 - (Nicole): No, but she was a dancer, professional dancer

0:09:26 - (Lottie): I knew she did almost all the time. Time. And for two years she did dancing. And in a little bit of that, she did studying of different stuff, but mostly she did dancing and then she wanted to start something.

0:09:40 - (Nicole): Yeah. What kind of dancing does your mum do, Lottie?

0:09:43 - (Lottie): Ballet?

0:09:44 - (Nicole): Yeah. You did a lot of ballet in your life? Yes. When did you start dancing, Leanne?

0:09:49 - (Lianne): Well, surprisingly quite later in my life. I only started dance when I was ten and's late for a dancer. Yeah, it is. And it was purely because my best friend was a dancer and she said, hey, come along with me. And so I did, and I started with jazz, just doing one class a week, my favourite. And after, I guess doing it for six months or a year, my teacher said, no, she needs to do ballet. She's got the physique, she's got the turnout, she needs to do ballet.

0:10:16 - (Lianne): And I instantly fell in love with ballet.

0:10:18 - (Nicole): Aw, yeah.

0:10:19 - (Lianne): What is it about ballet that you love? That's a tough question. There's a lot of different elements that I love. I think for me, what really kept me driven was the striving for perferfection. Every day is coming in and working on your technique and watching the progress of your technique. I really loved doing my daily classes and keeping getting better. And, yeah, the performance side I did.

0:10:43 - (Nicole): Love as well, but I wouldn't say.

0:10:45 - (Lianne): It was my favourite. Like, I love dressing up in the costumes and I loved pretending to be someone else on stage, but it definitely wasn't my favourite part. So I think, yeah, the daily class and also just being part of that, the dance world, it really, it's just fun. It's so fun. And you're surrounded by girls and, like, these people become your family when you're dancing and, yeah, it's quite a special environment to be in.

0:11:05 - (Nicole): Yeah. And the environment that you've created at West End dance is an amazing environment as well. And I've told you this before because my child dances at West End dance, and just the difference between what my experience was as a child, getting yelled at in dance classes and being told I was doing a terrible job and just the love and encouragement that you've created, it is a hugely special thing and I'm just very grateful for it.

0:11:30 - (Lianne): O, that's really sweet. Yeah.

0:11:32 - (Lottie): Lottie. Yeah.

0:11:34 - (Nicole): Do you want to be a dancer.

0:11:35 - (Lianne): When you grow up?

0:11:36 - (Lottie): I think I might do dancing a little bit when I grow up, maybe a lot, I'm not sure, but I really want to do something about space. It's really interesting and there's lots of stuff people still haven't discovered about it, so we'll be fun doing that.

0:11:51 - (Nicole): Wow, that sounds really cool. What do you love about the idea of space?

0:11:55 - (Nicole): Do you want to be an astronaut?

0:11:56 - (Lottie): Maybe. I've heard that lots of people change their mind of being astronaut and choose something a bit different use being astronaut is really difficult. You have to train a lot and it takes hard work to be even allowed to be in space. And I've heard that people stay in space for a year.

0:12:16 - (Nicole): Yeah, they do. There's the international space station and they can take a rocket ship up to space and they go into the international space station and they do experiments and things and they're there for like a year. That's a long time, isn't it?

0:12:29 - (Lottie): Yes.

0:12:29 - (Lianne): Yeah.

0:12:29 - (Nicole): There's no pizza delivery up there. What do you think you want to discover about space? What do you want to learn more about?

0:12:36 - (Lottie): I want to learn bit more about lots of astronauts and scientists have been curious about this mar because they sensed that when the sun was first created, there was a bit of water on Mars and maybe there a few. They don't know about living things, but they could have been.

0:12:59 - (Nicole): If.

0:13:01 - (Nicole): No, but they could have been living things. So they're trying to figure out if they can get to Mars, whether we as humans might be able to survive there, aren't they?

0:13:09 - (Lottie): Yes.

0:13:09 - (Nicole): Yeah. So you're keen on doing that?

0:13:11 - (Lottie): Yeah.

0:13:12 - (Nicole): Oh, I reckon that's really cool. And the math stuff that you love and science things, I mean, that will get you there. You can totally.

0:13:18 - (Nicole): That. Yeah.

0:13:20 - (Nicole): But like mum said, like the working every day to see yourself get better, I think that will be the thing that will help you to get to be an astronaut.

0:13:28 - (Lottie): I think it's more about study and, well, believing.

0:13:33 - (Nicole): Yeah, it is. That's very true.

0:13:36 - (Lottie): Because you have to believe that you can get back because it might be a little scary.

0:13:41 - (Nicole): Yeah, yeah, it's definitely scary. Well, when they first put people on the moon, they didn't know for sure that they could get them back, so they were really brave to just go for it, weren't they?

0:13:50 - (Lottie): Yeah, yeah. And someone told me a saying, it's a little step for me, but a big step for everyone else.

0:13:58 - (Nicole): Yeah, yeah.

0:14:00 - (Nicole): That's what the first astronaut said when he stepped onto the moon.

0:14:03 - (Lottie): Yeah. Because it's a little step for him to step on the moon. But it was a big work to get the ship ready, to get everything organized and to have a big blast.

0:14:13 - (Nicole): Yeah. Because they didn't know if it was going to work and they had to try things and try things and try things. That sounds like a really cool job, Lottie. I think that's a great idea for you. And you can dance while, you know, you can dance in space.

0:14:27 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:14:27 - (Nicole): Because you could do flips in because there's no gravity.

0:14:29 - (Lottie): Oh, yeah.

0:14:30 - (Nicole): You could do cirque and dance and just how you could be the first dancer in space.

0:14:34 - (Lottie): You could actually do circus with outer hoop or silks.

0:14:38 - (Nicole): Yeah, you could totally do that. I reckon that'd be fun. I think that when you've got an idea of a job, it's really cool to try and find out as much as you can about that job. And that's kind of why I do this podcast. Do you know anyone that's been an astronaut and been to space?

0:14:55 - (Lottie): No, but I've heard another podcast, the ABC Kids podcast, one of their I heard astronaut talking about some stuff about why there isn't Min astronaut and that's why people. And because they change their mind sometimes and a bit about space. Yeah.

0:15:17 - (Nicole): So you get to learn it through that. And you're studying stuff at school, I imagine, as well.

0:15:21 - (Lottie): Yeah.

0:15:22 - (Nicole): Wow.

0:15:22 - (Lottie): But not much because they're only in grade two and we usually start learning about this in high school.

0:15:30 - (Nicole): You are way ahead of the game, Lottie. That's great. Good for you. What did you think about jobs, Lianne? When you were Lottie‘s age? What did you want to do? That was before you even started being.

0:15:42 - (Lianne): Yah, that's before I even started dancing. I remember as a young, young child wanting to be a ballerina, but I think I didn't even know what ballet was. I had never seen it. So I'm not sure how I came up with this image of wanting to be a ballet dancer. I think I just had one too two dress that I loved wearing and dancing around the house. I definitely wanted to be a school teacher for a while as a young child. And I honestly think that even now, if I wasn't a dance studio owner, I probably would have become a school teacher.

0:16:11 - (Lianne): Obviously, I love working with kids.

0:16:13 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:16:13 - (Lianne): I don't know. I think I just went through the sort of stereotypical things that a young girl wants to be a teacher, a doctor, a ballerina for a while, want to be a musical theatre performer.

0:16:23 - (Nicole): I was there with that one too.

0:16:24 - (Lianne): Teaching, dancing, being a pop star. That was up there for a while.

0:16:29 - (Nicole): All the things.

0:16:30 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:16:31 - (Nicole): When you finished school, did you go straight to dancing or did you do any other study? What did you do?

0:16:37 - (Lianne): So I actually studied at what was then known as the Queensland Dent School of Excellence, which is an excellence program that runs through Kelvin Grove College here, which is a two year program where every morning we had to do three or three and a half hours of dancing every morning. And then we'd get bussed or taxied over to school and then did three or 4 hours every afternoon of school. So we did that for grade eleven and twelve.

0:17:04 - (Nicole): Whoa.

0:17:04 - (Nicole): Yeah, that's a lot of dancing.

0:17:05 - (Lianne): That was a lot of dancing. So I think it ended up being about 15 to 20 hours a week of dancing.

0:17:10 - (Nicole): Lottie, your mum's a dance studio owner. Does she like her job?

0:17:14 - (Lottie): I think so, yeah. I think that she really wanted to do it because she likes dancing and she likes kids. I think it was a really good choice.

0:17:24 - (Nicole): Yeah, it's a great choice for someone who likes both of those things. I think she's done a great job, don't you?

0:17:29 - (Lottie): Yeah.

0:17:29 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:17:30 - (Nicole): If you had to do it all again, Leann, would you choose dance?

0:17:35 - (Lianne): Yeah, I think so. Yeah. I can't see myself having done anything else. Yeah, I think even when I was a dancer, I always had other things I wanted to dabble in. And I feel like now, in my. My post life of dance, I feel like I've kind of had a touch of all that and, yeah, I always knew that I, more than anything, I wanted to be a mum. So I guess it's got me to where I wanted to be. And, yeah, I have own business, which I really enjoy, and I don't think I'd change it.

0:18:00 - (Nicole): What's the best thing about having your own business?

0:18:04 - (Lianne): Everyone says it's the freedom, but I'd say it's not the freedom. You're definitely very tied in when you have your own business. A great day of work would be one where I can tick my to do list, which I think I've never done in my whole life, maybe. I think last week I actually had a day where that I got through all my stuff that I wanted to do for that day by about 02:00 and I felt like I was ready to tackle the world.

0:18:30 - (Nicole): Wow, that is an impressive.

0:18:32 - (Lianne): That then done the next day, definitely felt like it was crumbling back all over me. All over again.

0:18:38 - (Nicole): Is the to do list on a toilet roll for you? I can imagine with all the things you have to do for a dance studio, you would not fit it on a regular piece of paper.

0:18:47 - (Lianne): Yeah, I would say I have several to do this. There's one that just like the overall list of everything that I need to accomplish maybe in a year or two, and then I have a daily to do list, which generally ends up being about a two week long list.

0:19:04 - (Nicole): Yeah, I write everything down, and even when I've done something that I didn't have on my list. I write it on my list so I can cross it off and feel accomplished.

0:19:12 - (Lianne): I am very guilty of doing that.

0:19:16 - (Nicole): The big productions Lottie that mum puts on for West End dance studio, the big concerts. Do you love being a part of those?

0:19:25 - (Lottie): Last time I did the concert, the first round, I did not know what to do. I had, I think it was four or three dances I had to do. And at the first round I kept. So I didn't know one of my classes was next to the other one. So I had to change really quickly and I thought I just had to stay there. But I got there in the end and at the second round I was really organized and I loved it.

0:19:50 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:19:51 - (Nicole): So you got it. You figured out what you needed to do and it felt really good.

0:19:54 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:19:55 - (Nicole): Do you like performing?

0:19:56 - (Lottie): Yeah, but I was once in a dress that. That was a bit itchy. And then I mucked up.

0:20:04 - (Nicole): Oh, ca because it's distracting if your costume’s itchy. I get that.

0:20:08 - (Lottie): And there's another thing I did. So in a Christmas showing, a good thing, it wasn't the big showing, but I went to the wrong position and everyone knew it wasn't part of the dance and everyone laughed.

0:20:21 - (Lianne): Are you sure everyone laughed? I don't know. I'm sure the audience wouldn't have noticed.

0:20:27 - (Nicole): That's the thing. The audience doesn't know the choreography.

0:20:29 - (Lottie): I was in sort of a triangle and then I was over here and then I moved up and I went sort of off stage. Oops. And, yeah, the audience are.

0:20:40 - (Lianne): Did they?

0:20:40 - (Lottie): But I feel a bit embarrassed.

0:20:42 - (Lianne): Yeah.

0:20:42 - (Nicole): But then also, it could just be because they thought it was really cute and they liked you dancing, you see, and they don't know what the choreography is. That's one thing that Kate always says.

0:20:51 - (Lottie): To me, was in the triangle. Of course they would not.

0:20:55 - (Nicole): Okay, fair enough. That's fair enough. The biggest part of those productions, Leanne, how hard is it to put them on trying to organise? I mean, how many kids are at West End dance these days?

0:21:07 - (Lianne): As of this week, I think we have 310 students.

0:21:10 - (Nicole): Whoa.

0:21:11 - (Lianne): Yeah. It's the biggest we've ever been.

0:21:13 - (Nicole): Ye having 310 students, all of them together on one day for this concert that they're doing, performing for all of their family and friends at the Thomas Dixon Centre, where we have our concerts. How challenging is organising all of that over that period?

0:21:29 - (Lianne): I'd say it's a fun challenge. I'm always up for a challenge. Yeah. I definitely have nightmares for a solid week after and after having the communications headset on for two days straight. I definitely hear voices for a little while and start talking back. Copy that. Yes. Got that?

0:21:48 - (Nicole): Yep.

0:21:48 - (Lianne): I don't know. I really enjoyed that part of it because it's getting all the systems and working out all the efficiencies. We never run to schedule. My goal every year is I go in and I say, okay, this year we're going to run to schedule, and we never do.

0:21:59 - (Nicole): You're wrangling all of those small humans. I taught high schoolers. I just don't know how you do little people.

0:22:05 - (Nicole): That's hard work.

0:22:06 - (Lianne): Sometimes little people are more compliant.

0:22:08 - (Nicole): That's true, too. They stay where they're told to stay off.

0:22:11 - (Nicole): Oh, gosh.

0:22:12 - (Nicole): On the worst day at work, what are the biggest challenges that make you go, oh, this is a hard day.

0:22:19 - (Lianne): Or a hard day is definitely if you receive a complaint or if you've upset a child or upset a parent, they're definitely the hardest days. And I think it's taken me a long time to work out how to deal with those. I guess I was lucky in that I had a little bit of experience in another business first. So, you know, when I very first started working for myself, I would spend hours mulling over emails and making sure I didn't offend anyone, right anything wrong or upset anyone. But I feel like now I've got it down to a fine art.

0:22:48 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:22:49 - (Lianne): But, yeah, that's the hardest part of managing, I guess, expectations of families and.

0:22:54 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:22:55 - (Lianne): Making sure the kids are leaving the studio happy.

0:22:57 - (Nicole): Yes. Yes.

0:22:58 - (Lianne): That's the main goal.

0:22:58 - (Nicole): That is the main goal.  When you own a dance studio, I imagine, and I know my kid leaves happy, so that makes me happy.

0:23:04 - (Lianne): O and I'd say landlords. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I don't like dealing with landlords, and the lawyer side of things makes me.

0:23:12 - (Nicole): Feel dirty is a yucky part of it.

0:23:14 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:23:15 - (Nicole): Lottie, when you think about being a grown up, when you're out of school and you're going to university to learn to be an astronaut, all the things that you want to do, is there anything that you are really worried about?

0:23:27 - (Lottie): I think making friends.

0:23:30 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:23:31 - (Lottie): Because it's hard to make friends when you're already that old. You should make friends when you're little, and then you can keep playing with them when you're bigger, and then they just. Friends see you forever. But it's hard making friends when you're adult, so I guess it's making friends.

0:23:45 - (Nicole): Yeah, it is hard making friends when you're adults, but sometimes you have to be brave and just say, would you like to get a cup of coffee? And we'll go and have a chat about stuff? That's really hard.

0:23:56 - (Lottie): But you don't know that.

0:23:57 - (Nicole): I know, but you don't know your friends when you're little either, until you first start playing with them.

0:24:02 - (Lottie): Well, usually the way you know them is that usually, like, your mom and dad knows them. Like, it's. Maybe it might be the boss of the place that your mum and dad are working, or it could be their old friend that they never really see, but then they have a daughter or a son and you might play with them.

0:24:24 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:24:24 - (Nicole): That's a good way to meet friends. I think, though, that you have a kind, warm heart and that you will be able to make friends when you're big because people will see that and they'll just want to hang out with you because you're fun. I reckon you're going to be fine. What about what you're excited about for when you get big?

0:24:41 - (Lottie): I think I'm expel, I'm not really sure, but I think it might be going into space if I can.

0:24:47 - (Nicole): Yeah, I'm excited about that for you. I can't wait to see that. That's going toa be a cool thing. What do you think it's go going toa feel like in space?

0:24:54 - (Lottie): I feel like it's going to feel like my arms are just moving when I'm not putting them there.

0:25:02 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:25:03 - (Lottie): And it's gonna be all floppy, but luckily I'm gonna be there for one year, so it would take time to get used to it. But in a few weeks time, I'll get used to it.

0:25:13 - (Nicole): Yeah, I reckon that's true. It's just like anything, though, you know, you go into a new environment, even if it's just moving into a new house, and you just kind of have to get used to it after a while. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

0:25:23 - (Lottie): And I've lived in my house for three years, so I first didn't really want to move ca because I love my old house. And when I thought I started this weed farm, and then there was these pine seeds that I put in, and when we moved a few weeks before we moved out, they sprouted and I didn't want to leave.

0:25:43 - (Nicole): Oh, finally the work you put in was paying off and you had to leave.

0:25:48 - (Lianne): All those weeds, they finally crowded.

0:25:51 - (Nicole): We've got a weed garden out the front, so you can check it out when you leave because we really cultivate our weeds very nicely. Leanne being a professional dancer, as you said, lots of little girls go, I want to be a ballerina when I grow up.

0:26:04 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:26:04 - (Nicole): What is the reality of being a professional dancer? What was your life like as a professional dancer?

0:26:09 - (Lianne): I wasn't a professional dancer for very long, so I guess I can't say. It's probably the same story for everyone, but, I mean, I guess to give you an idea of what the day is like is you get up, you go to ballet class in the morning. There was always expectation that you had to be there half an hour or an hour early so you could do your warm up. I was not a morning person, so I definitely didn't live up to that expectation.

0:26:31 - (Lianne): Then you'd have a ballet class. Most days you wouldn't know who was going to be taking your ballet class because you don't find out your schedule until the morning that you rock up. W yeah.

0:26:40 - (Nicole): How weird. Yeah.

0:26:41 - (Lianne): And then you'd find out your rehearsal schedule for that day. Some days you were lucky and you only might have had one rehearsal and you got to go home early. Some days you had a two hour break in the middle of the day and you had to hang around in the city and wait until your rehearsal, which is really hard because you've done this beautiful warm up in the morning and then you have this two hour break and then you come back and you feel horrible and stiff.

0:27:02 - (Lianne): Some days you just work all day until 06:00 and then, or if it's a production season, you'll be in the theatre probably for a twelve hour day.

0:27:10 - (Nicole): And using your body all that time, it's pretty hard physically, isn't it?

0:27:16 - (Lianne): Oh, for sure, yeah. But I'd say it's probably harder mentally because, I mean, I guess your body is physically prepared for it because you've been dancing for so long, but it's more the yah. I'd say mentally it's harder.

0:27:25 - (Nicole): Definitely.

0:27:26 - (Nicole): What's your favourite ballet to perform in and what's your favourite ballet to watch?

0:27:31 - (Lianne): O that's a tough one. I think Giselle always has a soft spot in my heart, so I got to perform that when I was studying as well as professionally. It was definitely hard to perform because you have to do a lot of standing still on stage and a lot of shin splints and a lot of ankle pain, but, yeah, it's definitely one of my favourites. And the music just moves me every time I see it. Yeah, I feel lucky that I got to perform a balanchi Shene work, so that was also a really big highlight of mine, learning Saenard.

0:27:59 - (Lianne): Yeah, I'd say they were probably my two favourites. Nice.

0:28:03 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:28:04 - (Nicole): For people out there who want to be dancers or to have their own studios one day, what advice would you give them?

0:28:11 - (Lianne): I would say if you want to have your own dance studio is don't doubt yourself. If you go in and you have any hesitation in anything that you do, your customers kind of pick up on that and then you lose control over your business. And that's when I think it can get really, really tough. Don't be scared to just have a go, you know, I'm definitely am wonder if I have an idea, I just give it a crack and if it works, great. If it doesn't, it's not the end of the world. Start on another project.

0:28:39 - (Nicole): Yeah.

0:28:40 - (Nicole): That's all you can do is just give it a crack.

0:28:42 - (Lianne): Yeah.

0:28:42 - (Nicole): And see what happens. I like that, not doubting. And Lottie's got that same mentality. Is that believing in yourself? I think that's really cool. Lottie, when you think about work, what do you think makes a good job?

0:28:54 - (Lottie): I think you have to find the right place and you have to choose the right time and the right stuff, and you need to be right for the job. And I guess you have to try to believe in yourself, like my mu said.

0:29:09 - (Nicole): Yeah, that does sound like a good job. And when you're with good people, makes a difference, doesn't it?

0:29:15 - (Lottie): Yeah.

0:29:15 - (Nicole): If your two girls say to you one day, I want to be dancers, is that something you go wholeheartedly, open harms, go for it. Or do you think you'd give them different advice?

0:29:27 - (Lianne): No, I'd say go for it. Yeah. Ye, it's such a special experience, and you can only do it for such a short period of your life. So I'd say make the most of it. Have fun with it. And I would definitely give them some. Lots of strong advice.

0:29:38 - (Nicole): Yes.

0:29:39 - (Lianne): But, yeah, I would 100% support it.

0:29:41 - (Nicole): I have loved talking to you guys in the bring your kid to work studio. Have you had fun, Lottie?

0:29:46 - (Lottie): Yeah.

0:29:47 - (Lianne): Yeah.

0:29:47 - (Nicole): You look very cool with your headphones on.

0:29:49 - (Nicole): Can I say.

0:29:51 - (Nicole): I just want to say thank you. Thank you so much, Lottie.

0:29:53 - (Lottie): Thank you.

0:29:54 - (Nicole): Thanks so much, Lianne.

0:29:55 - (Lianne): My pleasure.

0:29:57 - (Nicole): And we will have another two people to talk to about a different job next week, and we'll talk to you then.

0:30:01 - (Lottie): Bye bye.

0:30:02 - (Lianne): Bye.

0:30:06 - (Nicole): Oh, how cute are those two. I loved how much Lottie loves space. The great thing was, after we left the studio, she came out to the front yard and climbed up my tree, which I just thought that was brilliant because I dont have kids who climb up trees anymore. And it was so lovely to see her in her body and doing the thing and with the encouragement and love of her mum going, sure, you can.

0:30:29 - (Lianne): Go, h go for it.

0:30:31 - (Nicole): It just made me realise the kind of person that Leanne is and how that translates to West End dance. I went to dance when I was a kid. I loved dance.

0:30:41 - (Nicole): I still do, but I had a.

0:30:43 - (Nicole): Very different experience than the one that Leanne is cultivating at West End dance. I had someone who was yelling at me quite a bit, who was talking about my body quite a bit, actually. And it wasn't until I was talking to my daughter Kate, who goes to West End dance, Leanne was starting new bar classes for adults. And I said something about, yeah, I don't think that's for me because I don't have a ballet body.

0:31:09 - (Nicole): And my gorgeous kid just paused for a second because it was confusing to her because from what she knows, everybody is a ballet body. Everybody is a dance body because that's what Lianne cultivates in that studio, this inclusive, beautiful, kind, encouraging environment where all the dancers are encouraging one another when they do their dances, when they do their solos, and everybody is a dancing body.

0:31:38 - (Nicole): My small human put me in my place and reminded me of that fact. And it's funny how those conditioning kind of thoughts come in and it just takes someone to point out that that's not correct. I am very grateful to Leanne for helping me realise I do have a ballet body if I want to use it that way. I'm more of a jazz girl, let's be honest. But yeah, that's the kind of thing that Leanne does. That's the kind of environment she's creating.

0:32:03 - (Nicole): I hope that if your kid is into dance, they have the same kind of loving, kind, encouraging environment as well. I had a great time talking to these, too. We're going to have another fantastic conversation next week. I say that every time because it's true. I just love bringing these stories to you and I learn so much and I love hearing people's journeys. So until then, have a great week. Bye for now.

0:29:50 - (Nicole): Bring your kid to work was recorded.

0:29:52 - (Nicole): In meant on the lands of the Jaggera and Turable, people who've been sharing their stories for more than 60,000 years.

0:29:59 - (Nicole): Thanks for listening to another episode of bring your kid to work. If you haven't already, make sure you give us a review on your podcast player of choice. It helps other people find the show and follow bring your kid to work and subscribe wherever you're listening now and send your favorite episode to a friend. These stories are too good to keep to ourselves. And don't forget to follow us on Instagram and TikTok at bring your kid to work and on Facebook at bring your kid to work the podcast and did you know you can join the conversation join bring your kid to work career conversations community on Facebook for great career tips and conversations about the journey of work, workplace culture, and parenting while working.

0:30:41 - (Nicole): We're always looking for inspiring guests to be a part of our show. If you have a fab idea for a guest, drop us a line at admin@bringyourkidowork.com au or dm us through the socials. We would love to hear from you. Thanks again for listening. Bring your Kid to Work is a Lioness media production this episode was produced and edited by me, Nicole Lesio. Our music is composed by Rikuo with graphics and design by Anastasia McCuka.

0:31:10 - (Nicole): Follow bring your kid to work on your podcast player and all the socials and visit.com to see our blog transcripts from our episodes and to sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates. Talk to you soon. Close.

0:35:59 - (Nicole): Bring your kid to work was recorded in mean on the lands of the Jaggera and Turrbal, people who've been sharing their stories for more than 60,000 years. Thanks for listening to another episode of bring your kid to work. If you haven't already, make sure you give us a review on your podcast player of choice. It helps other people find the show and follow bring your kid to work and subscribe wherever you're listening now and send your favourite episode to a friend.

0:36:28 - (Nicole): These stories are too good to keep to ourselves. And don't forget to follow us on Instagram and TikTok at bring your kid to work and on Facebook at bring your kid to work the podcast and did you know? You can join the conversation join bring your kid to work career conversations community on Facebook for great career tips and conversations about the journey of work, workplace culture, and parenting while working.

0:36:51 - (Nicole): We're always looking for inspiring guests to be a part of our show. If you have a fab idea for a guest, drop us a line at admin@bringyourkidowork.com.Au or dm us through the socials. We would love to hear from you. Thanks again for listening. Bring your kid to work is a lioness media production. This episode was produced and edited by me, Nicole Lessio. Our music is composed by Rukkuo with graphics and design by Anastasia Makkuhka.

0:37:20 - (Nicole): Follow bring your kid to work on your podcast player and all the socials, and visit bringyourkidowork.com to see our blog transcripts from our episodes, and to sign up to our newsletter off for the latest updates. Talk to you soon.