When Brittany first met Miss Erin at a women’s brunch, she loved her right away. Erin had just returned from living in Afghanistan, and spoke on being a steward of your talents.
“I still have her notes,” Brittany said. “And when Erin asked me later to teach dance, her words popped back into my head.”
Brittany comes from a family of dancers. Her mom danced, her sister, Brooke, dances and is a teacher at Bloom, and her seven-year-old daughter, Amory, takes dance classes.
Brittany started to dance at the age of 6, and continued dancing through her senior year of high school. She danced on her highschool dance team, and danced competitively with her studio.
“I was a pretty shy kid,” Brittany said. “But dance gave me a lot of confidence I don’t think I would have had otherwise.”
One of Brittany’s greatest memories from her dancing days was the community of friends she made. Fifteen years later, those girls--now women--are still some of her dearest friends.
“You spent so much time together,” Brittany said. “There was a bond, and we shared such fond memories.”
Besides teaching at a studio in college, and helping with choreography in high school, Brittany didn’t teach much before starting at Bloom when it first opened. But 4 years in, she is now teaching six classes. Her newest endeavor is Musical Theater, which she loves.
“There is a performance aspect to dance, and it’s important to think about the story you want to tell and convey to the audience,” Brittany said. “The kids really come out of their shells and we have so much fun.”
Brittany loves story-telling and words, and she believes that dance is a great tool to communicate.
“Dancers are real people with real emotions, connecting with their audience,” Brittany said.
Brittany also counts it a privilege to spend time with other people’s children. As a mom, she understands what it is like to know that your child is with a safe adult, where they feel loved, strengthened and encouraged.
“Hopefully they are learning a lot about dance, and growing in their skills,” Brittany said. “But it’s so cool to have that time with little girls to give them encouragement, which might build their confidence. You can’t have too many voices in their life being a source of encouragement and love.”
Dance brought confidence to Brittany as a young dancer, that still impacts her as an adult. She is excited to help her students build confidence, make life-long friends and use their talents!