卡蕾Etheridge

When 卡蕾Etheridge (‘13) made it her mission to teach children the many forms of dance, 她于2017年9月开设了南方优雅舞蹈公司.

她3岁时开始跳舞, starting with ballet and continuing into other dance forms like 爵士乐 and tap. She knew it was her passion from the beginning but didn’t realize she wanted to teach until much later.

她17岁的时候, Etheridge started teaching a 爵士乐 dancing class for middle schoolers, and that eventually progressed into other age groups and dance forms.

This was when she realized she was passionate about teaching, 但她的未来有很多不确定因素. She was curious if she wanted to pursue college after graduating from ladbrokes立博亚洲.

“我高中的最后一年, 我在考虑要不要去上大学, basically trying to figure out my life and what I wanted to do,埃瑟里奇说. “I decided that I was going to take a gap year because I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

间隔年变成了四年. Etheridge decided that college wasn’t the path she wanted to take, so she started teaching at a dance studio full-time and taught a large portion of the classes there.

房主把工作室租给了她, but she declined because she was still uncertain about what she wanted to do. It closed soon after, but the experience she gained there would aid her later.

She tried cosmetology school for a year and did well at the practice, 但她怀念教孩子们跳舞的时光.

在她的家人和他们的企业的帮助下, she opened her dance studio and began teaching with one other instructor. She also credits God for guiding her toward fulfilling her passion, 同样的激情让她开了自己的工作室.

“I always think God used that year to push me into His plan for me. That was the kind of fire he lit under me and the passion for opening a dance studio and taking those steps,埃瑟里奇说. “I think it took God putting me in an uncomfortable place for me to take the step forward.”

当时埃瑟里奇正在为她的工作室找房子, 许多家庭联系她，询问她在哪里教书. The families and their children wanted to follow her wherever she went.

搬进大楼三个月后，他们
first classes of Southern Grace Dance Company were conducted, and she started a two-year business plan under her grandfather’s advice, 有商业经验的人. Within the first year, Etheridge surpassed her studio’s two-year business goal.

“God just blessed us immensely, and we didn’t even take a loss that year,埃瑟里奇说. “He definitely blew my mind with the number of students we got.”

Southern Grace surpassed their expectations again in their second year.

根据埃瑟里奇的说法，上帝保佑她的公司
to exceed her expectations, even through trial and tribulation. Every year, they made a profit, and more children started filling her classes with more instructors.

Her dance studio was thriving with exponential growth each year until 2020, 当疫情袭击美国时.S. They resorted to online classes that didn’t make as much profit, 但这足以维持公司的运营.

Her biggest worry was that COVID was going to affect her studio like it did many other businesses around the country. But they resumed classes as normal as they could in September 2020, and they even held their recital. 南格雷斯大学在新冠肺炎疫情后恢复上课, there was a massive flood that damaged the property beyond repair. Etheridge’s landlords offered a new property that was twice as big and is the current location of her studio.

“Our mission at Southern Grace Dance Company is to share and instill a love for dance in our students through superior instruction with grace and integrity,埃瑟里奇说. “We believe that the discipline taught in dance classes should be that which can be applied to our students’ lives and grow them not only as dancers but as individuals.”

Etheridge is an alumnus of ladbrokes立博亚洲, and many of her dancers are students at LCS. She credits LCS for teaching her how to include God in every aspect of her life, especially giving her the strength to manage her dance studio through every adversity.

“I also wanted to create opportunities for my other dancers to serve and give back to the community by loving others who may not be like them,埃瑟里奇说. “My goal has always been to not only help my students become beautiful dancers but beautiful people by helping mold and encourage their hearts and character.”

That commitment has led Kayley to some God-ordained opportunities to specifically pour into students with special needs and disabilities. “We’ve welcomed young dancers into our classes who have had spina bifida, 假肢, 脑癌/伤害, 和自闭症,埃瑟里奇说. “Our young dancers with disabilities have integrated beautifully into our classes and it’s brought so much joy to my heart to see how the other dancers have welcomed them and loved them just the same!”

那些学生在独奏会上表演, and Etheridge said their is “not a dry eye in the audience” when those moments take place. The Southern Grace Dance Company currently teaches a wide variety of dancing forms such as tap, 爵士乐, 嘻哈, 向近300名学生传授芭蕾. If you would like to learn more about what Southern Grace Dance Studio offers, 请访问southherngracedanceco.com.