#78: The Grass Isn’t Always Greener at Another Studio

Thinking of switching studios? Before you make the leap, listen to this.

In this episode, Brittany Noltimier unpacks why the “grass is greener” mindset holds dancers back, and what to do instead. You’ll hear why moving studios doesn’t automatically solve performance problems — and how to create growth opportunities right where you are.

🎁 Grab the free bonus for this episode at www.brittanynoltimier.com/78

And remember — dancers grow faster with guidance. The grass isn’t greener somewhere else. It’s greener where you water it.

Transcript

Do you ever feel like if you were at a different studio, everything would be better?

More opportunities, more growth, more recognition.

Let's chat about why this might be holding you back.

Hello, friends. Welcome back to dance colleges and careers. I'm your host, Brittany Noltimier and this is the podcast where we talk about all things dance, colleges, and you guessed it, careers. Twitching Studios. Is it worth it? Is it not? Why we're always dreaming of what's on the other side and how that's probably holding you back.

My friends, was talking to this lady this week and...

She mentioned how her child really wants to move to this other studio in town because she's not getting this and this and this at her studio. And what she really wants is more lyrical classes and more hip hop or contemporary or whatever. She wants Acro. She wants these different classes that she's not getting right now. also wants more master classes. She wants more opportunities. feels like she's really being held back and

The child says to parent, I want to go to this other studio. So parents started looking into it to see, you know, should we switch? Is this the right answer? And came back saying they absolutely cannot afford it.

So what would you do, parents?

So what are you thinking right here? I gotta say without assessing, right? This is just a conversation. Don't even know who the kid is. Don't know their level of talent. But what I'm hearing as an outsider is kid, a preteen, I went to competition and I saw a dancer who I think is amazing, who I really look up to and I wanna dance like. I wanna go to that studio, learn like them, be like them.

So there's a few options here. to the other studio, become miserable in your household ⁓ with everybody else who is living in the house because now we can't afford our bills. We

or figure out how to get these opportunities while staying in an already very safe, wonderful environment. It seems like a no-brainer to me. It seems like a no-brainer. Again, I don't know the kid. She might be top talent and that could be totally different and it could be a studio that doesn't have any education, like very young teachers who maybe never got any extended education.

I don't know, I don't want to talk bad about studios that I don't have anything that I don't have any knowledge about. But the majority of what I see and what I hear about is this, is that the grass is greener on the other side. I'm not winning right now. I'm not successful right now. So if I switch and go to that studio, then I'll start winning.

honestly, to me, it feels like putting blame elsewhere and trying to solve a problem without actually solving the children, I mean, this isn't a child's fault. Yeah, they see somebody amazing. They want to go dance with the amazing person. Great. If you can make it happen and it's in the budget and the finances, amazing. But if you can't, then that's not the right answer for you. And that should be pretty clear.

We continued talking about it and main problem was that weren't getting a very specific classes. So I think it was like lyrical contemporary hip hop, very specific classes that she feels she's missing out on. First of all.

Just because a different studio puts routines in the lyrical category or in the open category does not mean they're taking classes in I didn't know how old this child was. So there are fundamentals to dance class guys. This is where I see so many errors coming in parents when we're, when we start to be like, but my child should be doing an aerial now. I see that all the time. All the nine year olds need to be doing aerials. Look.

Some of us just still have to get stronger. Some of us need to work on that leg strength. It is not that if they can't do it now, they're failures. I've been seeing that so much right now and you got to like, come on.

just see an excuse for not being as right where they want to be. Okay. I see that the studio is the problem rather than the kid making the best out of it, the best out of their classes. if you really need to move, you totally can. If that's the right decision for you, you make that decision. That is totally understandable.

this was totally crazy because she starts with, can't afford it. I don't even know the prices yet. What should I do? I mean, it's pretty obvious. You go find out the prices. You find out what you can afford and what you can't. And then when they give you a quote that you can't afford, just like if you need to get a new refrigerator, if you can't afford the new fridge, you get something else.

it all seems so crazy and it seems so woe is me. is me I can't afford it, but yet I want to take her there. How was, I'm like, why is this even a discussion if you can't afford it?

I see our excuses, I have many other episodes where I talk about how to get the most out of your class and how do ⁓ I love positivity. love going into class with a positive attitude. I love getting the most out of my time. I posted this thing on Sunday that said time is my love language and it absolutely is because

time is so valuable to me that I wrote it's my love language. So I work quality over quantity. There

assume that the grass is greener on the other side.

They assume that if they start going there, their child is gonna be like that number one at that studio. And the truth is it doesn't always work like that. And one other story that I was so happy to read connected to it was, you know what, my child did move. We did change studios because she didn't like the work ethic at our current studio. And she found that everybody was the same. So we changed, had...

this whole time of like stepping back and just because she's like, my child's not the best. She's not the top, but she's extremely focused and mature in the classroom. So it's just frustrating to see others not try as hard. I'm like, yeah, yo, that was me too. others to try hard. And that's also why I'm a teacher, right? I love to instill this energy, this effort of working hard.

I own a theater program now and I say one of the best things that I teach and that I love to teach is just teaching them how to sweat, how to work hard

if you know how to work hard, you can be successful in anything you do. You have to have the drive.

energy to be successful, not just in our dance shoes, but everywhere we are. I

So with this parent looking to move studios.

Honestly, I wanted to have a deeper conversation. wanted to see the two studios. I wanted to see her daughter perform to see like Are you just blowing smoke here a real problem for your child that she's not where she's supposed to be?

my friends, studio envy not fix habits. moving to a studio where you saw somebody else get first place does not mean that'll be you. It can, it can change. You could be put in a different environment where they expect more of you, where they expect more professionalism. The rules are stricter.

you don't have any structure in the current classes you're in, how are you, why would it matter if you were taking four more hours? You would probably still be in there playing freeze dance. so take a step back with your studio envy, the social media envy, put your screen down and just see what's in front of you. Be grateful for what's in front of you. See the opportunities in front of you.

See where you're missing opportunities in front of you and learn how to bridge the gap. Now, I will say that's not easy to do when you're in the situation. That's why people like me do what we do to help you bridge that gap.

travel across the country and I go in and out of different studios. see different environments. I teach studios, all with different rules and structure and expectations. So I say that when you're going to get a job as a dance teacher at a studio, it's the exact same as when you're picking one out, ⁓ when they are only three years old or when they're five or when you start at the studio.

So if you're auditioning them as much as they're auditioning you, sometimes you go there just because it is one block away from your house. Sometimes you go because you really connected with the owner and sometimes you leave because you don't connect with the owner, right? I would totally understand that. That's why I would never encourage anybody to follow teachers because teachers move. owners...

stay the same, you know? So it's just something to be really weary of guys. Like we always get into this, like we see somebody else better than us and we assume that everything is better over there. But every place has its different quirks. And at the end of the day, you need to be where it fits the best for your entire family.

comes from initiative. It doesn't just come from moving somewhere else to copy someone else. Right now, if you think you want to move to another studio, the best thing you should do is start following those people who you want to be like, whether they're your age, younger or older, start following them. See what they actually do. I mean, of course everybody shares different things online than what they really do in their lives, but maybe they are somebody who goes to your school.

or they are in the town next to you and you actually could understand and relate to some things going on. Maybe you guys are on an equal playing level and they should be your new best friend. Start to follow them, start to learn from them if that's who you wanna be like.

rather than just assuming where you are stinks and that everything else is better than where you are,

ownership in bridging the gap.

you like that other studio because they obviously have better way better technique than you. And that's what you're looking for. you want to go strictly to a ballet school and you go to the ballet school, that makes sense. All right. I totally get it. But so often neglect all the realities around us and we just see somebody beating us with the same type of music, the same type of.

choreography and we think I have to go there so I can be like them.

It's really, really hard to succeed when you always have one foot out the door.

is available anywhere. I'm in Orlando, Florida currently. Where are you at? Right? It's a, this is available anywhere. don't have to wait for a studio to give you opportunity. If you're there and you're like, I love this, this, and this about my studio, but I just really wish we got this. Then you need to seek that out and get that. There are so many people like me who teach you who travel, who coach, who coach.

online, not just dancing on Zoom lessons.

2020 anymore.

is all around you. True, if you don't follow an exact system, if you just start watching YouTube videos and try to become the next best dancer.

I would be happy for you if that worked, but it's really hard to get to an elite level without real structure and guidance. But that's why we do what we do, and that's why your studio does it the way they do it.

great thing is we're not talking about how to point your toes right now. We're talking about the structure and guidance for your life and your child's life. There are so many people who've been in your shoes and have failed and who have succeeded. And a heck of a lot easier to go to those people like me, like me, like my friends, like many people I can connect you with.

It is so much easier to go to someone who's been there before you and say, Hey, I'm going through this. What do you think? Then to wait another 10 years and regret it or to move and regret it. So all you got to do is ask people the resources are there. Opportunity is here.

is here not only for your child to learn how to do higher leaps, but for you parents, because you don't need to be at this alone. didn't grow up in dance, if you grew up in sports or academics, or you've just the first time you went to a dance recital was your child's, then you cannot be expected

to know the ins and outs of this world like like someone who is completely in this.

resources and sign your kids up for more things, but let yourself be a part of the process so that you can be a better and stronger support system.

in this for the long haul, I have a mastermind where I help coach parents to make sure that they're putting their kids in activities to help support their future rather than just reaching and hoping and doing everything that they see a poster for, but actually having a strategy for their child's success.

that many other professionals have that as well so that you don't have to be alone and you don't need to be going through this whole journey blind or expecting to know everything. That's unrealistic. You need to take care of you, your family.

it's inside my academy or mastermind or with another trusted mentor, answer is to get guidance.

grow so much faster with a coach in your corner.

that dancer who I heard about who felt stuck that the only option was to move studios.

The real answer is already in front of her.

continues this entire year, foot in and one foot out, already waiting to get to the next place, she is not gonna grow this year or go to that other studio stronger.

corny guys, I know it is, but the same is true for you. The grass isn't greener somewhere else. The grass is greener where you water it.

so much for being here with me on Dance Colleges and Careers. I look forward to seeing you next time. be brave, tell your story, and own the stage.