Women in Business 2010

»WOMEN IN BUSINESS«

www.estevanmercury.ca

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A9

Women in Business Art as business … it can work, it does work

By Norm Park Of The Mercury When your business is an art form, it’s well nigh impossible to separate the business end of the business from the art end of the business.

But that’s what you have to do if your business is art.

This year’s focus on Women in Business takes a look at local businesswoman and dance teacher, Lorie-Gay Drewitz-Gallaway.

“My passion is dance and teaching dance, but I also know I have to take time to sit at a desk and do GST returns,” said DrewitzGallaway.

She has a dance studio that requires maintenance as well.

And try dealing with banks and bankers who don’t believe that a dance

studio can really be a busi“It was difficult at first. ness.

I didn’t know anybody here, Piano teachers, visual and I was trying to sell myartists and others who ply self as the dance teacher, and their way through the “art you know, it was just as business” minefield can me, a n d often do their business from their home using a spare room or residential addition as their studio. The same can’t be said for DrewitzGallaway, who had been preparing herself for a career as a dancer/teacher since she was three. She comes from a family of dance instructors and five of the six siblings in that family are also dancers Lorie-Gay Drewitz-Gallaway and teachers.

Shortly after marrying people didn’t know me,” local farmer Don Gallaway, she said.

Drewitz-Gallway arrived in Hailing from Assiniboia her new home in Estevan, and a well established dance filled with ambition and this studio family, Drewitz-Galpassion for dance that was laway was not familiar with bubbling over. Thirty years the need to educate parents later, the bubbles are still as well as eager young dance very much on the surface. students about the wonder-

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She had been working with her older sister in the family school in a community where structured dance lessons were a well-established part of a weekly schedule.

That wasn’t the case when she arrived in Estevan.

The first year didn’t go so well, but it wasn’t that bad either. The basic job of selling dance to the community slowly began to reap some benefits.

“My first dance recital at the end of the teaching year involved 58 young students,” she said.

“I rented the Oddfellows Hall a couple of days a week. The next year I started leasing space at the Legion Hall and Elks Hall, one day a week each for three years, but it was a struggle because our teaching schedule often conflicted with their hall booking schedules so I

reached a pretty scary moment,” she said. “I needed to get a building.”

The income from the dancing lessons was barely covering expenses, but in-

terest in her skills as a dance instructor and the school itself was growing significantly.

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»WOMEN IN BUSINESS«

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Estevan Mercury

Women in Business Art as business … it can work, it does work ⇠ A9 community wasn’t fully convinced about getting behind the idea, she did manage to get some financing thanks to the fact that her husband was willing to co-sign loan/ mortgage contracts.

“I wouldn’t say the banks were prejudiced against women and business, but they were looking at it from a particular business model side, and I had been looking at it as an art and passion model,” she said with a smile.

A few weeks after the art and business sides came to an agreement, the Drewitz School of Dance studio was born in a Fourth Street building that now houses Henry’s Lock & Key. That space was adequate for six years but when the former public library building became available with its two storey structure and easy access, she made a bid for the building and was successful in landing the facility 18 years ago. Major renova-

tions were made and the move in went smoothly.

Now the Drewitz School of Dance teaches a variety of dance skills to a total of 308 students.

“I have two full-time administrative staffers and two assistant teachers,” said Drewitz-Gallaway.

Senior students aspiring to some day become teachers or studio operators themselves gain the opportunity to help out in certain areas as unofficial apprentices.

Teachers require Royal Academy of Dance (RAD England) certification and an associate or ARAD status is granted only to teachers who have completed vocational graded exams. Drewitz-Gallaway met those conditions as a young woman. In fact she had attained the teaching status shortly after turning 16, but couldn’t officially teach until she turned 18.

Her reputation among dance instructors in Canada is well established, which means she receives calls to adjudicate or conduct workshops or examine students in other Canadian communities. That helps with cash flow, but then again, it’s the passion for the dance that dominates … not the money side.

Other sources of income include workshops or summer school projects.

Buying, renting, leasing and sub-leasing costumes is another end of the business, but Drewitz-Gallaway said it is filled with all kinds of business headaches that make it a cash out and cash in and if you break even, you’re really ahead of the game proposition.

“I came from a dance family, I know how we had to work at minimizing costume costs. I try to keep those costs down to minimum. The cost of our cos-

tumes over the last 18 years, I think, have only gone up by about $10 on average.

Highland dancing kilts are another matter though … very expensive. We will rent them out, some parents buy them. But other costumes, well, the credit card comes out in the winter and I make the purchases and then the cash comes back in later and it’s a zero sum game really.”

When it comes to mixing cash flow concerns with adjusting a young dancer’s feet as she works on a ballet movement, it just doesn’t happen. Drewitz-Gallaway moves away from the business end of in those moments. Passion for the art supersedes the need for a new furnace filter. That’s just the way it has to be.

And anyone who has been willing to suffer for their art, understands.

“I don’t think I even paid myself for the first

eight years,” Drewitz-Gallaway explained. “And I’m not in a business that provides a benefits package or a pension plan, so I had to start thinking hard about those things. And while we talk about the art and the business, there is a third, most important component and that’s family. You need home time and family time too,” she said.

Drewitz-Gallaway said she disciplines herself to tend to business details, probably two hours a day in the morning and maybe another hour to an hour and a half after lessons are finished in the evening. When she’s on the floor though, she’s a teacher and only a teacher.

“I’m not a sitter, I move around a lot … gotta be busy.”

She’s proud of the fact that her studio has groomed countless other teachers and professional dancers, many

of whom are now operating their own dance studios or are involved in musical/ dance productions on the professional circuits.

“It’s a lot of work to reach the final levels, the certification is evolving every year. It’s now the equivalent of three years of university level training and investment of about $10,000 to achieve the final status,” she said.

Examiners such as Drewitz-Gallaway can expect between $50 and $75 per hour while dance teacher fees can range between $15 and $30 per hour. But that’s only an average. Those fees vary from studio to studio and at the Drewitz School of Dance, you don’t buy extra time or attention from the teaching staff. The kidlets get equal attention and equal footing on the instructional floor. There may be some who are more talented than others, but A11 ⇢

Lorie-Gay Drewitz-Gallaway

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A.R.A.D. Director, Teacher, Choreographer, Examiner Recently awarded a life membership from the Canadian Dance Teachers Association (CDTA) Lorie-Gay Drewitz-Gallaway

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»WOMEN IN BUSINESS«

www.estevanmercury.ca

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A11

Women in Business Art as business … it can work, it does work ⇠ A10 payment for instruction means that’s what the young person gets.

So that leads to another important aspect of the business … dealing with parents.

“Parents are no different really from the teachers or the students. They have bad days and good days and when things turn negative or nasty, I just have to look at the overall picture and see if maybe they don’t know the entire story or have the

background. A frustrated parent needs to be able to vent and after it’s over, it’s my job to help them understand where I have to come from to help their child pass a dance exam,” DrewitzGallaway said. “They get equal attention on the dance floor. This is a people business so that’s the product we deal with. Whether it’s ballet, jazz, musical theatre, tap or Highland dancing, we’re guiding them to a point where they can succeed at

the next level.”

If a dance teacher is going to be serious about the business, then they have to learn anatomy so they’ll know when a child is physically hurting themselves, or when they might just be feeling a bit ill. There are health issues, protocol issues, psychology attributes to learn.

Her business requires that she follow a strict business plan that she has devised over the years. Next

spring’s recital is already on the board. “I order the show

by Christmas. I have the theme, about 630 costumes and basic creativity part of it done. The cash goes out, collect later … just like the oil patch,” she said in drawing a comparison.

She has understanding accountants who have helped her budget such things as travel time and expenses, examination times, her time away, inventory, carpet and computer re-

placement schedules, and so on and so on.

But again, getting down to the brass tacks of the business … it’s back to that people stuff again.

“Each year, if I can’t get personally better, then that’s the year I’ll quit. New teachers on the scene, I tell them they’re not done, just because they passed the RAD exam, they’re just getting started. And my senior students, I try to instill in them the sense that those

little primary dance kids are looking up to them.”

So is that the basic business model?

“No dance program teaches you how to do the business side, you learn that as you move along.

You can’t quit learning in this business. There’s the passion for dance. If that ends, it’s time for you to find a new path,” said DrewitzGallaway in conclusion.

And that’s the bottom line in the business of art.

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»WOMEN IN BUSINESS«

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Estevan Mercury

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