Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jasmine Mathew. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jasmine , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

2001, in Philly at Temple U., I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Health Studies and a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation and received my Certification in Recreational Therapy, officially becoming a CTRS. All that in a fairly new field where most people didn’t even know what Recreational Therapy was made it always a discussion point for me that I needed to be prepared for. Fast forward to 2011, when I took time off from working to care for my now oldest son but was craving the ability to accomplish something in the community through work. So, I began reaching out to local dance studios because I had previously taught Bollywood dance on the side for other companies. I thought that it was the latest rage to do Bollywood dancing and that I could monopolize on it, maybe even attempting to be inclusive for all abilities. However, I was afraid to cater to that particular community so it was just Bollywood and BollyFit for all. I created my own business plan and name and used my personal funds to start an L.L.C., because my thought was, “Hey, how hard could it be? There’s so many small businesses in Long Island.” I did not have the faintest clue about marketing, investing and return, a profit margin, or even how to word REALLY what I wanted to do deep down. I did however teach a few small classes and despite having a studio owner be supportive of my dance class, she needed it to have enough students for a profit and I did not do well with understanding how to network. Despite my many years working as a therapist in various populations, being a business owner had so many hats that I did not realize when the hats fell off. So, when our financial advisor recommended dissolving the L.L.C., I was heartbroken and vowed never to take a risk like that again. With that, came along all the self-doubt and hiding my heritage and pride about bollywood dance as well as the thinking I could work on my own without a boss. Jump to 2018 in Texas, while caring for 3 kids and being a therapist through home healthcare, I came across not one, but several clients who realized I used to teach bollywood dance, as well as pre-school jazz/ballet, and they told me they wished there were dance classes for students with disabilities. It made me wonder if they were not informed about what was available to them, so I did my research like a good therapist and found out that there was no permanent classes, just special events, or various projects/workshops, even classes that were running by dance instructors who meant well, but were not trained in safety measures, etc. with working with students with various disabilities, or they were limited to specific disability populations. These clients even asked me to start teaching a class but I did not respond thinking that would be too risky of something to sign up for, being that would be yet again, another “project”. So, I sat on it, thinking about what a risk it would be to start something so niche and specific to a population. I also just moved to the state 4 years prior and did not know so many people to feel that supported. Then, sitting on the couch in my house one day in August of 2018, I looked at my laptop through my notes and thought “wouldn’t it be great for dance to be an intervention for these clients?”. So, I spoke to another therapist who started her own practice but only did it as a DBA (“Doing Business As”) because it was just her with no employees as a startup. She made it sound pretty easy and I filled out paperwork to start “Jasmine’s Beat” (yes, the same name I started with back in New York), took a big gulp of courage, and hit send. Then, I mentioned quickly to my husband “Oh by the way, I think I started a business.” Yeah, not my shining moment of being a communicative wife since I did it on a whim. But we figured it out and he has been nothing but supportive of my business, in fact, standing in for me at vendor events to help sell my adaptive dance business all over Texas. Currently, we have several businesses and organizations that work with us all over North Texas (in-person) as well as Canada and New York (virtually). And, we are continuing to expand.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Recreational Therapist who has worked for over 20 years with persons with various disabilities, including but not limited to rehabilitation hospitals, nursing homes, acute care facilities, psychiatric hospitals, school settings, virtually and in home health. The ages of my patients have been newborn to over 100 years old. My company is called Jasmine’s Beat®, an adaptive dance company for all ages and all abilities. We provide adaptive fusion dance, adaptive tap, adaptive musical theater choreography, adaptive ballet, adaptive jazz, adaptive bollywood, adaptive cheer, ASL hip hop, and are continuing to add to our various styles through new instructors. All of our adaptive dance instructors go through vigorous training and have a connection to both dance and disabilities. We provide year-round class, camps, workshops, and special events, depending on locations. We are proud of the fact that we have a rising number of supportive organizations that highlight our classes in the community to help get the word out to various underprivileged communities. We have also provided classes as part of Recreational Therapy in a mental health setting for adults and the geriatric population. Our classes provide the opportunity for all ages, no matter where they are in age number, to find their friends within their developmental age/needs, in a non-judgemental zone. We LOVE to share a space where students can release their creative energies, whether in between running laps in our classes, practicing deep breathing techniques, being non-verbal and requiring breaks or one-on-one time. We cater to sensitivities, such as clothing, costumes, lighting, volume, space, and really anything that will assist in participating and enjoying coming to our classes. There is so much take-home value to the skills attained in our classes, such as turn-taking skills, hand-eye coordination, rhythm identification, safety, social etiquette/skills, endurance, friendships, and so much more. In fact, our best marketing method is through guardians of our students spreading the word about how their loved one has improved their quality of life through our classes. We also allow parents to sit in our classes if that makes the student more comfortable. We allow siblings and volunteers to assist in our classes and love that our community is learning about inclusion through dance. Our most recent addition to our company is Jasmine’s Beat Therapeutic Services, L.L.C., which provides specialized therapies, such as Music Therapy, Massage Therapy, Aquatic Therapy, Recreational Therapy and Equine Therapy, to CLASS and YES waiver clients. We provide various opportunities for performances, including at the Abilities Expo in Dallas, recitals for various dance studios, and musical theater with a troupe with various abilities. One of our proudest moments is in watching our students grow in our classes, whether they choose to perform or not.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think the most helpful thing to know in succeeding in my field is networking and through networking being able to show evidence-based research that shows how valid and advancing Jasmine’s Beat® Adaptive Dance can be. We are currently working on obtaining grants through research to show what improvements our students have made. These grants would ultimately help them in return with various adaptive equipment, more technological advances within the world of dance, and help us stand out as a profession.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I would choose Recreational Therapy and all the obstacles that came along with it. I originally was a Physical Therapy major, then Psychology, then Exercise Physiology, and then I stumbled across Recreational Therapy. It had so much potential and so much variety that I would never be bored as a professional, and it helped me become the therapist and business owner I am today. Having the mindset to always be educating others on what we do for the last 22 years has shaped my confidence in my business.

Contact Info:

• Website:www.jasminesbeat.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jasminesbeat
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jasminesbeat
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/jasminesbeat
• Yelp: www.yelp.com/jasminesbeat
• E-mail us: [email protected]