We were lucky to catch up with Carol Tang recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Carol thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My parents were extremely hardworking. They immigrated here to the US in 1980’s, opened a Chinese restaurant (which was my second home) for the first 18 years of my life; eventually I learned how to manage the restaurant by the time I was in my teenage years. My parents worked 7 days a week, 12 hour shifts and only took off for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. My parents impacted my life in so many ways, but the one that sticks to me the most was my mothers ability to take me to ballet class 30-45 minutes away from the business, and then would go back to continue working to then return 4 hours later to pick me up. Regardless of how busy my mother was, she always found a way to get me to my classes on-time. Till this day I am extremely thankful for her dedication and sacrifices she made for me. Because of my parents I live by the phrase, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” There will always be time as long as it is managed wisely.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Carol Tang, I am the Co-owner/Director of Greater San Antonio Academy of Ballet located on the west side of San Antonio. GSAB first opened in July of 2016 after my husband and I decided to retire from our professional ballet career. We specialize in all forms of dance with a strong focus on Classical Ballet. What sets up apart from others is that our dance program allows our students to improve in a short amount of time. We pay a lot attention to detail and pride ourselves on teaching students correct ballet technique; a strong ballet technique will always compliment other dance styles.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Many people think dance is just a hobby and it doesn’t hold as much value as other professions. Non- creatives will struggle to understand that a professional dancer can make a decent living.

Through ballet, I received a scholarship to The College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. After I graduated I went on to continue on as a professional ballet dancer and dance educator. I met so many amazing people along the way; traveled around the world; performed in different theaters; was in the greatest physique of my life, and the best part of it was that it never felt like “work”. My favorite part of performing was the ability to connect with the audience through story telling. Now that I have retired from the stage I love the teaching aspect of this art form. I am so lucky to be able to pass down all the knowledge I have learned from my past mentors to the next generation of aspiring dancers. I turned a dream into reality, and a passion into a business and it feels so good! Though, I still have a lot I would like to accomplish with the studio, however, the future of GSAB is looking very bright- I can not wait to share with you more of our journey!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Back in the day it was harder to get ahold of books and videos of Ballet. A memorable gift my ballet teacher gave to me was a complied VHS of famous ballet variations. I would re-play the same tape over and over again since it was the only item I owned that was related to ballet. Now and days there is unlimited access to almost anything on the internet as Youtube is the number one go-to. The younger generations are very lucky to have other resources available to them, but I’m also thankful the platforms exist because it allows me to become a better creative and dance educator.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.greatersanantonioacademyofballet.com
• Instagram: greatersa_academy_of_Ballet
• Facebook: Greatersa
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmL2qfhLAl96luJHyUc8H1w

Image Credits
Alexander Devora