We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Darleen Bolton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Darleen below.

Darleen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Starting my pre-professional dance company, Darleen’s Dance Lab (DDL), underneath the umbrella of my dance studio, Pirouette With Purpose Dance Studio (PWP). DDL is for young dancers between the ages of 5-18 that are looking to take their dance training to the next level and with the goal of performing professionally as an adult. I have owned and operated dance studios and businesses centered around recreational dance for 18 years which is the norm in the dance studio industry. Most dance studio owners will run a dual dance program where the recreational curriculum ensures the profit and will have a competition team of elite dancers that achieves the performance goals of the studio. So this transition from the usual dance studio set up to a strictly competition-only model was the epitome of taking a risk. I took the risk in the first place because as my recreational program was gaining stability, my competition program was gaining and excelling in ways I didn’t think were possible. Opportunities and doors were opening that were leading me to exert more energy into that program as opposed to my recreational one. I was essentially traveling and managing the careers of my competition dancers, networking with key players in the industry, and creating opportunities for my dancers all at the same time. I fell in love with the “work” and knew I was ready to leave the recreational dance studio world behind. And in all honesty, I was enjoying these opportunities more and more and found myself wanting to solely dedicate my time to these dancers. Being an artist, I followed my heart and it hasn’t led me astray yet. Starting Darleen’s Dance Lab was one of the best decisions of my life and I don’t regret it one bit! PWP will always be the umbrella but DDL is setting the standard.

Darleen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a professionally trained dancer born and raised in Atlanta, Ga. I first saw a ballet class as a kindergartener and it was love at first sight. After much convincing, my parents enrolled me in formal dance classes at the age of 7 and I never looked back. I am the owner of Darleen’s Dance Lab (DDL) and Pirouette With Purpose Dance Studio (PWP). As of recently, DDL is my main focus and it is a dance company for male and female dancers between the ages of 5-18 that want to take their dance training to the next level with the ultimate goal of dancing professionally as an adult. The intensity of my curriculum for my dancers is definitely what sets me apart. They have weekly mandatory classes that have a focus on cultivating, what I think, are the essential elements of any successful athlete: discipline, perseverance, and undeniable physical and mental strength. That is what I’m most proud of as well. It’s what I’m most known for and what people notice first about my dancers.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I draw a lot of my daily inspiration from TED Talks, motivational speaking videos on YouTube, and reading self-help and autobiography books from people that I admire. I start everyday with a motivational speech or TED Talk playing on YouTube in the background as I prepare for my day. My favorite motivational speeches to watch are from Oprah Winfrey, Steve Harvey, Denzel Washington, and Brene Brown. I started this practice recently and it has made a world of difference on my decision-making, daily perspective, and how I move throughout my day. As far as books, I’m currently reading “A Promised Land” by Barack Obama. I enjoy it and books like it because it gives you a glimpse into the world, thought processes, and emotions behind prominent figures and public events where people like myself were only the onlookers or audience. It’s extremely inspiring and gives me the courage to persevere through my own obstacles and challenges that are usually on a much smaller scale.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that you don’t start something until you’re ready. Now I believe that you should start before you’re ready. I learned that it’s ok to go off the beaten path and answer my calling. Even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else because it’s MY calling, not theirs. Starting my dance company is not the norm in my industry so I got a lot of crazy looks when I made the announcement that I was pivoting my business. At first it bothered me but I had to get comfortable with that because the urge to step out on faith was way more convincing than my fears.

Contact Info:

• Website: pwpdance.com
• Instagram: @pwpdance

Image Credits
Brandon McDaniel