We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cathleen Dower a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Cathleen with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I got my work ethic from my parents, who came from humble beginnings. My Mother was one of five kids and started working from the time she could get her working papers, she became a Nurse working full time at Bristol Meyers Squibb and would even take on part time work at Senior Communities around our town for extra money.
My Father, was one of three and became an orphan by the time he was 12 years old. Thankfully, his Grandparents took him and his siblings in and raised them, but he started his own business in his 20’s framing houses and went on to work for the township of Monroe as a building inspector until he retired.
My parents instilled in me from a young age the importance of working hard and to never take anything for granted. To do work I am proud of and that serves others and to be a leader.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Cathleen Dower and I am the director/owner of the Fitzgerald School of Irish Dance located in Old Bridge, NJ. I founded my dance school 10 years ago at the age of 26, when I got the chance to teach at a local studio as a staff member. However, it wasn’t until September 2016 that I decided to struck out on my own when the studio owners were retiring and I had already built a following.
I rented space at the local Irish American social club, where I had first learned to Irish Dance so many years ago, total full circle moment. I started with only 15 students and in one year doubled my numbers. However, once the pandemic happened and forced us to close our doors, I lost about half of my dancers. My only saving grace was doing online classes. This is when I stumbled upon Reel Robics, which is an irish dance inspired fitness class for Adults, founded by a former Riverdance from Ireland.
I decided to get certified as a Reel Robics instructor to be able offer more class options and to more demographics. Right now I am the only US certified Reel Robics Instructor and the program continues to grow!
I’m so grateful that my business managed to stay afloat during the pandemic and we now have regained and surpassed the number of dancers we had whilst in the middle of the pandemic.
I learned a lot of lessons during that time period, once of which is just how important the Arts is to people everywhere as well as a need for connection and a sense of community and that’s something I have tried to develop within my dance family a sense of community and belonging for all. I have recently expanded my Reel Robics classes as well as my recreational and competitive classes and I’m proud to say this is the most classes I have ever offered!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back I’d say the 3 most important skills or qualities that were most impactful on my journey were resilience, drive, and good communication skills.
Resilience, because you never know what life will throw your way, and some things you cannot control. This is something that is molded over time, through the storms of life, but once the storm passes the view from the other side is amazing if you have the resilience to whether those storms.
Drive.. what motivates you? What inspires you? What lights you up? These are important questions you must ask yourself because when things get tough and on the days you want to just quit and give up your “why” is going to drive you and make sure you keep going!
Good communication skills: Knowing how to communicate and relate to people is so important. Because that’s what business is, relationships! If someone doesn’t trust you or feel a connection to you, they are not going to buy from you or ever want what you are selling! They need to be able to relate to you and trust you, that’s what it comes down to. Also, you have to be able to get across to your audience how your service/product will benefit their life.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Yes, I would love to collaborate with other artists, musicians, and dancers alike to create something truly unique and special such as a dance performance, new choreography, etc. I also am always looking for aspiring dance teachers to join my team!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fitzgeraldsirishdance.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/fitz_school_of_irish_dance
- Facebook: Fitzgerald School of Irish Dance
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathleendower
