Kayln Bruington on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Kayln Bruington. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Kayln, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I typically start my day with a little bit of personal time where I spend 15 minutes in my daily devotionals and then 15 minutes furthering my education, currently I am learning the French Language. Then I prepare for my day by showering, doing my personal exercises, getting dressed, putting my hair up, and putting any makeup on that I will wear that day if any. Then I typically move to the “office” side of my job where I send emails and respond to them, and send a reminder text to all my customers for the day. After that I prepare for classes that day whether it is lesson planning or choreography. By that point it is typically around lunch time where I try to eat a high protein lunch while I work on show prep. That can be anything from prop design, working on sets, working on programs/playbills, costume designs, costume sorting, etc. Then it is typically time to leave to go to the studio. I like to arrive around 1 hour prior to my classes starting. That way if I need to sweep the floors, get the message board updated, set out any props or set pieces I will have time. Once I start teaching that is basically what I do as we only have 5 minutes for a passing period. So, like on Thursdays I teach straight from 3:30-8:30p. Once I am finished teaching my students I lock up the facility and drive home. Where I have quick dinner with my husband and we typically watch a tv show or play a game then we go to bed to start it all again the next day.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Kayln Bruington and I own a Dance and Musical Theatre Studio in a small town. We are the only studio in our town so it is not only teaching dance and theatre but also teaching the community about how these programs run. We are special not only because we are the only one in our area but I like to focus on teaching my students to be good people while teaching the dance or theatre trade. Most students will not dance once they reach adulthood. Most students leave dance in middle school, some will continue through high school, and only a few will dance in college and an even fewer will continue dancing as an adult. I feel like students need to learn something that is going to be with them all the way through there not just until middle school. Being kind, working hard, caring about others and how your actions directly effect others is a big things we try to teach all our students.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Owning your own business can be challenging because there is no pleasing everyone and everyone has their own opinion of what is the right way to do something. When I first opened my business I fell into the trap of trying to be everything for everyone. But I quickly found that is not achievable. There will be people that will not like style of my business and the way I chose to run things. This was a very hard time for me because I wanted everyone to think what I did was a perfect fit for their family. When I was struggling to be everyone’s perfect I found that changing wasn’t working because I wasn’t meeting the needs of the people I already had that were happy with my product. It was then that I realized I don’t have to be perfect to everyone in the world to be someone’s world.

When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
I struggled with a fear of the dark for many years of my childhood it wasn’t until I made peace with that God made all things, even the dark, that I began to see the beauty in the dark. The darkness is not void of all things beautiful – there are stars, the northern lights, and the beautiful hues of blue, purple, and green. It isn’t just this vast abyss of blackness that I saw a child.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That you cannot set goals for kids. I work with kids of all different age and have for more than 20 years and the biggest thing they taught me is they will always rise to the occasion. There are several people that think I should “dumb it down” or “overly simplify” things because they are children, but if they don’t have something to work towards they can lose focus and passion. All of my students surprise me with the magic they create every day. Magic to be a better person today than they were yesterday.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
Instead of talking of all the grand things I did or accomplished I would like them to say about what kind of woman I was inside. I caring soul that always gives her full 100% into everything she did because if it is worth doing, it is worth doing well.

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Mianna Wick Photography

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