We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Megan Warnick. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Megan below.
Hi Megan , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Growing up we all have big dreams and plans for our future. I had a large list of things I was going to do and my own timeline of when I would do them. As we all know, life always has a different plan or timeline than we expected. I was blessed to perform professionally earlier on and have many amazing opportunities to connect and learn from wonderful mentors. Starting a professional dance company has been on my list of things to do when I was in my thirties. There I was at 26 with studio space at my finger tips, amazing local dancers looking for performance opportunities, and plenty of ideas to bring it all to life. My purpose became giving others the chance to do what they love on stage, build a community of talented dancers, most importantly help spread the message of SHIFT! SHIFT has a very special place in my heart and I believe that through dance we can share positivity and love on and off stage. I want everyone to know they are important and to always leave a performance or rehearsal feeling like they can conquer anything.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I started a professional dance company four years ago in hopes of keeping incredible dancers in Utah and providing them with performance opportunities. Shift Dance Company is contemporary based and we have the goal to help shift the mindset around dance and the arts. Dance is so healing for both the dancer and the audience member and I believe that through dance we can improve our communities and families. Shift has a performance coming up on March 1st and 2nd at the Midvalley Performing Arts Theater. We will then begin the audition process for our season 4 company members!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My top three would have to be communication, adaptability, and having resources and mentors to refer to. My advice for improving in any of these areas would be to really connect with the company and build a strong community that believes in the same dream you have! Whether it’s listening to a concern or an idea for your business, the willingness to hear them and think of solutions together strengthens that relationship. Remembering that things happen that are out of our control is another thing that I have had to work on as well. Being able to adapt to changes can be frustrating, but usually turn out better than it would have been in the first place.
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?
We love collaborating with other dance companies as well as any guest performances for other industries! If you would like to help grow Shift as we work towards becoming a non-profit organization or if you have opportunities for our dancers, please reach out. We love being involved with our Utah community and appreciate anyone that has supported us! Our email is [email protected] and we are also on social media @shiftdanceco.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: shiftdanceco
Image Credits
Meagan Mullahy, Greg Baird
