2019 Winner
Wise 50 Over 50 Award™
Nancy Morgan – The Workshop Dance Studio
www.theworkshopdancestudio.com
In my previous life before becoming a Female Entrepreneur in a small town, I was a big city office administrator for over 25 years, working for various companies, plus a wife and mom. When the need for office administrators started to become obsolete, I decided that it was time to return to my original love of teaching dance.
Like many little girls, my parents put me into dance when I was very young. I liked ballet, but I really really loved tap dancing. I loved tap so much that when I was 14, my teachers and studio owners saw potential in me and asked me to start teaching the adult classes. I loved it! I continued to study serious tap under several tap masters and with several letters of recommendation, I auditioned and was accepted into the National Tap Dance Company and I also became the co-director of a tap company called Tapotage. As much as I loved performing, I got the most enjoyment out of taking a new dancer and showing them how amazing tap dancing could be.
Life got in the way of my love of tap dancing and I stopped teaching to raise a few kids and work at a steady job.
When I turned 50, getting laid off rekindled by desire to start teaching tap again.
On March 23rd, 2015, The Workshop Dance Studio was born and is thriving in my small town. I wanted to do something different and decided that my studio was going to be exclusively for adults. Today, the schedule is crammed with all kinds of dance and dance fitness. I have teachers coming from far and wide to teach workshops and specialty classes designed specifically for adults. It’s a beautiful thing to see an adult enjoy dancing regardless of their age.
It’s always been important to me to be involved in the community. The doors are open to a free weekly Parkinson’s Fitness class in partnership with the Kemptville District Hospital and a Heartwise Aerobics class in partnership with the Heartwise Program at the Ottawa Heart Institute. We also host the only free GLA:D osteo-arthritis fitness clinic five times a week. These fitness classes are super important and it gives me great joy to see people continuing to keep fit following surgeries or other life changing diagnosis.
Other ways I try to contribute to my community is by volunteering on the Municipal Community and Economic Development Advisory Committee to help find ways in our community to thrive and grow. I participate in the Business Improvement Association, The Chamber of Commerce and the North Grenville Business Builders. All fantastic organizations working hard to help Kemptville be the most awesome it can be.