We had the good fortune of connecting with Theresa Kahl and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Theresa, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Taking risks is the gamble most business owners learn to do to achieve the next goal. When I think of risks, I think of putting yourself or your service out there with no guaranteed acceptance. Growing up as a dancer, you learn that rejection is a normal and that there are more closed doors than open doors, ultimately training your mental and emotional side to keep persevering towards the open door that’s bound to come up. I think I also learned a lot as a dancer that the world is subjective and that you cannot please everyone. As a business owner, this rings more than true. It’s important to let my students, dancers, employees, parents, performance patrons know that I hear them but to also stay true to my mission statement, morals, and guidelines to keep consistency within. Sometimes, that can shift but I’ve always been an open book and honest and make sure conversation is available.

As a dancer you also go through your training knowing as soon as you gain an achievement, you seek out the next. This can also be somewhat of a curse that I have come to discover always hungry for more and never content. This has pushed me to continue to strive to take that next step though which is often a risk taker move. Opening up the dance school was a small risk initially. Opening up two locations within two months of being open, was a risk. One that paid off doubling my enrollment as well as job growth. Relocating into a facility that allowed us opportunity was a larger risk with my overhead doubling but again, the enrollment and job growth quickly followed leading to a family investment on a building that proved to be a risk well worth taking.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My life as a dance school director and professional company director is quite different from most. I started teaching dance at the young age of 13years old. I trained at two different schools that specialized in one area and they had me teach the opposite at theirs. I saw that I had a natural niche to work with children of all ages as well as choreograph and direct. I was coaching competition dance teams by 16 years of age all while still training myself. I didn’t have the ballet build (more athletic and that was looked down on at the time) so was encouraged to seek the commercial dance world. That lead to the decision to move to Los Angeles after graduation of High School.

Discovering I was expecting my first child just a month after my move changed my course. I moved back home to refigure my future. I was no longer to be a professional dancer and was in shock. I found myself back in the studios teaching more than ever. Both of my mentors and school directors eventually moved away, transferring ownership to others after I decided I needed to learn to be a new mother first. I ended up teaching for a new director for nearly 7 years. I helped her run her office, competition teams and more. We shared the same vision but where I saw an opportunity, she saw it as a financial risk and shut down much of my ideas. I realized I needed to part ways after a couple of years of that.

When I opened my doors, I had over 100 students anxiously waiting. I had a handful of instructors to help and within a couple of months realized I needed more than one studio to fulfill all the students and their class needs so signed on a second location. After three years of being at that location, we realized we had the potential to grow even more so signed a lease at a better location that had over 10,000 sq ft of studio space. We were in that building for two years when I started to look at what my future held. I thought it to be ridiculous to pay the amount of lease each month if I could invest in a building that could lead to my retirement investment so purchased a near 13,000 sq ft building with the help of my parents.

Through the years, I became a mother of three. All children danced at some point but my oldest and youngest are the ones that stuck with it. My oldest son, Tanner Blee, is a professional ballet dancer with State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara, CA. My second son, Aaron Blee, is a NAG (National Age Grouped) Ranked BMX racer. And my third, Serenity Blee, is a 17 year old aspiring professional ballet dancer currently dancing as a trainee with Colorado West Performing Arts Company. I think being children of parents that believe in following your passion and goals is what has led them to be so successful in their craft. Having been told for years that dance is not a career but to be the one that has proved them wrong has taught me to never fall into that belief of a safe or back up career choice.

During Covid, my oldest came back home to live with us most of that time. I learned so much more about the professional ballet company world through him and his stories. Having more down time due to less performances, rehearsals, competition travel gave me time to think about that next step, that next risk. I decided it was time for Western Colorado to have its very own professional ballet company. Knowing how much I personally have done and brought for opportunities for dancers on the Western Slope made me realize if I didn’t do it, who would? So, I did just that. Along with a couple of other supporters of dance, we formed a board and filed for a non-profit. After approval, we sought out the auditioning process and contracted 8 dancers for our opening season. We have since than picked up two more dancers to add to the company to finish the year.

My approach to the company, non-profit, has been dancers come first. As a successful school owner/ director, I don’t need added payroll necessarily, so we have made sure to invest in our dancers, production needs first. Artistic Staff has been a believer of the idea knowing it can create more job growth and security for them as well with patience. It has been a ton of added work this first season but looks promising to do exactly what I had hoped the company to do. We are doing our best to create a healthy environment for all those working with the company to provide performing arts to communities that lack the exposure and opportunity. Dance, especially ballet, needs to stay strong and present. We are continuing to work to create live performances that continue to captivate the audiences to be in the moment and away from their devices. Create impressionable moments that stimulate the minds of both young and old.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Western Colorado is known for its beauty in the outdoors. Grand Junction specifically is surrounded by Colorado National Monument (also known as a miniature version of the Grand Canyon), Grand Mesa (the world’s largest flat-top mountain), beautiful Gunnison and Colorado River, and so much more. We have wineries that compete with California’s best as well as peaches that compete with Georgia’s. The Grand Valley has grown over the years yet remains small in so many ways getting you from point A to point B relatively quickly. We have an outdoor venue that brings in quite a few music concerts and many locally owned restaurants that are nationally recognized. If you were to visit, I’d suggest planning to do a ton of sight-seeing and/ or hiking/ mountain biking. We also have a ski resort located under an hour from town.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mother, Linda Kahl, has always been my biggest fan. As a dance mother, she was always there listening and supporting. Never controlled my decisions but rather a supportive force to lend an ear, hug, hand whenever needed. This carried on through my start of dance school ownership. She is still there to help wherever she can as she sees the impact dance and performing arts can have on so many of our youth as well as the community.

My ballet instructor growing up, Trudy McCreanor, also was a great mentor with seeing visions and carrying them out. I started working for her when I was just 13 as a dance instructor as well as help with answering phones and other duties. Taught me a lot at a young age. My more jazz/ contemporary instructor, DiAnn Moon, instilled great confidence in me. She saw me as a huge force as a performer and personality at a young age and helped keep me humble all while building me up.

Website: www.coloradowestpac.org www.absolutedancegj.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradowestpac/ https://www.instagram.com/absolutedancegj/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Absolutedancegj https://www.facebook.com/COWESTPAC

Image Credits
Ryan Baker Michael Neel Theresa Kahl

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