Written by Shanna Kirkpatrick, Chara Founder 8.15.2023 Tears Are Okay A child’s first dance class comes with a lot of NEW. A new room, new teacher, new wardrobe, and new friends. It is common for children to have a hard time with all of the NEW, especially when it comes at a time…
Written by Shanna Kirkpatrick, Chara Founder 5.11.2023 Developing Strong Mental Skills Through Dance and Music Along with May flowers, Mother’s Day, and the excitement of summer around the corner, this month ushers in awareness of an essential topic: mental health. Back in 1949, Mental Health America (then known as the National Association for…
Written by Shanna Kirkpatrick, Chara Founder 4.15.2023 The Grandparent Impact Last month my family had the complete joy of celebrating my grandparents’ 70th wedding anniversary—how incredible is that milestone?! I am in awe of them. I always have been. My grandparents have been heroes to me all my life. In addition to my amazing…
Written by Shanna Kirkpatrick, Chara Founder 3.13.2023 Music Matters Steven Curtis Chapman. Cindy Morgan. DC Talk. Watermark. Many of you are probably familiar with these names. These Christian artists helped shape my personal theology and outlook on life. As a child, my home and my dance studio were both filled with Christian music.…
Written by Shanna Kirkpatrick, Chara Founder 2.21.2023 The Art of Receiving Feedback As a dance student, I loved hearing from my instructors in class! Whether it was a critique or praise, I held on to every word. I can remember how much I desired feedback—in my mind, I would file away their comments…
Written by Shanna Kirkpatrick, Chara Founder 12.19.2023 Accept The Gift A couple months ago, I was at the Friendswood Starbucks drive-thru that is notoriously known for its long line. Another car was coming to the line from a non-traditional direction, and I let the driver cut in front of me. When I got to…
Written by Shanna Kirkpatrick, Chara Founder 11.17.2022 From Comfort Zone to Growth Zone Each November at Chara, it is an exciting annual tradition for many of our students to attend Dance Revolution, a Christian dance convention. This is a huge undertaking for the studio: earlier this month the staff and I brought 100 dancers…
Written by Shanna Kirkpatrick, Chara Founder 10.25.2022 A Special Kind of Dance Mom I first met Dinah Boykin in 2009: she walked into the studio—our original location at W. Parkwood Avenue—with her three small daughters, looking for a place for them to try dance. Dinah was clear that she wanted a studio…
Written by Shanna Kirkpatrick, Chara Founder 9/15/2022 Leaders Are Made, Not Born When I was a teenager, I learned that leaders are made—not born. It was a philosophy instilled in me by my parents, who were committed to raising confident kids equipped to face the complexities of our world and contribute to our…
Written by Shanna Kirkpatrick, Chara Founder 5/24/2022 Tell The Story In the Spring of 2006 I was driving down FM 518 when I got the phone call I had been waiting for! The call that was supposed to launch me into my chosen career as a drill team director, was actually a call…