Jillian Michaels shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Jillian, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I start by pouring into my own cup. I go to the gym 3-5 times a week starting at 5am, complete with heavy weight training and some cardio followed up by 20 minutes in the sauna where I listen to guided coaching on wherever I’m feeling week in my leadership, teaching techniques, or my personal life. It’s really important for me to have these 2 hours to myself where no one needs anything from me. It gets me feeling secure to take on the day. My day is constant of other peoples’ needs, staff, dance parents, students, business colleagues… and an endless to do list.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Jillian Michels, I have owned Innovative Studios which houses The Dance Company (a dance studio), Power-Barre (barre/yoga/pilates classes), Busy Bee Boutique (clothing, dancewear, activewear, and acessories), and Once Upon a Dance (an outreach dance program that goes to preschools to do in house creative movement classes). I will include by bio below 🙂 Our studio now is also offering an aerial silks and cirque program to support our values on creating edcuation that gives opportunities for careers in dance for our clients.
Our organization thrives on our mission- LEARN, CREATE, SHARE, GROW. you can see more on our website about that www.thedancecompanytrinity.com
Meet Jillian Michaels
Owner & Artistic Director | Ballet, Pointe, Modern, PBT, Relative Motion, Adaptive Dance, Preparatory
Jillian Michaels brings over 20 years of experience to The Dance Company as a dedicated educator, director, and forever student. She holds a B.A. in Dance Education and has taught in studios, universities, and schools across the globe—from founding a dance program on a naval base in Japan to teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Tampa.
She is certified in the ABT® National Training Curriculum (Pre-Primary through Level 8/Partnering) and Progressing Ballet Technique®, and has completed Physically Integrated Dance training with AXIS Dance Company. She is also the creator of Power-Barre, a dance-based fitness program focused on injury prevention and rehabilitation.
Jillian is a member of the National Dance Education Organization and advisor for the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of the historic Richey Suncoast Theatre.
Jillian believes dance education is a lifelong, cyclical journey—where students and teachers continuously inspire one another to grow, create, and evolve.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My family. My mother has always been my biggest supporter. She’s always done everything she could to give me what she could to make my dreams come true. She couldn’t always do what she wanted to do as a working single mother who was also going to school to finish her degree through out my childhood, but she always put her time, energy, and financial resources into everything towards my dreams and goals in music and dance. I know it wasn’t always easy for her, but she did what she could. And i know it hurt her when she couldn’t do more, but it taught me that anything worth it is worth continuing to try. We never stopped reaching for my dreams together, and even today she and my step dad work so hard behind the scenes supporting me and my business to make sure I have everything I need.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
You’re going to fail and it’s okay. Each failure will just be a change in direction from what you thought you wanted guiding you to what you really want. You will use each failure to fuel you as a leader and give young dancers what you weren’t able to receive. Failure doesn’t mean you’re not worthy of your dreams coming true. Failure is that you tried and now you get to learn how to rewrite the script and try again.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Integrity. My own kids and my students know- tell the truth and be the truth even when no one is looking.
Leave a Place Better than You found it- with your character, kindness, or actions. You can leave the energy of a place better than you found it by sharing love. You can leave people better than you found them by being kind or complimentary. You can physically leave a place better than you found it by cleaning up or simply adding flowers.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
That we strive for perfection. When you are training talented artists, you are always striving for more. Nothing is ever “good enough” because there’s always a next step. In our teaching, we are never done learning as professionals, as colleagues we are never done striving to motivate and push each other, in the studios, our dancers are never done, theres always more to learn, more to create, more to grow- hence our mission. But it’s never perfection, because there is no such thing. To some this constant push has caused them to accuse us for only praising perfect. But that’s not the case- we hold ourselves to the same standard as our students- and that is to always be better than who we were yesterday.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.innovativestudiostrinity.com, www.thedancecompanytrinity.com, www.power-barre.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovativestudiostrinity, www.instagram.com/thedancecompanytrinity, https://www.instagram.com/shop_busybeeboutique, www.instagram.com/powerbarre
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/powerbarre, https://www.facebook.com/thedancecompanytrinity, https://www.facebook.com/shopbusybeeboutiques, https://www.facebook.com/onceuponadancetrinity
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thedancecompanytrinity
Image Credits
Bill Krautler for Black Banner
Chris Coates for NYC “Experiences” Photo
Magical Memories Photography for all others and personal photo
