Recent MSU graduate Lauren Martinich teaches Sherree Croley, 8, left, and Alayna Nye, 7, a pose during a Ballet 2 class she teaches Monday evenings at the In Motion Dance Center on 800 Thomas L. Pkwy, in Lansing. Martinich, owner of the center, has been dancing since she was 3 and started teaching classes in high school.
While most MSU students were soaking up their last few days of summer sunshine last August, Lauren Martinich was remodeling her newly-acquired dance studio.
In Motion Dance Center, her studio at 800 Thomas L. Pkwy, in Lansing, offers classes such as ballet, jazz and hip-hop for all ages, although mostly younger students currently attend.
“I knew that I wanted to own my own business someday,” Martinich said. “I didn’t think it would be this quick … but I thought about (buying the studio) and thought, ‘You know, I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life.’”
Martinich, 23, who graduated from MSU with a degree in retailing this May, has owned her studio for 10 months.
Balancing school, work and other responsibilities was a tall task, she said
“I like a hectic, busy life,” she said. “It was really difficult at first … to keep a balance between dance and schoolwork because I was taking 16 credits and teaching 10 classes.
“By Thursday I would just pass out.”
Before she purchased the studio last August, Martinich taught dance classes for the studio’s previous owner, whom she had grown to know very well.
Martinich had danced at the studio since she was 3 years old. When she was approached with the proposition of ownership, she was shocked because she had had no idea the owner was planning to sell.
“I think it was first in middle school when I was like, ‘You know, I want to own my own dance studio,’” she said. “I kind of lost that dream for a little bit, but then it came up and I thought, ‘I really wanna do it.’”
Now, 10 months since she started renovating, Martinich is preparing for a recital on June 14, when her students will showcase all the effort they have put forth together over the year.
Martinich, who began planning the recital months ago, said she’s excited the event is approaching.
“I’m so proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish,” she said. “It’s a weight off my shoulders now that (the recital is) almost done.”
Despite the stresses of school, entrepreneurship, and planning her recital, Martinich’s passion for dance itself has remained strong.
“She has a real commitment to dance,” said Pat Anderson, whose children, Katie and Erin, are In Motion students. “And she passes that commitment on to the kids.”
Despite all the extra work owning a studio has created in her life, Martinich said she has no regrets about becoming a business owner so young.
“My dream came true, you know,” she said. “Yeah, it came a little soon, but I think it’s worth it.”
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