The truth is–4dancers started out as an experiment. Here’s a bit of background on how we began…
I was writing full-time as well as working on my other blog (at the time, a freelance writing blog), and wanted to learn more about the “behind the scenes” work, such as creating pages, formatting posts and adding photographs. Since I have a ballet background, I thought I would put up a little dance blog on the free WordPress platform and practice on the posts there. But then something unexpected happened…
The little dance blog started getting traction.
To my great surprise, people were coming and reading the posts. The traffic was steady–and increasing each month. I had no idea at the time what a great online dance community there is out there. Over a short time my tiny blog went from the “training ground” I thought it was going to be–to an actual dance blog with followers, a Twitter account and a Facebook page. I moved the content over to a full WordPress site, chose a theme and began to think about what I might contribute to the dance scene on the web.
Over time I started to find people who I really felt a bond with, and I’d ask them if they would like to write for the blog. The stable of contributing writers has continued to grow, and I’m so proud of all of them. We have a dance medicine specialist (Jan Dunn, MS), a Conductor (Scott Speck) and many dancers who write for the site. Each has their own unique voice, and without them this endeavor just would not be the same.
When I first began this blog in late 2009 I had no way of knowing how it would transform my life. In just a few years, 4dancers has grown from a small side project to become my main focus. In 2012 we formed partnerships with The Huffington Post’s Dance section, Ovation TV, and more. In May of 2012, The Huffington Post listed us as one of the “10 Dance Tweeters To Know Right Now” – an honor indeed!
In 2013 we partnered with Dance Advantage to offer advertising to the dance community on the web, and we expanded our social media, adding Pinterest to the mix.
4dancers continues to grow–and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to serve the dance community that has been a part of my life since I was 5 years old. We’re excited about what 2019 will bring.
Thanks for reading.
Catherine