Menina Fortunato

So he's a beautiful example of someone that has really capitalized on that.

And you take what you have, your talent, and you know how to be able to package it, present it and sell it and be able to make a career of it.

And not every dancer understands that.

So that's my goal with these younger dancers is to show them how to become viable, marketable dancers.

assets for their careers and to have sustainability for life you know because there's this myth that dance is somehow the short-lived career it's only gonna last you a few years and then you're done and the industry spits you out yeah but I hope that I'm living proof that you can you can have a family you can be married you can have three kids you can build a seven-figure business you can still be in the in the industry that you love me which is dance and

um make a good living doing it and feeling fulfilled and traveling the world you know people said that oh once because i used to tour a lot um and once i got pregnant they're like oh your travel life is gonna stop i was just in six countries with my kids this summer that's amazing good for you man so that didn't exactly stop i just had to i like to say that life is a dance when you hit a real block just learn to kick ball change and pivot

So I just had to adjust.

With kids, I was like, okay, how are we going to make this work?

So my kids are travelers.

And my second is a performer.

And my third is maybe a performer in training.

My first, she's volleyball.

She's like, mom, I don't want to be a dancer.

So it's fine.

So yeah, it's just my career has evolved through the different seasons of life.

And I also want to be an example for other people.

young dancers to show them and their parents because that is important too because there's a lot of parents that say oh yeah dance is fun and cute for you when you're a kid when you graduate high school go get a real job you know and I want to be able to show them that this can be

Well, I mean, you didn't need to start in dance class.

I mean, I think you need to develop your skill.

So for some people there are self-taught dancers and Matt's an example of that.