This past November, Pine Crest welcomed Coach Megan Balter to the Upper School Dance Program. Coach Megan was brought in as the new head Coach of the Varsity Dance Team. She came in with spirit and passion for dance, teamwork, and everything in between.
Coach Megan has been dancing since the age of two. She comes from a family that supported her passion for dance from a young age and enjoyed watching her love the culture around the studio. She grew into what her personality is today through dance. When it came time for her to go to college, she knew she wanted to continue dancing.
“I always say even if you don’t want to do it when you’re older, you want to treasure the time you have doing it, because you never get that time back,” Coach Megan said.
Today, she continues this philosophy by making the most of practice time by teaching the dancers both dance and life skills.
She started her career as a dance mentor through choreography. Although she loved choreographing dances, she always felt like something was missing.
Coach Megan said, “I started teaching classes and quickly saw that there was so much more value in teaching and seeing the lightbulb flicker in someone else’s head.”
On the first day of practice, Coach Megan made it clear that her goal was to grow the program, not take it over. She talked about bridging the gap between competition-style dance and traditional team-style performance. Coach Megan values the connection between the Pine Crest Dance program and the school, as well as the school spirit, leadership, and values it teaches the athletes.
Thus far, this season has been full of team improvements, new choreography, and growing the Pine Crest Dance Team community into a memorable family.
“I think we are doing a really good job of blending as a team. There is such a community behind this team, and I think it is so fun,” Coach Megan said.
Overall, Coach Megan thinks dance is so much more than just choreography; it is people coming together as a team. She thinks the most rewarding part of being a mentor goes beyond dance and guides people through life.
