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Georgia Gaudie
Creō Dance Company
Georgia Gaudie is both Founder and Principal of CREŌ Dance Company. CREŌ opened up a year ago initially for a senior dance class but became open to a wider range of ages in February 2019 and since then has soared in the dance industry. It's been an amazing and successful year for CREŌ already, as Georgia has taken the company to shows such as the Day of the Dead Festival at Southport Pleasureland, holding a 2-day summer school and showcasing an entire performance of Alice in Wonderland and attending competitions such as That's Showbiz.
I spoke with Georgia to find out more about her journey to CREŌ, what it was like starting her own business in a very competitive industry, and what it means to her.
When coming up with the idea of CREŌ, Georgia had gotten inspiration from working with a touring production of The Greatest Showman were she cast the dancers for the production and worked with them during the tour. However, when it all finished Georgia said her and the cast felt a little sad at the fact that everything was finished, and almost had the feeling of well... now what...
"So I came up with this idea that I'd start a senior dance company." Georgia set to work straight away on finding a venue and to her delight Saint Stephen's Church Hall in Hightown (Liverpool), a place she frequently visited as a child, had available spaces for her to hire. Georgia grew up in Hightown and thought CREŌ was something the town needed, in fact parents of the students at CREŌ have commemorated Georgia for opening it up so that the children don't have to travel to surrounding villages in order to perform.
"CREŌ means creative in Latin," Georgia tells me, "I wanted something quite abstract... something that means something to the performance industry and to me because I love creative tasks and improv" This message of creativity stood out to me. As a dancer and performer myself I think its imperative to be creative when performing and Georgia's message of encouragement to be open and creative in all the classes is what kids desperately need growing up, not just in this industry but in every day life as they get older. Creativity really does embody the dance company - I had a sneak preview of a rehearsal for a Christmas show they are doing on the 30th November, were they have incorporated sign language into their routine.
Onto the business side of things. I asked "So, you've got the name, you bagged the venue, was it hard to take off from then? Did you have to invest in anything first in order for it to work?"
Georgia said that paying for the venue first was the only investment and that initially she was only breaking even with her money because she only had the senior class by this point. In order to make more money, Georgia had to expand her business and open it up to a wider range of client- in this case the clientele were children ages 3-16. Not only did she have to pay for the venue though, Georgia had to hire and pay members of staff to teach the children, uniform for the school and also paying competition fees.
Georgia explained that she works alongside owning the company because she feels its imperative to never be without money unless you're sure you're going to make it back. "Without [working in] the restaurant I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing with the business now... my main source of income is the restaurant." I think its important to separate the idea of working a job on the side of your business in order for you to provide, not just for yourself but for the business in the long run. You aren't giving up your dream of having your own business by working simultaneously, you are simply knowing your worth as an individual. In fact, Georgia said the money she gets is "pocket money" for her to invest into CREŌ!
I asked, "How many [students] do you think you'd need in order for you to say 'right I'm going to leave the restaurant'?"
G- "I wouldn't even consider it before I'd reached 100 (Georgia has already reached 50, so she's on the right track!) But realistically I'd need 150-200 because then it would be a really strong source of income."
Georgia said that "Everyone said when I first started 'you're gonna struggle, you'll be in debt", However she said she's not been in debt once! "I'm very good at budgeting money" My response immediately was I wish I could say the same. But the mindset and business ethic Georgia has well and truly proves that you need organisation and a good, genuine moral behind starting a business in order for it to work and progress. By not spreading yourself too thin, knowing your own individual worth as well as the business' worth, you have to make sacrifices in order for it to work in the long run. Bit it will all become worth it. and don't let yourself get into debt!
As well as putting on the Christmas show on 30th November, CREŌ are starting their recruitment for 2020. They are set to be celebrating CREŌ's 1st birthday with a showcase on Saturday 15th February at 7pm (tickets on sale in January!) so pop along to Saint Stephen's Church Hall in Hightown and try out a CREŌ class today!
Check out the timetable for classes at CREŌ below.
Need anymore info? Contact Georgia at creodancecompany1@gmail.com,
Follow CREŌ 's instagram: @creodancecompany
Or find them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/creodancecompany1/
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