Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Rogers.
Megan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I began dancing at the early age of six, however, prior to my enrollment with studio dance, it’s the only thing I did at home. My mom and dad tell some of the funniest stories of the dance moves and prop work I would perform in places not limited to; the grocery store, church, the park, outside, and of course all over the furniture in our home.
Through dance in my youth, I was given many competitive opportunities, receiving various scholarships and title achievements. Some of my stand out opportunities gave me the opportunity to travel from Las Vegas to Miami, all with my favorite thing in the world to do, dance!
The studio I grew up in was not well equipped with a long-term ballet instructor, and as I got older, I really began to struggle with injuries and basic technical elements that I needed to succeed in the professional world of dance.
At seventeen years old, I began driving myself to the Atlanta Ballet for ballet classes to help further progress my dance training.
Once college began,
I was able to dance on a partial scholarship at Jacksonville State University and commute home to help assist in competitive dance training. In this commute to and from, I really began falling in love with choreography and working with the students.
After a college transfer back home, I decided to hop into the audition world. I began dancing for the Georgia Force Arena Cheerleaders which catapulted me into the NFL, and I began dancing for the Falcons. Through the Falcons, a lot of connections, resume builders, and personal experiences fell into my lap. But I still wasn’t happy. I mean don’t get me wrong, I LOVED dancing. But I began to love teaching and being with kids more.
I knew I felt a strong pull to the dance community and more specifically, dance studio life.
I didn’t have a lot of savings, somewhere around the sum of zero dollars was what I had accumulated through a couple of years of college dancing, baby-sitting, teaching dance classes, all while
working as a cashier at a grocery store. So, I was really killing it young adult wise!
I dropped out of college in order to pursue a steadier lifestyle. Little did I know; I wouldn’t break into a steady stride until ten years into owning my business.
I knew before I jumped entirely, I needed a game plan. So, I journaled a lot and found that my common denominator from day to day, was offering something to kids in my area, that I was never offered as a dancer at their age. I realized in high school that my dance training wasn’t well rounded enough to get me into the big auditions that I desired. I was coming up short in areas like vocal and acting training. I needed more. I looked back on eleven years of dance from grade school to 17 years old, and I questioned, “Why did I do all that if I’m not well rounded enough to perform professionally?”
I decided that if I were to open a dance studio, I wanted it to be something more. I wanted to offer triple threat training to my area, so no child would ever have to feel ill-prepared or unsettled when auditioning in the professional entertainment world. I hired acting coaches, vocal coaches, dance teachers of various styles, I borrowed $2,000 from a couple of dance parents and I ventured off on my own.
As a began to bite off more than I could afford… I mean chew. My godmother came to my aid in the knick of time. She literally put her house up for collateral because, at age 20, I had nothing to show for financially. So many people took a chance on me and believed in me at such a young age. I look back and think about that all the time.
Years later, Fever is now in its 12th season. I get to take a chance and believe in kids in this area, every single day. The studio has evolved and grown so much in twelve years. We have offered all styles of dance including: Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, Contemporary, Acro Dance, Tumble Training, Hip Hop, Adult Levels, and Ballroom. We are happy to offer Vocal Classes, Fundamentals of Music, Musical Theater, Acting, and now this season, Progressive Ballet. We frequently hold master classes and workshops, even resume writing classes and teach kids and parents alike what a proper headshot should look like!
We are the leading performing arts studio in the West Georgia area for seven years in a row. We live in a fabulous community rich with talented youth. Even though we are surrounded by multiple places offering training in genres of the arts, loyal community members and families continue to come back year after year.
My favorite thing is when alumni students contact me and say, “I will never forget what you taught me.” I am proud to say because of the staff we’ve established here, kids are well rounded and get the best training we can offer them in these areas of the art.
I would be lying if I said that I’m perfect or that my business is. We have really changed a lot over the years and it’s a direct reflection of me as a person. I am the kind of business owner that has faced long distance with my spouse, money troubles, health issues with my mother, and the loss of my best friend. My business reflected my personal life a lot, so the fact the Fever never quits says a lot about me. Even though times get tough, I just keep going. I know at the end of the day, so many kids benefit from me putting one foot in front of the other and pushing through battles and overcoming obstacles. I really do love my job. There was a time when I may not have said that, but our trials make us grow. I would say I am the best candidate to sit down and talk to any working professional who has ever experienced self-doubt and burn out in their field. I am happier now than I’ve ever been, and I look back on the terrible moments of being an entrepreneur, and I realize that I am an overcomer.
As far as me personally:
Fever opened officially when I was 20 years old. I married my high school sweetheart. We met when we were 13 and we began dating at the age of 14.
We were married at the age of 23 and we began a long-distance marriage and remained that way for four years. My husband spent eight years at UGA where he received two bachelor’s degrees and later became a Veterinarian. During this time, the studio and our home were two hours apart. So, for years, I commuted four hours round trip to teach each day. Before long, we had to commit to distance since the commute was both tolling on the vehicles, wallets, and on us physically.
We now are living in our dream home that we built together, have a two-year-old daughter, and we will be celebrating nine years of marriage in October.
My husband is actively involved in the business as well. He may be a veterinarian, but he free hands all of Fever’s show backdrops, cuts all of Fever’s music, and he custom builds all of our sets and props.
We also have a fabulous staff, but one person who really makes Fever tick is our assistant director , Nichole Cook. She is our organization that keeps this place going! We are so glad we brought her on board five years ago.
Fun Fact: I went into labor at our 10th annual Spring Show and I managed to make it through one of two of the shows. We left the theater for the hospital when contractions were less than five minutes apart. Ha!
So, yeah, we are obsessed with our studio! We love Fever and every child who steps in those doors!
Has it been a smooth road?
No! It has not been smooth sailing!
I did mention some of the challenges we’ve faced over the years, but to reference some of those and to go into a little more detail with some:
-Fever began in a cul-de-sac in a subdivision because we had dancers before we even had a building.
-Fever has flooded 3 times and the final flooding caused so much water damage and mold under our flooring that we had to go toe to toe with our landlord- which ended in fever having 30 days to relocate in the middle of our 11th season opening.
-Owning Fever, I commuted four hours round trip a day for 3 years to be able to live with my husband while he was in vet school.
-Personally, during our time owning Fever, it’s been our only financial income to support us both while Luke was in school. I also lost my best friend to cancer during my time at Fever, and that really caused a major decline in my physical and mental health.
-Fever has relocated a total of three times since opening.
– In our second location we have two forklifts drive through our dance rooms, smashing mirrors and causing hundreds of dollars in damages.
-I went into labor at our 10th annual show.
We’ve defiantly had some ups and downs, all in all- adding flavor to our lives.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Fever Performing Arts story. Tell us more about it.
I believe our triple-threat training sets us apart but also, our follow-through.
If you are Fever kid, we go the extra mile to keep up with your endeavors when you leave Fever, if you’ll have us. We love seeing what our kids are doing professionally, at a collegiate level, or even in the summer breaks! Most of the kids who attend Fever at some point, may not do anything with dancing, acting, or singing after they leave, but we still engage and care about their well being and their lives!
I also think our social media and website separate us from all other similar surrounding businesses in our area. We are constantly striving to stay current and offer a clean avenue of data collection for the client. We also encourage engagement and want to get to know you! You are more than the tuition amount you bring in each month.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The performing arts world is EVER CHANGING! I am hoping there is a major shift in injury prevention and more education for young dancers and instructors that help us tackle our talented youth peaking way too early in their avenue of training.
I see a lot of kids throwing skills and tricks way too advanced for them at a young age. We train slower here because longevity is important.
I don’t think social media is going to slow down in the future, and for that, we have to all work together as the leaders of our industries to make sure that our kids are feeling self-empowered from more than just “likes” on their Instagram accounts.
Nutrition has always been important for dancers but now more than ever, I believe mental health needs to be a priority for our youth training in any activity or sport.
Contact Info:
- Address: 338 Tom Reeves Drive
Carrollton, Ga 30107 - Website: www.Feverperformingarts.com
- Phone: 7708385595
- Email: info@FeverPerformingArts.com
- Instagram: feverperformingarts
- Facebook: Fever Performing Arts
Image Credit:
Keith Hardin Photography, RedCube Creative, LK Photography
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