When Pearl-Ann Bartlett was a little girl, she would put her dollies and teddy bears in a row to sit down. She would then arm herself with a chalkboard and go through the motions of teaching them.
A mere five years old at the time, Pearl-Ann knew that, more than anything else, she wanted to teach. Perhaps, this love for teaching came about because both of her parents, Reverend McAthin Hinds and Ometa Hinds, were teachers.
Pearl-Ann’s desire to teach intensified over the years, and so did her desire to dance and to open a dance school.
Fast-forward to some 23 years later, and Pearl-Ann has realised her dream. Not only is she a certified dance administrator teaching dance to children and adults, but she has opened a dance school – Pearls Dance Academy – and has her eyes set on making her mark in Barbados, across the region, and further afield.
Today, she is the only certified person in the Caribbean with the qualifications to teach the American Ballet Theatre National Training Syllabus up to level five, and she continues to aim for the sky.
As she looked back this past week on her journey from a toddler to becoming an entrepreneur and realising her dream to make a career out of teaching dance, Bartlett spoke of having to remain focused throughout the journey and how family support helped to make it easier.
“I remember as a child I would always tell my mother I just want to work for myself and that I loved dancing. Opening Pearls Dance Academy was a combination of fulfilling these dreams.
“I also remember my parents telling me that I used to play musical chairs, and that’s how my liking for dance came about,” the former Coleridge & Parry and Harrison College student explained. (CH)
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