By Kelsey Hutchison
When I applied to intern at Joy of Motion Dance Center (JOMDC) for the summer I had no idea what I was in for. When I was a member of the Youth Dance Ensemble I saw how much work goes into JOMDC at the studios from faculty, studio managers, and workstudies, but I never realized just how much work is done at JOMDC’s main office that actually keeps this non-profit running smoothly.
I have a workstudy position at my College’s Theatre and Dance Department assisting with Marketing and Development, so interning with Orit learning Marketing and Public Relations was the perfect opportunity for me. Every day I was busy and there was always something new to do. Regular office tasks included assisting in writing, editing, and proof-reading press releases and flyers listing the latest workshops, event listing, and creating e-blasts to be sent out holding the latest information on JOMDC’s classes or events. There was also plenty of work to be done compiling class information and creating the summer and fall youth and adult schedules to make sure that they were out on time.
But there was plenty to be done out of the office to keep me on my toes as well. In June I helped out at the JOMDC tent at Imagination Bethesda. It was so much fun engaging the children in JOMDC’s activity, which was to have the kids create a dancer pose. First, the JOMDC staff would trace the shape of the child as they held a dancer pose. Then, the child would color inside the outline and then add a decorative finish with feathers and JOMDC “Dance is For Everyone” stickers.
Another out of the office project was the new marketing initiative to create uniformity and add some cheerful color in all of the studios. Orit, Travis, Doug, and I spent several days painting all the bulletin boards bright orange. When I applied to intern over the summer I never anticipated improving my painting skills!
I really had a great summer interning at JOMDC and have learned a lot about Marketing, Public Relations, and all the work and team effort that goes into running a dance organization. This internship was great employment experience and has got me thinking about possible career in management at a dance organization.
