WOMAN OF PASSION: From money to dance

The Dance Factory Kenya is becoming a common part of Nairobi’s entertainment scene. When I first meet her, Marion Munga, she is hosting a salsa night at the swanky Caramel Restaurant & Lounge at ABC Place. Another weekend, I run into her at Galleria Mall’s main atrium – the establishment has hired her to add a swing to the weekend shoppers’ experience, which she and her team do by fluidly gliding to stirring Hispanic beats, coaxing customers to join them and learn a basic move or two.

It wasn’t always like this. Growing up, Marion wanted to become a pharmacist so that she could ‘make medicine sweeter’. Her favorite subject was mathematics. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in international business administration from The United States International University before kicking off an internship at a bank. In 2012 she got her first job in a corporate training company. She looked set for the corporate world… but something was missing. “Even though I was focused on doing the best I could at work,” she points out, “my heart was in the arts.”

Marion had joined dance clubs in high school and university. In employment, she continued to dance after work, and also trained others. “I liked working at the training firm because I was helping people be better and I enjoy connecting with people,” she says, “but I was not fulfilled. When I would teach dance after work I would light up!”

She remembers the day it occurred to her that she could pursue dance as a full time career; “In 2013, we (a performance group she had joined) signed up for the Berlin Stargate Competition,” she says. “It was my first time performing internationally. We represented Kenya and Africa and won first place. I was in my element, surrounded by people who appreciated the art of dance. It was then that I realised that people actually dance on a fulltime basis as a profession.”

WILL TO SUCCEED

In October 2013, she resigned from her job and undertook a month’s dance training in Berlin. She beefed it up with two weeks in Paris in September of 2014 and two weeks in Croatia in July 2015. 

The decision to resign from her job was “risky. I was worried about leaving the (financial) security but my will power was stronger,” she says. “I preferred giving my all to developing my gifts than to live with regret and wonder ‘what if’ later.”

But she didn’t just dive into uncertainty without preparation. “I had plan. Having taught dance as a side gig, I had a client base to begin with. I also design jewelry so I had another stream of income. But to be able to sustain myself I had to do more, both to increase revenue – my academic background helped with that. I also did a lot of research and sought advice. I strategised by offering dance classes that were not available.”

Marion still designs jewelry. She has founded a company called La Mar that her business partner runs. “I make jewelry when I know people have spending power, or I custom make them on order. But my main focus is dance.”

Other than offering group dance classes, she also facilitates team building activities, private individual and group classes, wedding choreography, events entertainment, couples’ dance therapy and kids dance classes. She explores all manner of styles, from salsa to belly dancing.

Has she ever felt the desire to go back to a regular job?  “No. I would still dance even if I did not get financial benefit from it. Seeing a team or a couple connect better through (dance), seeing kids be more confident … is quite rewarding and affirms that this is my purpose – to solve problems through movement.”

She admits the idea of being a professional dancer is not yet quite ripe in Kenya, something she is working to change. “Many dancers stay safe by having other jobs because they don’t know how to make it work, have not seen people who have made it work and because people don’t take us seriously – yet we spend hours perfecting our craft just like any other profession and should be respected and compensated,” she says. “I still meet people who look at me in a weird way when I tell them I am a dancer. Some are surprised in a good way to know that I do it as a profession and congratulate me for being bold enough to follow my passion.”

MARION’S WORDS OF ADVICE

Before you quit your ‘day job’ to pursue your passion, consider:

• Are you willing to put in the work? It takes a lot of time and effort. I work six days a week, and even on my off day I find myself working, making sure all the different elements are running smoothly, all our instructors are equipped for classes, shows and team building events in different locations.

• Do you have a hunger for growth and the need to add value to people and yourself?

• Do you believe in yourself?

• Do you have a well thought out plan?

• Master your craft and surround yourself with like-minded people.

• Execute, Evaluate, Network and repeat the cycle if it works or else, re-evaluate.