Clacton-on-Sea business owner Kim Rogers is celebrating after winning an award at the Woman Who Solopreneur Awards 2026, recognising her mission to create safer, healthier and more supportive environments for young dancers across the UK.
Kim, founder of The Butterfly Mind, received the recognition at the national awards ceremony held on Friday 9 October at the National Conference Centre, near Birmingham International. The event brought together inspirational female business owners from across the UK for a day of networking, recognition and celebration.
Based in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Kim is a former professional dancer and dance teacher who has turned her personal experiences and industry knowledge into a business dedicated to changing the culture of dance education.
Through The Butterfly Mind, Kim works with dance school owners, teachers, students and parents to address some of the hidden challenges within the industry, including anxiety, burnout, harmful language, performance pressure, unrealistic expectations and poor communication.
Her work focuses not simply on supporting individual dancers, but on helping dance schools recognise how their everyday language, leadership, boundaries and behaviours can affect the confidence, emotional wellbeing and long-term development of young people.
The award recognises Kim’s determination to challenge outdated practices and create meaningful cultural change within an industry that plays an important role in the lives of thousands of children and young people.
Through her flagship Studio Culture Partnership, Kim works directly with dance schools across the country, delivering teacher training, student wellbeing workshops, parent education and leadership coaching. Her approach is already helping schools rethink how they communicate, support their students and build healthier environments for everyone involved.
She has also delivered professional development training for national dance organisations and examination bodies, helping educators recognise the powerful influence their words and actions can have on the next generation.
The judges commented:
“A truly worthy winner who is on a powerful mission. She is a true disruptor in the dance industry, using her own powerful experience of finding her voice after years of silence to empower the next generation of girls to use theirs. Her passion for visibility, her unwavering purpose and her huge vision make her a force to be reckoned with.”
Speaking about her award, Kim said:
“Winning this award means so much to me, not just personally, but because of what it represents for the work I’m trying to do.
Having spent most of my life in the dance industry, both as a professional dancer and teacher, I’ve experienced and witnessed things that have made me question some of the attitudes and practices we’ve simply come to accept as normal.
Dance can be an incredible force for good. It builds confidence, connection, discipline and a sense of belonging. But we also need to be brave enough to acknowledge that not every experience in dance is a positive one, and that some of the things we’ve normalised can have a lasting impact on young people.
I don’t believe we have to choose between high standards and emotional wellbeing. We can have both. But that requires us to challenge outdated thinking and start having some of the conversations that have been avoided for far too long.
To have that mission recognised nationally, and to hear the judges describe me as a disruptor in the industry, is incredibly humbling.
I’m enormously grateful to the dance schools, teachers, families and young people who trust me to be part of their journey, and to everyone who has supported and believed in what I’m building.
My hope is that this award gives me an even bigger platform to help create an industry where young people can thrive, not just as performers, but as people.”
Sandra Garlick MBE, founder of Woman Who, said:
“Running a business on your own takes courage, determination and resilience. So much of that work happens behind the scenes, which is why creating a platform to recognise these achievements matters.
“The Woman Who Solopreneur Awards give business owners the opportunity to be seen, be heard and be celebrated. Congratulations to Kim Rogers on this recognition. I hope it becomes a springboard for new conversations, connections and opportunities.”
Woman Who is now developing as a franchise model, enabling local franchise partners to bring its community, networking and recognition opportunities to more women in business across the UK. As part of this expansion, Woman Who will be hosting awards in locations throughout the country, creating more opportunities to celebrate the achievements of local women business owners.
Looking ahead, Kim hopes to use her growing national platform to drive even greater change within dance education.
Alongside expanding her work with dance schools and professional organisations, she is passionate about raising awareness of the need for clearer standards, greater accountability and more effective oversight within the wider out-of-school dance sector.
Kim believes that while many dance educators work tirelessly to provide positive experiences, the industry must be willing to examine outdated attitudes and practices, particularly where children’s emotional wellbeing, psychological safety and development are concerned.
Her long-term ambition is to bring these conversations to a national level, engaging with industry leaders, professional bodies and government to advocate for stronger recognition, clearer expectations and appropriate regulation that better protects children and supports those teaching them.
“Ultimately, I want to help change the conversation around dance education,” Kim added. “This isn’t about criticising an industry I love. It’s about caring enough to make it better. We have a responsibility to ensure that the environments we create for young people are as healthy and supportive as they are ambitious.”
