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Accidental Dancer

Riv Lynch
Highland Park
Age: 41

Why she’s entertaining: When Riv Lynch signed up for a ballet class with other local moms, she thought she could finally conquer her fear of performing in the comfort of a group. Little did she know that she would end up not sharing the spotlight.

After all the other moms dropped out of a recital performance, Lynch ended up learning a new routine and dancing a solo in front of more than 200 adults and children in a show in May in Lake Forest. Though she never had the nerve to dance in high school, she found herself as an adult spinning and leaping onstage and earning enthusiastic applause.

“I always wondered if I could be good enough … now I know I am,” she says. “Being completely vulnerable – I felt naked up there – anything is now a cinch in comparison.”

Methods behind her madness: This mother of three is goal-oriented, to say the least. She has her own home-organizing business, Sacred Spaces. She recently checked off dancing from her list of Top 100 Things to Do in her lifetime. The list had categories such as “Professional,” “Physical” and “Travel.” Now, flying is next on her list.

A backup dancer too: Lynch worked two jobs as a stay-at-home mom so that her husband, James Lynch, could pursue his dream of leaving the corporate world to start his own life-coaching business, J.M. Lynch Training.

An entertaining (and enterprising) group: Along with sister Natalie Harel-Yakov, Lynch is also the founder of the women’s business networking group Mom For Profit, which meets monthly. The group has grown from five moms to more than 50 since its founding in September 2008.

— Liz Logan

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