1. Can you tell us a little about your dance background—and what inspired you to take on the role of director of Light of the World Ballet?
I began ballet at the age of 6 at Syracuse School of Dance, and later, when I was 14, I studied under Deborah Boughton at Center of Ballet and Dance Arts. At 18, I was accepted as a trainee with a professional international touring company, Ballet Magnificat! in Jackson, Mississippi, and the following year I was accepted into the company as a professional ballerina.
After dancing professionally for seven years in Jackson, I decided to take a year off, move back to Syracuse, work on a college degree, and do mission work in other countries. Even though I had danced in front of thousands of people during my time at Ballet Magnificat!, for some reason during these mission trips, my heart was impacted by how much the art of dance was effective in sharing love and hope with children and adults all over the world. Everywhere I went, they wanted to see and experience the message from the dance! It made me realize what a vehicle dance is in connecting with others and communicating how special they are.
As a result, I opened Light of the World Ballet School one year after ‘retiring’ as a professional ballet dancer. I didn’t realize I would be putting my pointe shoes back on performing and would be directing a school, a trainee program for high school graduates, and a professional ballet company for almost 20 years now! We have raised beautiful dancers through our school who have danced professionally with other companies and even with us; we have seen dancers travel across the country (even as far as Hawaii) to train and dance with us professionally. We have traveled on 23 overseas tours since we have been established. We have created several full-length story ballets which are narrated to fully enjoy the performance.
2. What types of classes does Light of the World Ballet currently offer?
The school provides excellent training in ballet technique, pointe, modern, and contemporary ranging in ages 3-19. We also have morning ballet classes for homeschoolers. We had a fall workshop (Oct. 16-18) called the Emerging Artist Program, which will develop more advanced dancers’ artistry and choreographic talents. During the summer, we offer a ballerina camp for 3 to 7-year-olds and a Junior Summer Dance Outreach program for 7 to 12-year-olds, where they perform and interact with CYO refugee students. Our Summer Dance Outreach program, which draws students from out of town as well, consists of one week of learning a whole story ballet and one week of performing the story at several locations in the city.
We also have a unique two-year full-time trainee program for high school graduates drawing advanced dancers from all over the nation who move here to train to dance or teach with our company or others.
Our professional ballet company classes are five days a week and are open to the public as well.
3. What do you enjoy most about your role?
I absolutely love to see the students at Light of the World Ballet realize that excellence comes from the inside out. As each student understands how they are a light to the world, not just in their dance, but by the love they have for God and others, they discover they serve a greater purpose than just perfecting their gift of dance. This is why students have the opportunity to perform locally in adult homes, refugee centers, and schools, and the company will even present in prisons.
It gives me GREAT delight to see how many students have been positively impacted by their experience at Light of the World Ballet. Each dancer is such a treasure, and when I see our students at the beginning of a class, my heart starts to leap for joy. It is such an honor to be a small part of impacting their development as dancers and people. So many say they feel at home and accepted in the studio as we try to keep a wholesome atmosphere honoring God. And it is special to me and my staff incorporating the students in our larger-scale company performances at Believers Chapel (Christmas and springtime), bringing lots of excitement to them and their families.
Know an educator who deserves a mention? Email courtneyk@familytimescny.com.
