A note to parents...

Mrs. McGuilakudy
Parents, you are key in the process of tapping into your child's desire and natural abilities to becoming the creative human being that they are meant to be.
I know this for certain, because my mother brought my three siblings and me up in a 100% imagination saturated atmosphere. I remember loving rainy days, because it meant spending the day inside with my mother and all of her fun ideas. One of my mom's crazy creations was her character, 'Mrs. McGuilakudy'. She would go into the front hall closet and put on my dad's top coat and hat. When she emerged, she would change her entire persona, and she would become Mrs. McGuilakudy. This thrilled my sisters, brother and me! We loved Mrs. McGuilakudy! I will never forget that. She also helped us put on Plays, costumes and all. (I remember doing, "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"). When my sisters and I played Barbies, it wasn't about changing clothes and brushing hair. We would make up elaborate stories and each doll had a role to play. We would transform the entire living room into a scene. We would do this for hours. By the time we were done, we practically had a movie script!

As a direct result of our upbringing, my brother, sisters and I all ended up in the Arts, to one degree or another.
None of us, or even anybody that I know, are going to be the next Balanchine, Picasso or Shakespeare, but everybody has an inventive side. Creativity does not have show itself in the arts alone. Most people think of a physicist as highly intelligent person, not necessarily as a creative person. But, look at Einstein! He was a physicist. He combined his intellectual side with his inovative side and the man was ingenious! The two components, together, equal excellence.
Do not leave your right brain as uncharted territory, or you will never know the depths of your own originality. So, explore your creative side, parents. It's never too late. Then, do fun and inspiring things with your children. They will remember it forever, and they will inadvertently pass it on to the next generation.

Improvisation: Getting Started!

A Flick of the Foot; A Flash of the Eye
Improvisation is one of my favorite things to…let’s see…you don’t teach it, you’re more like a tour guide!
It’s your job to use one of the games in the lessons posted (or perhaps a game you’ve created) to assist each individual to find their own pathway, deep inside to the core of themselves, and to help them draw upon their experiences, and express who they are through their own unique movement.
Warning: Be prepared to have your breath taken away!
Watching the miracle of a young heart opening up is very overwhelming! Each individual will draw a different emotion from you and than ultimately from an audience.
Some will find their ‘artistic soul’ right away, and have the ability to express it. For others, it may take a little longer.
Encouragement is the source of every student’s success. You will notice degrees of improvement in all of your students. Make a big deal about everything that you see! Let each student know what their improvement is, so they will be encouraged to build upon it. And they will, with your support.
This ‘soul’ quality, combined with the dance technique they are learning in class, are the beginnings of authentic dancers.
A true dancer embodies the ability to move an audience with the,
'flick of a foot, or the flash of an eye'. Having been given this opportunity to learn both dance technique and how to express one’s self as a dancer is an empowering feeling for the dancer. It’s also an exciting feeling for the performer’s choreographer, a satisfying feeling for the performer’s teachers, and a very proud moment for the student’s family and friends.

Introduction to Improvisation

'The Land of Make Believe'
A big word for a four year old! But, believe it or not, that’s when you can start them on this adventure into, 'The land of make believe', self-expression and self-confidence. It’s to your advantage to start your students improvising before the age of, “self-consciousness”, which is usually before puberty or before the age of twelve or thirteen. Students can of course begin at any age; it’s just a little harder to get teenagers to let go of their acute self-awareness.
I have a unique lesson plan for every age group, but the one that is most comprehensive for all students, is the course shown, that I have created for ages 9 –11.
“The Improvisation for Ages 9-11 Course”, is for students with at least 2-3 years of dance training. They need the beginnings of a solid foundation in ballet, jazz (or modern), and tap (optional). Tap training gives the students a better ear for rhythm, which they can use to change the rhythms in their improvisation to make it more interesting and emotionally effective.
The next entry, 'Improvisation: Getting Started!', offers some exciting information about this wonderful journey you are about to embark upon with your students.

Beginnings...

Inspiration!
When I was a little girl, I used to go to my nana's house on Tuesdays after catechism. She would always ask me to dance for her. One day, "The Merv Griffen" show was on, and he had a dance troupe performing. When they were done, my grandmother said to me, "Kerry, you're as good as they are, get up and show me what they just did". (Mind you, I was probably 10 years old, with no training to boot!) But, my grandmother said that I was as good as they were, so it must be true! I got right up, as confident as could be, and danced for her. She told me I was wonderful. Nana's don't lie! So, from that moment forward, in my young mind, I was a wonderful dancer, period.
On holidays, she'd ask me to make up (choreograph!) something special for her. I'd try, but I couldn't always remember all the steps, so I'd end up making the dance up (improvising!) as I went along. My performances were always met with her cheers, hugs and kisses.
When I was 13, I realized that my grandmother was very sick. (She had breast cancer.) I was still visiting her house every Tuesday. I would sit by her green recliner, and we would talk.
She told me that someday, I would run my own dance studio in her backyard, in the barn, and that my office would be right where we sat, in her living room.
I was very concerned about where my grandparents would live, and she assured me that she and my grampy would live at their cottage on the lake.
Comforted, I set out to make this new dream come true. I never doubted, for one second, that I could not achieve this goal.
I asked my parents if I could start taking dance lessons when the new school year began, in Sept 1973. My nana died in June 1973.
She never got to see my recitals, as I grew up. She never saw me perform in the Company that I danced in for 5 years. But, most of all...she never knew that I made "our dream" come true.
When I was 21, I opened,
"Kerry Smith Academy of Dance Arts", in her backyard, with my main office in her living room.
I did it, nana! And I did it well, because you inspired me and believed in me.
In my heart, I know my grandmother knows everything that I have accomplished, after she passed. I am certain that she watches over me to this day.
The biggest lesson I learned from my grandmother is...Be vigilant with our young people. They believe and trust everything we tell them about themselves. More so, love them for who they are. They see themselves reflected back in our eyes.
Teaching is the single most important and rewarding thing I have had the priviledge of doing in my life, so far. Being a teacher is an awesome responsibility. That one factor is what kept being a teacher always fresh. Every day was a new challenge.
Every day (inspiration!), every student (inspiration!), one student at a time (inspiration, inspiration, inspiration!) .