Wednesday, May 28, 2003
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Wednesday, May 28, 2003 |
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Ga. Academy of Dance performs at Starr's Mill this weekend By Stephen
W. Lowther
Success, like beauty, lies in the eyes of the beholder. For some, it means great wealth while others define it as how much power they wield. Still others define success by the size of their address book rather than their bank book. But success, by any measure, surely is defined by a person's legacy - the mark he or she leaves - on the people with which they make contact or the impact they have had on people's lives. By that measure, Sherri Davis, owner and creative director of the Georgia Academy of Dance in Peachtree City, has reached her apex. Her legacy will surely be the number of students who have gone on to careers in dance or the arts. It is a legacy that continues to grow each year as new classes of dancers mature. This year's class will showcase its talents with three shows at the Starr's Mill Auditorium. The early childhood performance of "The Big Top Circus" will be presented Saturday, May 31 at 11 a.m., followed by "Georgia On My Mind," a celebration of contemporary dance to music by native Georgia artists at 7 p.m. Sunday will conclude with a 2 p.m. performance of "La Fille Mal Gardee," an entertaining and comical ballet/love story that is great for adults and children alike. Guest artist Christian Clark of the Atlanta Ballet will dance the role of Colin, a shepherd boy who falls in love with a peasant girl Lisette, whose mother does not approve of their romance. General admission tickets can be purchased at the door for $10. Three Georgia Academy of Dance students are attending, or will be attending, prestigious fellowships with nationally acclaimed professional dance companies. Katie Rourke, 17, of Peachtree City, will be one of 32 students attending the Kaatspaan International Dance Center in Tivoli, New York. The center was founded by a group that includes Martine van Hamel and Kevin McKenzie, the artistic director of the American Ballet Theater in New York. Rourke, a junior at Starr's Mill High School, is among the top five percent of her class, takes Advanced Placement Science and performs on the school dance team. One of the resident mothers at Georgia Academy of Dance, office manager Brenda Reynolds, has two reasons to be grinning ear to ear this year. Her daughter Jennifer, 18, was accepted to dance with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City, while her son Josh, who is a year younger, has been awarded full scholarships to the advanced study programs of the Miami City Ballet, School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theatre of New York. Josh has chosen to attend the School of American Ballet in New York City this summer. Each Position could lead to an apprenticeship and eventually a full-time position with the dance companies. For Josh, it is just the latest in a series of triumphs, which Davis is convinced will lead to the bright lights and wherever else he wants to go. "He'll be on the cover some day," she said while holding up a copy of Dance Magazine. "There's no doubt in my mind." Josh is currently on full scholarship with the Atlanta Ballet. Of all the scholarship students chosen by the Atlanta Ballet, Josh is the only dancer selected to take company classes and perform with the company. He recently performed "Requiem" with the company at the Fox Theater For Davis, of course, it keeps her studio at the epicenter of a dance boom in Fayette County, as well as in the eye of the professional dance companies. Each year, she manages to bring guest instructors and artists from around the world, and around the corner. Dennis Malinkline, who was principal dancer for the Atlanta Ballet and a graduate of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy has been on staff at Georgia Academy of Dance since last year. Her staff also includes Ramazan Bapov, another former principal dancer with the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, and Tatiana Joravel, who began her career at age ten at the Kiev Ballet Academy. But as proud of her visiting staff as she is, Davis gives as much credit to the staff who teaches the majority of the 465 students every day. "We have the best staff and the best kids in the area, I think," she said. "Everyone of them is completely dedicated to their kids. We have all levels of dancers, too. You don't have to aspire to a career in dance." "One of the things we have done here, though," she said, "is to try to maintain balance. The majority of the kids who dance here won't dance professionally and don't want to and that's OK." "Dance not only teaches them the physical things in life," she said, "it also teaches them how to endure, it teaches them persistence, and how to be a team player." That is not just a formula for success. That is an enduring legacy.
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