Just back from another successful Discovery Project in Tampa Bay, Florida, Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program faculty member Mauyra Kerr talks about her experience.
This was our fourth year doing the Tampa Bay Discovery Project, and on the first day we had a record 112 students sign up!
The first few hours were insane, with LINES Ballet Training Program Director Karah Abiog on stage teaching about 70 students of drastically diverse ability and training, faculty member LeeWei Chao in a smaller studio with the remaining 40, and me running crazily back and forth between the two classes trying to place all the students into three levels. By the end of the four days we had a total of 135 students. Such a huge turnout is testament to Tampa’s artistic community. Through our travels with the Discovery Project we have sadly found that many dance communities are divided, and studios territorial and unwilling to share resources and information. But Tampa comes together as a unified collective with a passion for shared inquiry, and we are grateful to be welcomed as members of their family.
It’s wonderful to see familiar faces, witness the growth that’s occurred during the year, and continue building the rich relationships that have been incredibly fruitful. Every year a large handful of DP participants attend our Summer Program; and there are several Tampa students in the Training Program. We are just now starting to see some DP participants auditioning for our BFA Program.
We are so excited to further our reach by offering scholarships to DP participants to our Summer Program, and this year was no different. Having consistently witnessed transformation as a result of the training at LINES, it is so deeply significant to know that by enabling access through financial means we are tangibly changing lives. As with all who attend LINES Ballet education programs, our hope is to nourish their imaginations and stoke the love of movement that is inherent within them.
To learn more about the Discovery Project, visit our website.
LINESConnected 