Joining Ballet Memphis this year as a trainee has given me so many opportunities to learn and grow. I was surprised and gratified to learn that those opportunities don't occur only in the ballet studio. Coming from Chicago, I received something of a crash course in understanding Memphis' neighborhoods, people and social dynamics through Connections:Kids.
I think it's safe to say that all of the members of Connections:Kids cast were a little dubious about traveling to some of Memphis' more unsavory neighborhoods to perform at community centers for inner-city children. We weren't sure how they would react to a group of obviously physically fit, fairly privileged teenagers and young adults telling them how to be healthy and what to eat.
Personally, I worried that the message our program was meant to communicate, about the benefits of proper nutrition and frequent exercise, would be a tough sell. i was worried that the kids wouldn't find anything to identify with in our performance or would be turned off by how different we seemed to be.
However, I was pleasantly surprised from the get-go by how enthusiastic our audiences were. From the start, the kids were fully engaged in our performance. The "oohs" and "aahs" were contagious as they watched Marcelino lift a girl above his head in a full-press lift. The kids were even more amazed by Bryn's multiple fouettes en pointe, and the fact that she wore her nose ring along with her tutu and pointe shoes was a source of amusement as well.
They clamoured to be part of our breakout groups after the show, where we taught them snippets of the choreography we had just performed. They kept coming back for more hugs, and they loved to show us their own dance moves. We even had a group of girls perform a fully formed routine that they had choreographed themselves, complete with counts and vocal accompaniment.
Connections:Kids may have been designed as a teaching tool for kids in underserved Memphis communities, but it taught our dancers something as well. I wasn't the only cast member less than thrilled to drive to neighborhoods in Memphis that prompt the warning "lock your doors and take all of your valuables inside with you." But at every single performance, we were greeted with appreciation and genuine excitement. Regardless of our perceived socioeconomic differences, the kids truly made the effort to connect to us as dancers and to the work we performed.
We had one performance in a center where a child had been shot and killed in the community a few days prior, and our audience was dramatically reduced because most of the children were attending the boy's funeral. Despite the somber circumstances, the center's director went on about how grateful he was that we had brought our art to share with his kids. I couldn't help but gain a little perspective from this experience.
What we do as dancers can't change the realities of everyday life. Many kids in Memphis will be lucky if their families have enough money to buy fresh fruits and vegetables every week, and the only exercise they might get will be in a gym or schoolyard. Some can't afford a ballet lesson, let alone a pair of pointe shoes. I know it sounds corny and maybe even self-congratulatory to say that sometimes the most we can do is inspire them.
But I have to say that with the kids I met during Connections:Kids, the inspiration was a two-way street. They greeted us with open hearts, full of affection, energy and eagerness to learn, and as a performer, you can't ask for a better audience than that.
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