Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristi Andarcia.
Kristi, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In May 2009, I moved to Chicago from Mississippi after I graduated with my undergraduate in Ballet/Modern Dance. I worked several seasons throughout the city as a professional dancer and teaching at various schools. I met my now husband and moved to the south side in 2012. While finishing my prerequisites for a graduate degree in Occupational Therapy, I decided to start a small dance program for children in the Hyde Park/Kenwood community.
Unsure of how to start, and with very little money, I printed as many flyers as I could, put them in my book bag, and walked around the neighborhood putting flyers on cars. From several weeks of this, I was able to begin my program with two small ballet classes, and a total of nine children (most of whom are still with me six years later). I rented a yoga studio, and as the kids continued to enroll (mostly through word of mouth), I expanded into an old church basement on 50th/Dorchester.
Over the next three years, I expanded programming into several local schools as after school, and day satellite programs. Our small school continued to outgrow the church basement space, so I started searching for a place we could officially call “home” and renovate into a professional studio.
We are now VERY proud to call KAM Isaiah Israel our home. We have two completely renovated, beautiful dance studios within their building, and have occupied these spaces for the past three years.
We are approaching our seventh season and have grown from nine students with just myself as teacher, administrator, show manager, etc to ten satellite programs, two studios, eight teachers, a studio manager, and over 200 students.
We are also very proud to be a partner with the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts in Hyde Park; where we now host our Annual productions in June.
Needless to say, I never went to graduate school. I have been blessed and incredibly fortunate to have found my real calling, a spouse and partner that has supported all of my efforts, and a community that embraced me as if I were one of their own. I love my children and helping them pursue their dreams will continue to be the mission of my life.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Ha! No would be an understatement. As an artist, first and foremost, I have struggled with learning how to manage a business. I have learned by fire. I have had to budget, improvise, market, lay sub flooring, work on my customer service skills, teacher and staff training, spreadsheets, etc.
I have also had to work hard as an “event planner” in making sure our productions each season run smoothly. As a working professional dancer, I was very accustomed to working with other performing arts professionals and took for granted that this “world” is quite foreign to most.
I have had to work hard in educating my dance parents on production and the world of performing arts. I am so proud of my “veteran” dance parents. Six seasons in, and I feel confident about the army of performing arts families I have been able to create. They never hesitate to reach out to new families to help put them at ease. We have a very beautiful dance family.
Kenwood School of Ballet – Home of the ITwirl Dance Satellite Programs – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a Ballet and Dance school. We are very proud of our classical ballet programming. However, we have also embraced other genres into our programming such as Hip-Hop, Tap, Jazz, and Acrobatic Arts. Although, we are very focused on Ballet training, I would never say; as you oftentimes hear people saying; that “ballet is the foundation of dance.” Ballet was established in 1661 as a formal dance style. Prior to 1661 there were an endless variety of ethnic and cultural dance styles that have (and continue to) to contribute to the language of classical dance.
Our goal is to make ballet fun, accessible, with the added element of ensuring our Ballet dancers are well rounded, educated, and articulate movers. Our dancers take written, verbal, and physical proficiency tests in order to advance to the next level in our school. These tests include the proper spelling and definition of ballet terminology, positions of the body, anatomy, and dance history.
I believe in the added, academic rigor for my students, not only to create exceptional young dancers, but because of the social climate of today’s world. I am a white woman. The majority of our students are minority dancers. Over the years, while taking my children to different events, I have experienced first-hand the added challenges they face as dancers of color. Not only have they told me they feel “out of place” at events because no one else looked like them, they immediately felt that everyone was better or more beautiful than they were. It devastated me to see what the world of dance looks like through their eyes. I have also heard other directors mention dancers of color as “having flat feet, unruly hair, tighter muscles, or lack of mobility in their bodies genetically.” It infuriated me to know that my kids would have so much more to contend with then just being a classical dancer; which is hard enough. After my early years of experiencing these things, I simply decided that my kids will have to be better. When going into auditions, master classes with other white dancers, they will have to be undeniably better in every way possible. They had to be better dressed, with more knowledge, class etiquette, and enthusiasm. I have made it my mission to create better dancers and artists, because I believe in excellence, and because it is no secret they will have it harder than their white counter part. This past season, our twelve youth ensemble dancers acquired a total of 21 summer intensive scholarships ranging from the Alabama Ballet to Debbie Allen’s Los Angeles Summer Youth Intensive. They have trained hard; and more importantly continue to pursue their love of the art. They are my heroes.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is not about being the most gifted. Success is about tenacity, humility, grace, and passion. I think everyone’s recipe for success is different, but those elements have been what has helped me to find success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.itwirldance.com
- Phone: 7733684058
- Email: itwirldanceprograms@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ITwirlDancePrograms/
Image Credit:
Photography By: Michelle Reid
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