Expressions School of Theatrical Dance Interview With Kimala Kelbert

Kimala Kelbert, the Owner/Director of Expressions School of Theatrical Dance, has taught dance in some form since she was 16 and has previously owned a studio in Southern Alabama. During the summer of 2014, Kimala and her family decided to open a new studio in Casper, Wyoming. They did a lot of surveying and polling and as they talked with dance families and people who had children who were interested, but not enrolled, in dance, they found there was a strong demand in their area for a studio with morals, character, modesty and family values. Though most people expect high standards in dance training, it wasn’t at the top of their list. With strong Christian beliefs, she had the same convictions of so many of these people. They took to heart what their Expressions School of Theatrical Dance community was requesting and developed their programs accordingly

With 28 years of teaching experience, and having been certified by Dance Masters of America (“DMA”) in 1991, for director Kimala, high quality dance training is a major priority. Through DMA, Kimala learned pedagogic methods to teach progressive levels of all the dance forms she teaches.  The experience she has had working in studios over the years has taught her what professional integrity clients expect. Now, with the opening of Expressions School of Theatrical Dance, she is bringing it all to the Casper community. Expressions also offers pageantry and pageant talent choreography along with modeling. In late October, they are looking forward to a “Back to Class” fashion show with their local dancewear retail store. Expressions hopes to reassure their dance families that they can expect professional services of a Certified Director, who also expects this standard of her staff, and has mastered the demands of the profession.

Kimala’s proudest moments in teaching is EVERYTIME a student accomplishes an element correctly and their face lights up because they realize their accomplishment! Either by their own hard work and repetitious practice to master the skill or an analogy she shares with them that causes better understanding of the element. To see the “Ah-ha” moment, to see the light bulb come on and an element mastered . . . it is a beautiful thing!

The biggest mistakes she sees dancers make when they are performing comes from not knowing how to control adrenaline and lack of knowledge in how to breathe and to control their breathing. When stepping onto the stage, the adrenaline rush can take a solid dancer with a clean polished routine where technique in the studio shines and they fall apart. Everything they worked hard to correct, they forget. Bad habits return. Breathing is no longer controlled. They can’t hear the music, let alone count it. Their face reveals their anxiety or their mistakes. Being confident and well-rehearsed is not enough. Teachers must also train their dancers in breathing techniques and teach when to breathe in practice of elements. So many times, the mistakes she sees are not necessarily the fault of the dancer, but of their training.

As they have worked to develop the Expressions image, they have found the color they have chosen as their “studio color” is not one of the easiest colors to find in dancewear. What they love about Bailar Dancewear is the 200 colors and the many fabric options that are available. They were thrilled to find that with Bailar Dancewear every article of dancewear is available in “Expressions Blue”!

Being their first year, Expressions’ main goal for this year is to get the studio off the ground while providing high quality dance training and an atmosphere where students can enjoy taking class and performing.

Kimala’s motivation to open a dance school was demand.  She heard over and over again the desires of their community and after much prayer and deliberation, Expressions School of Theatrical Dance was created.

Expressions is a school for theatrical dance. To them, this means doing presentations different from most local studios, especially their recitals. Their desire is to end their dance season with a Production Night and Showcase. They will be doing full length productions with stage sets, props and occasionally a special guest in the spotlight. This year the studio is looking forward to presenting their
 family-friendly version of Cats!

Kimala says they are a studio that participates in dance competitions. She believes there is healthiness in competing when coached and encouraged in appropriate ways. They challenge their students by new ideas, encourage them to improve their technique or performance, provide critiques by professionals, and train them in proper performance etiquette. It helps to build a camaraderie among a region of dancers creating a sense of community and a valuable network should a dancer choose to go to a college program or become a professional. Expressions is also community oriented and performs for their local nursing homes and hopes to take every opportunity to participate in local events. Recently their summer Preschool Ballet Camp was able to contribute to the Hope for Gabe Foundation (H4G) raising awareness and money to fund research to cure Gabe’s rare disorder, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Expressions School of Theatrical Dance or Kimala Kelbert.

You can learn more about Epressions at their website www.Expressionsstd.webs.com or by enailing Kimala Kelbert at kelberts2@juno.com.