Mom’s New Stage is a blog written and owned by Keesha Beckford who is a professional dancer turned mom. The blog mostly explores the heart, hellishness, and humor of motherhood and dance. Now, because she loves nuance and looking at things from 50 different perspectives and subcategories, she finds herself writing from the viewpoint of a biracial parent who is past forty and is in the studio with a bunch of twenty-somethings. She has also been writing a lot about issues concerning their very polarized racial climate.
Keesha says she has had too many happy moments to choose just one. She has had many occasions performing work choreography that felt like her soul was speaking. Those moments were truly transcendent. But, what has made her even happier has been watching students of varying levels perform her work with passion, intent and clarity. She has loved seeing the culmination of their process. Her favorite time was a piece she choreographed at the 
Spence School called Quiet Desperation in 1999. It was the first time that her student choreography moved her to tears (in a good way).
Ultimately, Keesha wants to write a book and Mom’s New Stage is a pathway to that.
She says that she has tons of advice for young dancers. First, be versatile, while there are purists in every dance form, it seems that with all the commingling going on versatility is key. Ballet dancers should take African and hip-hop and vice versa.
Etiquette! Ettiquette! Ettiquette! It never goes out of style. She sees so many dancers who do not know how to behave in class or rehearsal. That flies for a while, but what happens when they are in a situation where someone is not going to tolerate the crappy behavior they have cultivated over their career?
Keesha says she could go on and on – about knowing history, taking the “dated” techniques, seeing performances, setting clear goals yet being open, cross training. . .
If you wish to know more about Keesha Beckford, check her out a www.momsnewstage.com, email her at momsnewstage@gmail.com, “Like” her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, Google or Pinterest.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Keesha Beckford of Mom’s New Stage.
Written By Cyndi Marziani
Owner
BDancewear.com
