| 08/2006 - All About the Arts |
By: By Ashley Driggs - August 2006
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For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be famous. I was always “on,” yearning to be the center of attention. I was always dancing around, doing acrobatics on the furniture, pretending, role playing, you name it. My dad called me high-energy; my mom thought I was just plain wacky!
I guess with all of the subtle hints I was dropping, my parents found it appropriate to sign me up. And, sign me up they did for anything and everything — sports piano, gymnastics, soccer, acting. While I excelled in sports, my heart always steered me toward the arts. And, once my parents caught on to this, they went out of their way to enourage the love. They began pursuing higher musical education options for me. (Trust me when I say that it takes a few piano teaching duds before you hit the right one.) We started going to see (translated: dragging my poor dad to) musical theater performances. I even began dancing in high school, performing in my first dance recital at the ripe old age of 14. I was in the high school musical all four years — I was a “supporting role” as a freshman and the lead as a senior. I dedicated my life to the arts, going so far as to audition (and get accepted too, thank you very much) for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. I guess it was my fear of being a starving artist that separated me from the real artists. But the separation didn’t change my love for or the influence that the arts has had on my life. They were a wonderful outlet for me, and I believe they are for all children. They provide a healthy escape from the daily rigors that growing up in a structured world brings.
Once my “high energy” kids are old enough, I plan to offer them the same opportunities I was given. And I anticipate a shared love for performing in some capacity from at least one of them. But all three of my boys will know the arts — appreciate the arts — regardless or whether they dedicate their lives to a professional artistic career.
I encourage all parents to tune-in to their “high-energy” children and offer these young, easily influenced sponges the opportunity to find out what the arts are all about. Urge them to dream big. Show them that they can be whoever they want to be, that the opportunities are endless. Classes don’t have to be expensive, and involvement doesn’t have to be a full-time job, but dedication and love goes without question.
Take a look at our arts listings (starting on page 21), and I guarantee — GUARANTEE! — that you will find something for your little Picasso
... or Alvin Ailey
... or Bernadette Peters
... or Yo Yo Ma ... |
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