Festival Rollout Schedule and Budgets

Expert Bios and Corresponding Questions

Kayleigh Anne-Jewell

When she was seven years old, Kayleigh Anne-Jewell joined the Dance Theatre of Jacksonville and spent the next twelve years learning all kinds of dance, including ballet, pointe, lyrical, protégé, and modern. She is one of the most well-respected graduates of the Dance Theatre, as she has been a member of their competitive dance teams and performed in their annual, renowned Nutcracker production. She currently attends East Carolina University working towards a BFA in dance education as well as a BS in psychology. A few years back, though, there were doubts about whether she’d be able to get this far. Her father left her family, leaving them with very little money, back in 2007, and just last year, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, which Kayleigh helped her with all this past summer, taking her to chemo sessions. Due to their financial situation, Kayleigh has never been able to afford some of the privileges that other dancers of the school have been able to take part in, but she is an incredibly talented dancer and, just as so many other young talents before her, she should not go unnoticed.

Questions:

1.     Have you lived in Jacksonville your whole life?

2.     Why did you originally join the Dance Theatre?

3.     How old were you when you got your first break with the company (i.e. competitive dance, Nutcracker)?

4.     Now that you’re majoring in dance education, what kind of dance were you hoping to teach, and to what age group?

5.     How are you hoping to utilize your degree in psychology?

6.     Have you ever used dance to get you through some of the tougher times in your life?

7.     Do you get to see much of your father these days?

8.     What was it like when you first heard your mom was diagnosed with cancer?

9.     Do you have any plans or dreams for the upcoming year?

10. What is it about dance that inspires you?

Debra Becerra

Debra Becerra has been dancing since she was 3 years old at Dance Theatre of Jacksonville. Now, she’s 34 and has been teaching dance at DTOJ for a great part of her life. Her mother, Debbie Baile, is the longtime owner of DTOJ and was part of the reason Debra began dancing professionally. She began assisting dance teachers, though, at the young age of 13 and began her own teaching at age 18. She is responsible for a lot of young dancers receiving regional and national honors at competitions and she has also personally received many honors for choreography, top scores, and technical awards. She is always trying to find something new and fresh and teach her students brand new choreography. She’s also constantly educating herself on dance styles and still improving her dance skills to this day.

Questions:

1.     What’s your favorite age group to teach?

2.     What was different about Dance Theatre of Jacksonville when you started dancing?

3.     Do you remember why you got into dance?

4.     Are you in general more attracted to teaching than dancing competitively, and have you always felt that way?

5.     How long have you taught Kayleigh for?

6.     What do you see in Kayleigh that makes her special?

7.     How have you seen Kayleigh’s personality develop after all the troubles she’s been through in the past?

8.     Where do you see her going in the future?

9.     Do you have any special plans or dreams for the upcoming year?

10. What is it about dance that inspires you?

Karie Jewell

Karie Jewell is 45 currently and living in Jacksonville with the support of her 3 kids, two boys that are Marines (one 25, one 22) and Kayleigh. She is a quilt pattern designer and has been for several years (she started publishing her own patterns in 2001). Her now ex-husband was deployed a lot of the time and their family lived Okinawa for several years, during which Kayleigh was born. They then moved and spent two years in Cuba, where Kayleigh took her first dance class. They moved to Jacksonville and Kayleigh immediately enrolled in DTOJ. Throughout all the years, she was able to support Kayleigh’s love of dance by her published quilt patterns while her husband was overseas a lot. Just recently, though, in 2013, Karie was diagnosed was a rare form of breast cancer than spread to her lymph nodes. She had to go through a mastectomy, 4 months of chemo, and 33 treatments of radiation. The chemo began just as Kayleigh finished up her junior year at ECU and Kayleigh was able to spend the entire summer with her. And now, there is no indication of any more cancer in her body. Throughout all this time, Karie has missed only one performance while Kayleigh’s been at school, and she could not be prouder of her daughter.

Questions:

1.     How old were you when Kayleigh was born?

2.     Did you have to move often when she was young?

3.     What was the family dynamic like when she was young?

4.     Did Kayleigh decide for herself from that young age that she wanted to dance?

5.     How have you been able to support your family over the years?

6.     If you can put such things into words, how have you and Kayleigh gotten through the rough patches together?

7.     When would you say the roughest period in your relationship was?

8.     What was it like when you discovered you had cancer/What were your children’s reactions?

9.     Where do you see Kayleigh going in the future, post-graduation?

10. Do you have any special plans for the upcoming year?

Concept Research

Kayleigh Jewell:

How old? 20

Attended DTOJ for 12 years, starting at age 7 (has been dancing for 14 years total)

Style of dance? Almost everything – ballet, pointe, lyrical, modern, etc.

What school does she go to? East Carolina University, Greenville; this is her junior year

What is her story?

-        A few years ago, her dad had an affair and left the family

-        Subsequently, Kayleigh’s family lacked the funds to send her to school; her options were limited and she wasn’t sure where she would be able to go

-        Kayleigh’s mom also got cancer, but she has recently overcome it

-        Now, Kayleigh’s pursuing a career in teaching dance, and is studying at ECU

-        Where will her dance dreams take her?

-        Since she is considered one of DTOJ’s best dancers, but has lacked the money for the professional opportunities others have been able to get (like performing in NYC, LA, on TV, etc.), we can call her the local “Hidden Jewell” with amazing dance talent—see what I did there?

Debra Becerra (Kayleigh’s main dance teacher):

34 years old

How long has she been dancing? 31 years

Teaching? 16 years

Other dancers we could interview:

-        Rebecca Chisholm (17) – lyrical, ballet, pointe, jazz, competitive protégé team, + more

-        Savannah Carter (10) – lyrical, hip-hop, musical theater

-        Skylar Lucas (17) – hip-hop, lyrical, jazz

-        McKenzie Lucas (15) – hip-hop, lyrical, jazz

Teachers?

-        Debbie Baile (65) – owner of Dance Theatre; owned the studio for 30+ years

Types of dance offered: website

What classes at what times? website

Kayleigh’s bio:

Kayleigh-Anne Jewell started dancing at Dance Theatre of Jacksonville at the age of seven and continued dancing there for twelve more years. During her time at Dance Theatre, she was a member of their competitive dance teams as well as performed in their annual Nutcracker production. Kayleigh-Anne is currently at East Carolina University earning her BFA in dance education and BS in psychology. While at ECU, she has had the opportunity to participate in numerous dance shows and has had the opportunity to work with several guest artists such as John Magnus from the Joffery Ballet, artists from River North Dance Company, and Lauren Edson. Kayleigh-Anne also teaches during the school year at Kinston Dance Academy. She teaches ballet, modern, and lyrical for all ages and works with their competitive dance team.

Debra’s Bio:

Debra Baile Becerra began dancing at the age of 3 at DTOJ. She started dancing competitively at the age of 6 years old. She studied under Desiree LeFebvre, Bridget Stone, Larry Payne and, of course, Debbie T. Baile, her mother and owner of Dance Theatre of Jacksonville.

She started assisting dance teachers at the age of 13 and started her dance teaching career at the age of 18. Under her direction, students have won regional and national honors at various competitions.

As a dance teacher, she has won choreography awards, top score awards, technical awards. DTOJ students and staff won the “Super Sport” award for good sportsmanship four times and the “Class Act” award at NYCDA for the most age appropriate choreography.

Debra has a deep passion for innovative and fresh choreography and instilling new concepts into her choreography. Debra also choreographs and directs the DTOJ Musical Theatre productions. For the past three years, she was hired as the choreographer / co-director of Broadway Junior Musical at DeLalio Elementary School in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Debra continues to educate herself on dance styles and improve her dance skills by attending conventions, workshops and master classes.

The Treatment for the As-Of-Yet Untitled Film About Dance

A maraca is shaken over a black screen. Slowly fade in on a group of babies playing with maracas and other rudimentary instruments, as their instructors move along with them, teaching them how to dance. Cut to a group of 2-year-olds dancing in a circle, holding hands and learning the basics of rhythm. These 2-year-olds grow up into a young group of ballerinas, dancing in a very refined and sophisticated manner.  As the toddlers grow, they embrace new forms of dance: Jazz, tap, contemporary, hip-hop. The kids grow into teenagers, then, before you know it, we see an adult ballet class, practicing the same style of dance as the toddlers. In this group, we linger on one girl towards the end of the line. Her name is Kayleigh Jewell, and this is the Dance Theatre of Jacksonville.

As Kayleigh packs up for the night, we see several interviews from instructors and dancers discussing Kayleigh Jewell’s life and her past with the Dance Theatre. She’s danced with them for over 13 years and has received incredible recognition for her performances, particularly the roles she has gotten in their annual production of The Nutcracker. Everybody is very enthusiastic about Kayleigh and her future, but we soon cut away from all these people and focus on Kayleigh to hear her side of the story.

She explains to us how, even though dance has always kept her afloat, things have not always been too great. Not so long ago, her father left her family and they barely had any money to get by. Her mother even thought Kayleigh would not be able to go to school, especially after she received her diagnosis for cancer. But Kayleigh tells the story about how she was able to overcome these odds against her and was eventually able to go to college.

She’s entering her junior year at ECU currently, and we get to see footage of her at school, as well as in the Greenville community, where she teaches at a local dance academy. She discusses why dance is the art form she chose and why she’s continued to stick with it for so long. She also talks about her budding interest in Psychology (the other half of her double major in college).

In the final scene of the film, Kayleigh walks out onto an empty stage and begins performing a dance that she choreographed herself. The camera dances around her, creating a beautiful number. Intercut with this is one last interview with her, discussing what her plans for the future are, if indeed she has any. She talks about whether or not she would want to dance professionally, simply teach dance, or do something with psychology, as well as whether or not she wants to stay in North Carolina her whole life, where she got her start. Her dance finishes and she strikes a pose for the movie audience.