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?
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