THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 23, 1994 TAG: 9411220087
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Keenya Thomas, 21, of Portsmouth is a part-time ballet instructor at Gail Harts Dance Company and is the mother of one.
I got started in dance when I was about 7, in Norfolk. I believe I was 11 when I danced the part of Clara in the ODU version of ``The Nutcracker.'' I did that about three years.
After that I went to the governor's magnet school (for the arts). Then I started dancing for Gail. I may have been about 13, and I danced with her until I started college.
Just this past summer, I started teaching for Gail.
Nobody could believe the Moscow State Ballet was coming here. We were like, yeah, right. It was the sixth of October; that's when things started falling into place. We have been rehearsing every Sunday for the past month with all the children. I think there are 56 of them.
As far as my future in dance, hopefully I will be attending ODU in January. Hopefully, I pray. Hopefully I will be in theater arts, or I might be crazy enough to be a teacher. I enjoy working with little kids.
I was accepted into the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, their school. (The birth of Tyler, age 1, delayed that.) This next summer, we're going to New York. If I have a chance to go study, that would be very good. I'm working toward that.
I would be ever so happy if I could go and somebody would say, `I want you to study with me.' I'm not going to give up. Child or no child, I'm not going to give up. If I'm not a famous dancer, hopefully I could groom some dancers. That would be better than anything. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by BILL TIERNAN
Keenya Thomas
by CNB