Showtime!
Written by Barry Kaufman
Anyone who has ever attempted to get a 3-year-old to do anything knows – it’s not easy. While teenagers might drag their feet with a certain intractable willfulness, the mind of a preschooler is less stubborn but far more distractible.
But how about trying to get them to tell a story of magic, humor, beauty and virtue through movement alone? It’s something akin to an impossible mission.
“It’s a bit like trying to keep a bunch of kittens in a box,” said Katie Girardi, with a laugh.
She knows more than most. As ballet mistress at Hilton Head Dance and part of the team of the upcoming production of The Magic Toy Shoppe, she has been tasked with overseeing the school’s youngest students through a full production.
“Some of them are only 3, and they just started in January or February,” she said. “But some of them have been with us for many years. It’s great to see them shine in the storytelling part of it.”
Girardi handles her young charges with experience, however, having been on the other side of the student-teacher relationship at Hilton Head Dance. She first trod the boards there as a child herself, starting in 1987 and dancing all the way through her high school graduation 14 years later. After college and a stint with the Connecticut Ballet, she rejoined her old dance school as a teacher. Now 16 years later, she’s helping the next generation find its movement.
“It is magic. The Hilton Head Dance School is such a warm, welcoming, inclusive dance environment,” she said. “To have experienced that as a student, being able to replicate that same open arm environment is very special.”
Of the three shows the school is putting on this spring, The Magic Toy Shoppe features the youngest students in the school. The school’s founders, Karena Brock-Carlyle and John Carlyle, will lead older students through performances of Terpsichore (grades 9-12) and Terpsichore, Too (grades 5-8).
Terpsichore, Too is 7:30 p.m. May 5 and 6 and The Magic Toy Shoppe is set for 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. May 6. (Terpsichore was held in late April).
“The Caryles are just pillars of this community, and it’s an honor to work alongside them,” said Girardi.
Girardi’s lengthy tenure with the school – this marks her 16th year as an instructor – makes her a natural choice to work with the younger students through The Magic Toy Shoppe. And her experience as a student does wonders in helping her young students learn their roles as dancers on the stage and leaders off it.
“When we do the Nutcracker at the end of the year, the whole company is together and my fourth graders really look up to the older girls,” she said. “Now they’re the oldest, so we ask them to set the tone backstage and be examples for the younger students. It’s adorable to see how these 3- and 4-year-olds look up to them.”
Delegating leadership, however, is only part of it. Another part is accepting the fact that, as young children, these dancers have deep reserves of energy that we adults can’t begin to fathom. To channel that energy, Girardi is mixing up the standard elegance of ballet with an infusion of high-energy movement.
“On top of Magic Toy Shoppe, we’ll be doing a jazz dance as well,” she said. “We’re calling it, ‘Shake Rattle & Roll.’ It’s a brief change of scenery and it’s fun to see them get some of that energy out.”
Getting a group of children to do anything is difficult. Getting them to put on a breathtaking performance of skill, precision and grace even more so. But it is possible. It just takes patience, experience and a certain willingness to work with their boundless energy rather than against it. And it takes help.
“We just have such great instructors,” she said.
She points to fellow teachers Jamal Edwards, Caitlin Hoffman and Erin Demers as indispensable in their mission to make these young dancers into stars.
“Everyone is just fabulous with these kids, and they have been integral in teaching these children storytelling,” Girardi said.
Performances will be held at Seahawk Cultural Center. Visit hiltonheaddance.com for tickets.
