BELLEFONTE — It is exciting to see people who have passion for their work — even after 34 years.
Joan Kennedy-Kirkpatrick has such a passion.
When Kennedy-Kirkpatrick arrived in Bellefonte to open a dance studio in 1984, she rented a space on High Street at the Odd Fellows, later moving to the St. John Episcopal Parish House. She gave up teaching for two years while serving as administrative assistant at Calvary Baptist Church. By the time she returned to take up the reins as director of a dance studio again, many ideas had gelled in her mind.
While at Calvary, she had led adult classes and realized her place was back in the dance world. Kennedy Dance Centre in Bellefonte was born of those ideas.
“I studied ballet and tap growing up and added modern dance later, after college,” Kennedy-Kirkpatrick said. “I took classes and assisted Betty Jane Dittmar at her dance studio. While spending three months in Switzerland at L’Abri, a community where people from around the globe came to study, I formed a more concrete vision of how I wanted my path to be as a teacher.”
L’Abri Fellowship International communities are study centers in Europe, Asia and America where people seek answers to questions about God and the significance of life on earth.
Kirkpatrick started her college days in art education and changed to psychology. Those fields have served her well as she sought to embody dance, drama, poetry and art in the classes she held.
“The arts can touch souls,” she said. “Although I have no children, all the kids passing through my studio are my children. I feel we were called to be surrogate parents. Many of these kids have grown up, gone on to have careers and become parents, and yet have contacted me to update me on events in their lives.”
Kennedy-Kirkpatrick was happy to find the building on the corner of High and Allegheny streets in Bellefonte. She wanted a building just for dance, that sent the message that “dance happens here.”
In the building, Studio B has been the place where she has tried to create an environment to meld her ideas of art and dance. She has featured different artists’ works and students learn through looking at each artist’s work. The studio now features the work of Jan Pienkowski, a Polish-British author/illustrator of children’s books with many moveable and pop-up features, as well as cutout silhouettes.
The silhouettes now on the studio’s walls are of Kennedy-Kirkpatrick’s students.
She said during the two years she was not running a studio, she learned some things.
“I learned that not everyone wanted creative modern, so tap, ballet and jazz still needed to be taught. We went looking in the ’80s for someone to teach hip-hop.”
Dechaune Roane and his wife, Brandy Fletemake-Roane, have taken over running the dance studio. They met at the studio, married at the studio and make a great pair to run it, according to Kirkpatrick, who said that Brandy saw a performance from “Annie” on the Bellefonte Courthouse steps and decided she needed to dance like that. She was in second grade.
“Dechaune came to teach hip-hop and he has a vision for the studio. Brandy knows everything about administration and running the whole show,” said Kennedy-Kirkpatrick.
“Families want to do things on Facebook and be able to sign up for classes online. (The Roanes) have been running Hot Styles Dance Company and they will be able to bring the studio forward, to update things.” The new directors are offering summer dance classes in June.
The recent dance recital was the last for Kennedy-Kirkpatrick, and she remembers it as very special. Her husband, without telling her, had invited her siblings to come and finally see what she had done for so many years. Two brothers from Michigan and Georgia came to one performance and three sisters came for the others.
“I felt so full, looking at all the people and to see my family observing my work,” said Kennedy-Kirkpatrick.
As one chapter is closing, Kennedy-Kirkpatrick said, she is looking for the next endeavor to follow with her heart. She is interested in possibly doing something with those with dementia, as, like with music, dance has been shown to reach those with the disease and bring them joy.
