Today we’d like to introduce you to Imani Harris.
Imani, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I first started dancing in the sixth grade. I remember checking out these dancers at the neighborhood park and thinking, “I can do that.” In a matter of time, I joined the dance school at Del Amo Park in Carson California, and the rest was history. Dance became a second language for me.
It was through dance that I was able to express things my vocabulary could not put together. I found my life through dance, and even the typical adolescent ups and downs didn’t keep me away from it. I took dance with me to college and haven’t taken not one break since the day I started in the sixth grade. Although dance is such a huge part of who I am, I discovered that it wasn’t my first love. I am in love with freedom and dance was a vehicle to the very thing my soul yearned for.
In 1990, I was given the opportunity to train at the Alvin Alley Dance Theater Summer Intensive. The experience was fantastic inside and outside the studio. New York was a pivotal part of my journey because its rich culture and racially diverse population somehow opened my mind to see that my destiny would not only include the stage but sharing this gift with my community in a more profound way.
The arts changed my life, and I wanted other children to have that same exposure. In 1996, my performing arts company was founded (Positive Images of Self-Expression also known as PISE) and I started the legacy of using the arts to give children a voice and teach basic life principles that would help them succeed in any career path they chose. In the early to mid-2000s the economy took a big blow, and the arts became less of a priority.
I closed my dance studio in 2012, but dance didn’t close its doors on me. I continued dancing as Artistic Director of the dance ministry at Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood California. I voluntarily worked with youth at my church and continued the summer performing arts conservatory component of PISE for children ages 4 to 17 naming it IMPACT Performing Arts Conservatory.
Has it been a smooth road?
Being an entrepreneur is no easy feat. In order to make ends meet I’ve been working corporate jobs and moonlighting with my purpose. Living this double life has been like being in a long term circus tour. It was common to work choreography at a copy machine, sache to a cubicle and stand at the coffee machine in the first position.
At times I felt like a dancing superwoman getting off work, speeding down the highway, jumping over building in a single bound to then rip off my business suit and hit the dance studio floor dancing with all might as if my life depended on it. Educational institutions have cut back arts in the schools and technology has become the number one activity for spare time amongst children.
I’ve seen it become increasingly difficult for youth to embrace the language of the arts and experience the freedom I so much loved in my youth and held on to. In order to achieve such a mission, I’ve had to continue educating myself and using creative methods to reach the hearts of the youth.
This training is so valuable to the development of children but is still not affordable to a large population of children in the inner city.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Impact Performing Arts Conservatory story. Tell us more about the business.
Positive Images of Self-Expression (PISE) is a nonprofit organization developed to positively impact the lives of children and young adults by providing fun, educational programs that emphasize self-development and the arts as a form of self-expression.
After 20 years of service, PISE has developed quality programs that change lives through the arts. PISE has left its mark throughout Los Angeles and the country on various stages such as; The Wilshire Ebel, The Redondo Beach Performing Arts Theatre, The Hollywood Palace and The Strand Theatre in Shreveport Louisiana.
PISE has produced an array of top quality youth musicals and productions that include hit plays; High School Drama, Where is My Daddy and the PISE Celebrity Spring Fashion Show. In 2009, The Impact Conservatory was created to partner with other organizations and institutions in need of an artistic component. Impact became PISE without walls and was instituted at Antioch Church in Long Beach, California and Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, California.
In 2012, Impact explored the ability to take the arts globally and followed through with its successful project at the I Can Fly High School in Machakos, Kenya. Impact has shown to be very effective in training young artists, and it has created a unique niche for repurposing classic theatre shows like Cinderella, The Wiz, The Lion King, Andie (the boy version of Annie) and Aladdin.
The Impact Team is comprised of dedicated and qualified teachers who have a heart for youth and believe in the positive influence of creative art.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
There are no limits to the arts. There are more televised dance and vocal competitions, and I see that trend continuing to grow.
Performing arts at one time was regional but is now breaking cultural barriers and bringing the world together through arts and entertainment.
Pricing:
- Impact Summer Performing Arts Conservatory 6 week session $900 (30 per day) ages 4-17 Monday-Friday 7-5 pm
Contact Info:
- Website: www.impactconservatory.com
- Phone: 3103105250
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: impactconservatory
- Facebook: impactconservatory
Image Credit:
Ashley Nicole Byrd and Don R. Nesbet
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