Life & Work with Collette Alleyne

Today we’d like to introduce you to Collette Alleyne.

Hi Collette, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve been in Los Angeles for 16 years. I moved here with my daughter, who was seven at the time, intending to pursue a dance career for myself and acting for her. We moved here when the movie industry was booming in New Orleans, and LA seemed like the next step. I was a single mom, fresh out of college with a degree in education, a love for dancing and performing, and a passion for showing the next generation opportunities beyond life’s challenges that anything is possible with the right attitude. I found myself doing just that. Teaching in Los Angeles at a school designed to serve at-promise youth, I had the opportunity to see students succeed who had given up on themselves or had teachers, parents/guardians, or systems mark them as low or underperforming…lost. I also taught students who wanted more and felt they weren’t getting what they needed from schools, so they took responsibility for their learning and enrolled in the independent studies program.

For the longest time, I taught middle and high school students during the day, danced, rehearsed, and taught dance classes in the late evenings to early mornings. I took vacations from work to tour, auditioned during lunch breaks when it was possible. Up for a promotion at one point, I asked my then superintendent to give me a few days to decide because I had to go to Vegas to compete in the final round of “So You Think You Can Dance”. I made it to the last round before the top 20. It was quite the experience. I came back to LA and began my first year as a school administrator, and I haven’t looked back since. Dance company work continued. I was an associate director of one and performing artist is several others, I earned my Master’s and Admin Credential and kept teaching and performing until 2012 when a major back injury stopped everything. The doctors said I may never walk again without assistance, and I most certainly wouldn’t dance.

Six years later, I found Inner-City Arts. Well, my husband found it. I shared a dream with him that I had in 2011 about arts and education, and he said I should give it a shot. It’s the place where my worlds have come together with the same focus of providing access and opportunities to young people who deserve to explore the deepest parts of themselves most creatively and authentically. Inner-City Arts is not very different from the experience I had growing up in New Orleans, where I attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and Syrell’s School of Dance (where life-long friendships were formed through dance). All I wanted to do was dance. It kept me focused on everything else I had to do because that (dance) was something I wanted to do. It was hard, but I was determined to improve every day. In dance, I had no limits. Movement, emotion, rhythm, life came out of me when I was on stage and in the studio. I want students to have that, in whatever art form gives breath to their life and meaning in the direction of purpose.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I believe that everything happens for a reason. Our responses to challenges are what dictate the next step. Of course, there have been challenges. I moved to LA as a single mom, determined to create a life for my daughter and me. I had to make tough decisions while pursuing opportunities in the entertainment industry. Would I audition for roles and gigs that I could not share with my young daughter? I chose to pass on many opportunities because my daughter was my priority. I also had many sleepless nights with my daughter in studios fifty miles from home because performing was the goal. There were growing pains with my daughter, who struggled with being away from family, especially after Katrina hit New Orleans. It was chaos. She wanted to be with her father, who was unable to visit for years. The life she knew before moving to LA would never be the same.

Most of the obstacles were personal, and I also tried to keep that part of my life separate from my professional life. Again, dance was the outlet. I expressed all of my emotions, hurt, pain, joy, and frustration through my movement and my faith. Without that combination, at least until 2012, life could have gone in any direction. Honestly, the back injury was one of the most isolating and debilitating experience I’ve ever had. It stripped away the breath and freedom that came through movement and dance. It has been mentally and physically exhausting for years. Improvements are on the horizon. I’m tapping into a more in-depth knowledge of mind, body, and spirit that will allow me to overcome.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am the Chief Education Officer for Inner-City Arts, a non-profit organization based in the heart of Skid Row that provides arts and education services to schools, teachers, administrators, community partners, and youth throughout Los Angeles interested in learning about the arts and exploring creativity. My organization has an excellent opportunity to create programs that can meet the social-emotional needs of the community we serve, using the arts as a tool for transformation. Our mission is to engage young people in the creative process in order to shape a society of creative, confident, and collaborative individuals. We serve students as young as kindergarten and provide opportunities through an individual’s first year in college in our Work of Art college and career readiness program.

In that program, students are paid to create and learn about creative industries. We don’t expect that all students will enter into a traditional creative industry; however, we know the skills they learn in the creative process translate to any path they choose in life. Inner-City Arts specializes in programming that is student-focused and multifunctional. In providing a safe space for students to explore their creative voices, the opportunity to build something more significant than an art project exists. Acquiring knowledge, skills, and developing resilience can result from their experiences at Inner-City Arts. We always work from the idea that “there are no mistakes in art”, just opportunities to see things differently, a new approach, a new perspective. My role, in a technical sense, means setting and managing the program budget, working with leadership to establish and advance the program’s goals, fostering relationships that support sustainability and growth, and providing staff opportunities for ongoing development to deepen the impact of all program participants. Realistically, it’s listening to the team, the community, being clear on the organization’s goals and mission, and working with leadership and staff to lay a foundation that continually meets and exceeds those goals.

More recently, it’s trusting my voice, being ok with my seat at the table, and owning the value I bring to the table. I wouldn’t usually say that in public. I would say what has been politically correct and acceptable not to be labeled as everything I’m not. I think I’m known for trusting people to do the job they’ve been hired to do and not being afraid to have difficult conversations. It’s the hardest part of any leadership position and the most effective way to understand what is genuinely needed. I’m most proud of the process we are in now and how we’ve responded to distant learning. Our teaching artists are working daily to meet students’ and teachers’ needs. They are continually adjusting lessons, strategies, and conversations to keep participants engaged in learning and surviving. In our college and career readiness program, students are gaining more experience around the creative workforce, understanding what it means to use art and creativity to express your voice and the voice of society. We are working to establish pathway experiences that will allow students to see themselves in the arts and creative fields after graduation or at least being able to apply the skills learned in the arts if they choose another path.

In our Professional Development and Adult Education program, we have adjusted to respond to parents/guardians and educators’ needs at this time. The focus is on supporting all people functioning as educators during distance learning and providing strategies utilizing the arts that are applicable, online, in the physical classroom, and at home. What sets us apart is the attention given to the process and not the product. This applies to the art skills and personal development of the participants. The time we have with students is currently limited; we are working to improve the system, create an intentional design, and make the path visible to those interested. What we/I do requires passion and skill that must align with the mission. For me, it’s about purpose. My lived experience feeds my desire to make sure youth and adults like me are seen, heard, and valued and have the knowledge and skills to succeed with anything they do. It’s also essential to be clear about your personal definition of success. It looks different for all of us.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Life is unpredictable. Feed your faith, and your fears will starve to death (author unknown). Be ok with failing. You’ll know what not to do the next time. Your past does not dictate your future, your thoughts do—just some things I hold to be true.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected], (213) 627-9621
• Website: https://inner-cityarts.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innercityarts
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/innercityartsla
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/innercityarts
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/InnerCityArtsVideo
• Other: www.linkedin.com/in/collettewilliamsalleyne, https://twitter.com/ColletteAin

Image Credits
Anthony Tran