Arts IN Focus on PBS Fort Wayne is funded in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne Coming up, we'll talk with ballet instructor Kevin Grant, owner and director of Grant Training Program, and filmmaker Derek Hockemeyer.

It's all next on Arts IN Focus.

Welcome to Arts in Focus.

I'm Emilie Henry.

Kevin Grant is the sole owner and director of Grant Training Program, an exclusive ballet program right here in Fort Wayne, where dancers from all different studios come together for high quality ballet training.

We recently visited Kevin at the Grant Training Program Studios to learn all about his journey through life as a dancer.

From the beginning of his own training through Weisser Park Elementary School and Fort Wayne Ballet.

All the way to establishing his very own elite ballet training program.

Kevin, Thank you for inviting me to your studio today.

I am both thrilled and intimidated being here because I know that lots of magic happens and I am not a dancer.

Tell me when you became a dancer.

When I was in elementary school, so around six years old, I went to Weisser Park, which is a magnet arts elementary school.

Great school.

So every day we had a different art class.

So whether it'd be music class or dance class or what have you.

We were introduced to arts very young, so that way when we would go into first grade, we would take an a intramural class either before or after school, that was an art class.

So I chose to do dance and choir.

And so on Fridays we would have performances at the school.

And so at the time, Fort Wayne Ballet had a professional ballet company that would come in and offer performances and things.

And so I was just enamored by the costumes and things like that.

So in first grade I decided that I wanted to take ballet as part of my intramurals.

And then through that, about third grade is when I got my first chance to be in like The Nutcracker and to do a full performance.

And so once you experienced being on stage with all of the live music and all of the other dancers and the costumes and the magic that happens within the whole production, after that, I was pretty much sold.

So I would say probably around third grade is when I knew that I wanted to be involved with dance for the rest of my life if possible.

That's so interesting because so many kids that age, we were just talking about my daughter.

I have a five year old who would dress up in a tutu all day long.

I don't know if she actually has an interest that will carry through her life.

So it wasn't really at that point so young that you were like, oh, yeah, this is it.

Absolutely.

I would say because with me going to Weisser Park and because they kind of made sure that arts were an everyday thing that occurred in your life, it made me realize it even sooner than I think other students may have.

If you go to more of a traditional school where you're just doing, you know, your math, your language arts and things like that, which obviously are important, then you might be more of a studious type of student where I was more interested in the arts even, and you know, like nine years old, so.

Now, were you good at it from the start?

You know, especially with ballet, they talk about having the turn out and having the right feet and that kind of thing.

Were you were you sort of like, genetically predisposed to be a dancer?

Oh, not at all.

And even now, I don't have the what would be considered the correct body type.

Okay.

I'm more I'm more short and more muscular, which is more for a gymnast.

I'm more of a gymnast type of facility, as we would say.

Yeah.

But I think my passion and my fortitude is what helped me get to the level that I was able to accomplish.

But a lot of people my age are still dancing professionally, whereas I chose to teach even in my early twenties.

And a lot of that had to do with the fact that I didn't really have the facility that I desired for the career that I also desired.

So cut to you opened your own studio, which is, but it's not even a studio.

It's a it's a program.

Yes.

Okay.

So tell me let's let's talk about the nuance there.

These kids are committed.

Yes.

Yes.

I was reading about you and your program and I thought, man, to do some sort of alternative school so that I could do what I love.

And I'm passionate about would be, I mean, the best.

Yes.

So is that what you had in mind from the beginning or how did it sort of evolve?

Well, when I first started teaching, I realized that there were a lot of students that primarily studied other styles of dance, but they wanted to get good ballet training.

And so it's kind of hard to be able to go to a ballet school and also be able to dance at a traditional dance studio because the commitment is has the same amount of hours.

So to be able to fit all of that in lots of times you can't.

So they try to make you choose one or the other.

And so when I realized that I realized that there was like a niche in the market and that I could offer the best of both worlds to everyone.

So my whole idea was that kids could come to me for their ballet training but not have to be dually committed because they don't have to feel like they have to do a Nutcracker or, you know, a ballet competition or they have to be here every day.

It's solely a training based program, so there is no performance commitments.

It's only they're just coming here to become better dancers for whatever style they decide that they want to choose in the future for their career.

Yeah.

Okay.

So now you also teach ballet at Tiffany, Correct?

So do you see some of those kids and you think, Oh, man, I want them in the training program because they could really excel.

Or they could they could really use that that little extra.

Is that sort of how you get to know some of these dancers?

Absolutely.

So I'm very fortunate to be a part of Tiffany's because it does offer me a lot of dancers that come into my program automatically just because of proximity.

But I also work with dancers from Ratio Dance from Elite Dance Center.

So a lot of different dance studios.

They allow their kids to come to me for their training.

And so what I sort of do is I see kids that are really committed and here at least, you know, at Tiffany's, I see kids that are really committed and I say, hey, you know, would you like extra training or are you thinking about becoming a professional dancer?

I talk to their parents and then we see if that's the right step for them.

So what is the ultimate objective?

Who is the the right student for you?

Is it someone who is looking to dance professionally?

Is it someone who is just looking to sort of expand their technique?

Who are you really hoping to get in the doors?

I just want any student that has an appreciation and love and passion for dance, and they want to make their technique better because a lot of times you're most talented dancers don't become professional dancers just because life happens or they fall in love with something else.

They have different passions.

I think, again, because my program is training based, I don't feel any type of ownership over them or their career.

I'm just happy to offer them whatever it is that they want to maximize out of their program.

So I don't know that I have an ideal of the perfect student.

I just want a student that is really committed to what they want to do and is really going to appreciate ballet for the art that it is.

Okay, But do you get those students who really love it and are really talented and then you start to go, Oh, I feel some not ownership, but you really want to see them continue on?

Absolutely.

So I have some students right now that, you know, I have a student that just signed with an agency.

I've had other students who have signed with agencies.

You know, one of my students that lives in Atlanta right now has danced for Usher and danced Kanye West.

You know, and I mean, he took ballet very seriously in class, but obviously that wasn't what he didn't want to desire to have a ballet career.

But then I've also had dancers that have danced for New York City Ballet or have danced for Charlotte Ballet and things like that.

And you do see the passion and you do see that they have the the facility or the body and all of the right, you know, they check all of the boxes.

And so what I try to do is just be there to help facilitate that for them, answer any questions their parents may have, and, you know, just help to guide them as much as possible.

Because I've seen coaches before that can be a little too hands on and too aggressive, and then you end up wanting it more than your student wants it.

And I never want that to happen.

I always want it to be my students passion, my students goal, you know, and then I'm there to support them, you know?

So.

So tell me about that.

You have the intermediate training program.

I don't want to botch it, but you have two different, Correct.

tracks?

How does that work?

So the intermediate program is for students ages 9 to 12.

Traditionally, and they come Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for an hour.

And so those kids are at a younger age and so they don't need as much training, its just a little bit.

And so a lot of times, too, they also all go to traditional school so they can't get out in time and all of them all dance at other studios as well.

So I'm just giving them the maximum amount of training that they can have in addition to them being able to dance at their other studio.

And then I have my advanced program, and that's typically for the dancers that have definitely decided that they want to have some sort of professional career or go to college or and dance in college and things like that.

And so they come to me in the daytime from 115 to 345, and they either are home schooled during the day or they go to a school that accommodates their schedule and lets them get out early.

So I'm very fortunate that I have some schools in the area that work with me that understand that these students of mine are top tier athletes, you know, and it's very important that they fit in all of their training so that way they can again, be the best answer that they can be because the dance world is just so highly competitive.

Yeah.

Okay.

Tell me how it looks.

Let's take the intermediate track, for example.

I imagine that each of those kids need something different from you based on facility you call it?

Correct.

How do you balance that?

That one hour a day for three days a week, giving everybody what they need, knowing that it's probably so different?

Well, I have a syllabus that I follow, and so the syllabus that I follows from a school called Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and you kind of follow them step by step not that you don't do exactly the exercises, but it might say, you know, plies and then you get to do your own version of plies And so what I do before each of class that I have, I look at the syllabus, I have a calendar of the date that I introduce certain steps, and then I say, okay, we haven't done this step in a while, so we need to and I need to introduce this step and we haven't done this step yet and what I need to introduce that step.

And so I go step by step by step.

So hopefully by the end of the year I will have introduced a whole genre of steps for them to be able to do now.

And so that's sort of how I developed my day.

But I also keep my program in small numbers because it's only me teaching and I don't want it to be so big where there's this class of 40 students and not a single student gets a correction that day because I'm just giving class.

So if someone were to see me teach, I'm on the floor the entire time I'm getting up.

I'm giving corrections on the floor because I'm constantly fixing people's feet and I'm giving everyone corrections the entire time versus some teachers, you know, I've had in the past.

It'll just, you know, sit in the chair and just kind of snap your fingers and tell you what to do.

But my program is so hands on because you're right, every student has something that they need to work on.

So and the advanced program, we kind of put on what's called, like the perfume on the dancing.

So they've developed all of the technical skills now, you know, the stretch knees, the pointed toes, the heel on top.

And now we're just talking about that placement of the head and where you look at the audience and the musicality and all the little extra details.

So that way when they are performing on stage, they can add that into their dancing.

Whereas I would say the intermediate program is a little bit more like the basic technique.

But advanced is definitely more of the details and the finesse.

What has dance, art, taught you about yourself?

I would say perseverance.

You know, like I was saying earlier, you know, you get a lot of rejections and a lot of no's and, you know, you can't do this or you shouldn't do that.

But it's kind of like, you know, you just got to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and just take each day by itself, you know?

And I, I talk to my students a lot of times about turning lemons into lemonade, you know, because every day there's a different type of struggle.

Maybe your foot hurts or your neck is sore.

You're not you can't turn today or you can't jump high today.

And so I just try to tell them, like, let's talk about the positive things.

I don't want to hear about the negative things.

We all know the negative things.

We're standing in front of a mirror.

We can see all the negative things from head to toe.

Let's talk about the positive things and then we can work through the negative things together.

So I would say perseverance.

I love that that's your answer and that that that's what you convey to your students as well.

They're so lucky to have you, Fort Wayne, we're so lucky to have your program.

Look for me in a few years, wont be me But it'll be my little girl.

Sounds good.

Well, we'll be sure she gets some good technique.

Kevin, you are delightful this was so wonderful.

Thanks for sitting down with me Thank you for having me.

I appreciate it.

For more information, visit grant training program dot com I'm joined now by filmmaker Derek Hockemeyer.

Derek, thank you for being here.

I want to know when you first fell in love with capturing moments on video.

Well, thank you for having me.

Sure.

I appreciate it, man.

Filmmaking has always been a part of my life.

Even when I was little, I kind of just, like, naturally gravitated towards the camera.

I must have been, like, seven or eight when I got my first little, like, HD cam recorder.

Wow.

And yeah, I just kind of like, you know, experimented with my neighbors and siblings and whatnot.

We would make videos and that was turned into like a love and a passion for the visual arts, I guess.

What was it about seeing the world through that little HD screen that was so exciting to you?

Hmm.

I guess like being able to capture the reality that I was living in, but then like displaying it a different way.

There was something that kind of like, broke the fourth wall when you kind of, you know, you're putting something together and then you make a DVD, play it on the screen.

Yeah, we would make these little movies like, me and my neighbors and just like, watch them on the TV.

And we thought that was so cool.

Yeah.

So.

So were you writing scripts?

Were you just recording what you guys were doing or what was kind of the gist or do you not even want to say?

I mean, like we would script stuff sometimes, but it's just like the nonsense that kids make, you know?

Yeah, for sure.

So at what point did you go, okay, I think I love this enough to pursue it.

Probably like later in high school, I started getting like a little bit better, just like anyone would if they were to practice a skill.

Yeah.

And I don't know, I would just start making videos that people appreciated and then being able to use my talents to give someone else a spotlight felt like a gift or something.

So, you know, being able to do that, like middle and high school and then throughout college and now, um, I don't know.

It's cool to put people in the spotlight a little bit and get them to share what they care about.

Yeah.

So now what you are passionate about is helping people with their brand through video.

So which is a kind of a newer concept.

Sure.

So tell me about that.

I mean, everyone kind of has like a brand or a message they're trying to sell, whether you're a musician or, you know, you own a business or something like that, a nonprofit, it's essentially all the same work.

It's just kind of documentary or sometimes like a scripted kind of story.

Yeah, but it's all just to like, get someone to share what they're about, being transparent and sometimes glorifying like showing only the best bits.

Yeah, but I don't know.

It's all kind of the same thing.

So how hard is it to to take a short form kind of video and and get all of the best parts?

How do you convey what somebody's all about in, in this little snippet.

Mm.

Yeah.

Sometimes it's harder to like be short form instead of, you know, take like 30 minutes to explain something.

Yeah, I guess it's like, shoot more than you think you need and then condense it.

So sometimes you just like when I'm meeting with someone to maybe put a brand film together or something, I'll have them just kind of explain what the business is about.

And then my little pea brain kind of picks out like, Oh, this thing's important and different.

So I don't know, I just kind of regurgitate those things.

Yeah.

Now, how what is your process?

So you do this the interview with whomever is looking to make a film or a short form video.

How does it all work?

How does it come together?

There's there's like no tried and true method to doing it.

One certain way.

So every single time that I approach a project, it's unique and different.

But for some brand films where it is like interview style, and then we see maybe like B-roll of what they're about.

Sometimes it's just like an unscripted interview and then that carries and I discover what I even want to shoot or like, make it about.

Yeah.

I guess.

So how integral is the client in that process?

Do they sit with you during the edit and say, Oh no, that's really important?

Or does it get to be kind of what you want it to be?

A little bit of both.

It's definitely like, this is true for documentary too.

Like you add your own perspective to whatever it is.

Sure.

So if I have an opinion about a business and I go into it, it's even if I try to hide it like it's undoubtably going to come out in the film.

Right.

So in addition to the brand videos you do, you do a ton of work.

So what are some other projects and facets of your business that are exciting to you?

Hmm.

I guess just like always having a camera on me for travel or, you know, just capturing life as it is.

I like to work with musicians a lot.

Later today, actually, I'm shooting with Los Aptos.

This band from Fort Wayne.

Yeah.

I don't know.

It's like, I don't want to close the door.

If it's something that seems interesting and like, seems like a new opportunity to discover more about life then like, yeah, I'm interested when you see videos that you have produced.

Can you tell?

Can you see your vision.

I don't know.

I'm not asking that well.

Sure, I understand.

Okay.

It's like I want to.

Yeah, but that's part of like the learning curve and like the creativity curve to what you want to make and, like, the style and all that kind of stuff.

The aspiration of the curve comes sooner than like, what you're actually capable of, at least in my case.

Yeah.

So sometimes I see like what I want to have happen actually end up on film.

A lot of times I like land it somewhere out there.

Yeah, but at least that's like a step in that direction, so.

Okay, so you this afternoon, you're shooting with Los Aptos.

So this is kind of a great way to to talk about your process.

How much of the shoot this afternoon do you have planned out?

Do you have I mean, I imagine you're not like storyboarding it.

Are you just going to show up and start shooting or how does that work?

So we met with them like almost like three weeks ago or something like that.

And he gave me like a really pretty clear concept of his vision for the project.

And then we found some locations just yesterday we went and brought all of the lighting equipment and pre lit the environment so that when our actor comes in, we're pretty much ready to go.

We have a shot list.

It's not like true storyboarded or anything, but, um, we did like as much pre-production as we possibly could so that there's no questions or like surprises when we go to film later.

So what happens if you meet with a client and they give you their vision and you are like, that is nowhere near my vision or that is not or that's not going to work because, you know, as a professional, like but that's not actually the way it works.

How do you find that balance of of conveying what they want but also making it feasible and your artistry?

Yeah, that's also like a learning curve for sure.

You have to have the confidence to know that you know what you're talking about and that if someone throws something at you and they like are sure that that's going to be the thing that makes their business thrive or something.

You have to be able to be like, okay, I hear you.

I receive that, but I think this might be the better option.

Yeah, you know, you don't want to be rude and you want to accommodate for people, of course, but there's definitely like a middle ground.

Yeah.

So people are usually, like, really trusting and sometimes that's kind of scary.

I think of like, I'm just figuring this out as I go.

Like, I don't.

I barely know what I'm doing most of the time.

Um, so yeah, people are like, here, give it a shot.

Maybe they give me a chance.

So, like, I want to do the best work that I can with that opportunity, of course.

But yeah, I'm like, figuring out how to be a person half the time, you know, let alone, like, a professional.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I respect you saying that so much because I think, you know, too often people are trying to pretend like they have it all figured out, knowing that that's kind of your feeling.

What made you want to start your own production company?

Start your own, like your own business?

How do you have the confidence to do that when you're really just figuring out as you go?

You're doing it out of fear, honestly, just like I have freedom and the ability to really pursue any type of video or film that I want to make.

Yeah.

Being independent.

So it's nice being able to be choosy and selective with who I work with.

Mm hmm.

And I also just wanted to learn a lot of hard lessons, like myself and put myself in uncomfortable situations so that I could grow faster.

So I was just going to say, that's the fastest way to learn, right?

So what's next?

Do you have another big goal, or are you kind of just working through it day by day, making art?

A little bit of that I just wrapped up this I wrapped up filming this honeybee documentary about bees and beekeepers in like northeast Indiana.

Oh, wow.

So that was fun.

But I want to do more documentary work.

So at least every year, be producing something that's like 20 to 30 minutes and interviewing people and learning things that I never would have thought to even dive into through documentary.

Yeah.

So do you do you feel like your sweet spot is going to be in that short form kind of arena, or do you want to do like a feature documentary?

Eventually yes, I would love to, but like in the meantime, I think I want to start doing short form like concepts or like if I'm doing a documentary no longer than 20 minutes so that I can try and learn different things.

Mm hmm.

What is the hardest part about creating?

Well, anything, whether it be a brand, a video, or a documentary, what is what is the most difficult facet?

Probably perfectionism or maybe a little bit of like, it's all trial and error.

So, yeah, you run into different mistakes every single time.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Just like making it, like, a huge mistake and not liking the entire thing after a little bit and then trying to stay motivated to then try to do it better the next time.

Yeah, maybe that's a problem, but.

But so what happens if you get through the process of shooting and producing and And you don't like it and you but you have to finish it.

How do you how do you make it through that?

I mean, sometimes it's just like I just have to pack it up as something I don't like or, you know, like, appreciate that it's part of the journey of getting something eventually that I will enjoy, like watching and appreciating.

Um, I feel like to this date I haven't produced something that I'm like, Oh, I love this.

So everything I've done so far has just been like a learning experience or trying something.

Do you think you ever will or do you think you're one of those people who is always going to be critical of your own work?

Yes, But I think eventually I'll reach a point where I'm like, okay, I feel like I've devoted the amount of time and energy into this and I love this thing.

I hope so.

Yeah, that's the goal.

Derek, thank you so much for all the work you do and thank you especially for taking the time to sit down with me today.

Thanks for having me.

It's like you interview such cool people.

So even to be considered, like to be a part of the show is like an honor.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

For more information, visit Sun Space Studios dot com Our thanks to Kevin Grant and Derek Hockemeyer.

Be sure to join us next week for Arts IN Focus.

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Thank you for watching.

And in the meantime, enjoy something beautiful.

Arts IN Focus on PBS Fort Wayne is funded in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne