BJ Robinson: In this edition of "KPBS/Arts," a top San Diego ballet dancer inspires the next generation.

Xavier Hicks: There are other kids out there wanting to do something different, and now there's a whole flood of ballerinas and dancers coming out that I can only say congratulations and kudos to.

BJ: An open-air painting fest.

male: That's my preferred method, light and shadow, because it creates drama in a painting.

BJ: Next-generation opera singers take to the stage.

[singing foreign language] Samantha Gossard: Your voice, it's its own organ.

It's its own muscle, and it grows and changes as your body grows and changes.

BJ: And a look at complex ceramics inspired by mountain flora and fauna.

Barbara Glynn Pridaniuk: I am inspired by the things that end up comin' through the yard.

There's a lot of wildlife around here that's passing through.

BJ: It's all ahead on this edition of "KPBS/Arts."

♪♪♪ BJ: Hi, I'm BJ Robinson, and this is "KPBS/Arts," the show that explores art of all kinds.

Ballet took San Diego dancer Xavier Hicks all over the world.

He's been a principal dancer in some of the top companies in the country.

Now Xavier tells us how he fell in love with dancing and how he's helping the next generation of ballet dancers reach their dreams.

♪♪♪ Xavier Hicks: I started dancing about five years old, and I've been going ever since.

The introduction to the whole scenario of it was the theater.

I grew up going to the theater, like, five times a week.

Sometimes, during the week, my dad was making sets for the opera and for the ballet companies, and my mom was doing some costuming, and I'd be like, "Why are we going to the theater again?"

But then, that's the way my mom and dad were kind of telling me, "Hey, you're gonna go check this performance out," without telling me.

It was amazing.

Honestly, the feeling that I got from that was so uplifting and overwhelming that it made me realize this is what I wanted to do.

I loved it that much from the first time I heard the drums playing, and then I heard the pianists playing the classical ballet and then seeing the rehearsals of the opera, and at the theater, it just made me really have a passion and a knack for it.

♪♪♪ Xavier: I was raised with a lot of different nationalities, and, basically, the nationalities that I was with, they never really had any black dancers or black athletes around them, so, when my mom finally came to join me, and she says to me, "I want you to go see this," and "I want you to go see that," I went with it because mostly there was nobody that looked like me, and there was nobody that made me feel like it was possible 'cause you don't see much of us.

Now we have a whole bunch of 'em coming out.

Shoes, tights, all that stuff reflects that.

So the growth is always there, and the struggle is always there, but the beauty is always gonna be there.

♪♪♪ Xavier: Influences that I've had that really have resonated well with me, I'd say, Donald McKayle was one.

He was somebody I got to meet when I was a child, and I got to go with him to New York to see him perform and choreograph for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and, after that, I realized that I admired that man.

I think he's a genius.

He's amazing, and I just really loved his work and his rapport with the dancers.

He demanded a lot of you, but he never really chewed you out.

He never really yelled at you.

He never really lost his cool with you.

If he was frustrated, you knew.

He was rehearsing the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and he was so thorough with them and so genuine that everybody was dying to, like, do the best for him, and when he was done, everybody was so happy, and they were crying before he left.

That man just brings out the best in you, and we lost him a couple years ago, and--sorry, I didn't mean to do that, but what a gift.

♪♪♪ Xavier: I'm just now coming back, taking classes again after the COVID and after a couple of transitioning periods of my life, and right now, I'm just teaching, and I'm taking classes, and I'm trying to push myself back to where I was so I can create more.

As a teacher, seeing all the diversity that comes in, it really makes me appreciate why we're here, and it makes me appreciate how we're here because they're experiencing, they're exploring with their arts what their heart is telling them or what's calling them, and it just makes me kind of proud because, the thing is, I grew up with that.

I didn't have any other outlets.

I didn't really have time to stay out and hang out with friends and play and all that stuff like that.

It was always the theater, church, or school, and so, me, seeing that, it just makes me kind of--it makes me proud.

Makes me appreciate the fact that there are other kids out there wanting to do something different, and now there's a whole flood of ballerinas and dancers coming out that I can only say congratulations and kudos to, you know?

My advice for a young dancer wanting to be a dancer at this time right now would be work hard, be true to your training, and really mean what you say, and say what you mean, because, once you enter that realm, there's really no going back, and you have to put yourself into it 100% because you represent your art, and your art represents you, so make the best of it.

Find the right niches, and don't be afraid to speak up on things.

Go for what you love and what you know.

♪♪♪ BJ: And now here's a look at some of the arts events happening this week in our community.

BJ: In the Florida Keys, you'll find stunning views wherever you look.

It's just perfect for the Inaugural Plein Air Art Festival, where 25 artists from around the country gather for five days of painting in the open air.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Betsy Keteltas: Plein air painting is based in the French impressionistic style of painting, and over the past many years, artists have taken on this style of painting where they basically find places they love to paint, architecture, nature, landscapes, wildlife.

They set up their easels, and they spend however long it takes for them to capture that image.

Betsy: When we talk with people about Morada Way Arts & Cultural District's Paradise Paint Out, we explain to them that we've invited 25 artists from around the country to come to the Florida Keys and to paint from Islamorada through Ocean Reef, Key Largo.

These artists show through their work how they see our beautiful islands.

Some are painting along the highway, some are painting in little nooks and crannies, and a lot of locals and visitors have been able to see their favorite artists from start to finish creating these masterpieces.

When they are finished with a painting, they bring it to our wet-room gallery in the Art District, and they price their art.

We hang it, we show it, and oftentimes, we sell it.

It's been an extraordinary week.

Many, many collectors have come in, identified pieces of work that they'd like to purchase or walked out the door with art in their hands.

♪♪♪ Randy Pitts: I've loved coming down here to paint because the scenery is so inspiring.

I mean, I can't help but fall in love with everything that I've looked at so far, so subject matter-wise, it's been harder to decide what not to paint.

The upper piece over here is a piece that I actually did at a place called Robbie's.

And Robbie's, I'm sure, the locals are very familiar with, but all of the different little venues and tents and everything set up with the vendors have--were just tailor-made for subject matter to paint.

The painting over my right shoulder was one that I did staying at La Siesta Resort, and I went down to the beach one morning and looked back, and I felt like the bungalows there, sort of, were representative of old Florida and all of the palm trees and everything, so it's sort of, just, like, it was something that grabbed my attention.

Betsy: And many of them, like I said, have not been here before, so when an artist walks in with a piece of art and we immediately identify it, whether it's a little abstract or not, our hearts are just filled with that appreciation of the Florida Keys, of this paradise.

male: I have never been to the Keys before, and so, all the more, I wanted to participate in this event.

Of course, where I'm from, it's freezing now, so what's not to like?

I come from Rockport, Massachusetts, where I've lived for 34 years and have a gallery there.

Originally from Brooklyn, New York, in case you can't tell.

I had a number of people here earlier.

I try to entertain them and do a good painting.

male: And I had a class of third graders here, and kids say the darndest things.

It usually starts out "Oh, what are you painting?

Where are you looking?

Why are you using that color?"

And, eventually, it gets to "Do you make money from this?

How much do you make?

Are you married?"

You know, so that was the highlight of my day here aside from eventually pulling the painting together and being pleased with it, and if I'm pleased with it, generally, those who are viewing me are pleased with the painting.

Randy: Every time we go to a different spot, they each bring their own sort of challenges that we have to figure out how to put into paint.

male: When I arrive at an area, I will scout it out, choose my subject, and I know that somewhere in there is a painting.

When I first started this painting, it was overcast, and so I said, "Okay, that's the deal.

My values--in other words, my painting values will be very close to each other.

There won't be any drama.

But the sun came out when I was about an hour into this, and at that point, it was early enough for me to make a decision, so I chose to convert it to a sunny day.

Have to be very careful and very fast because the light is constantly changing--and was able to pull it off.

Obviously, the sun moves very quickly, and all of this was in sunlight, soon enough, but I didn't follow it.

We call that "chasing the light."

With experience--and I've been painting 50 years, it's frightening--one is able to do that.

An inexperienced painter would do exactly that, chase the light, and then you would have no painting at all.

It wouldn't be here nor there.

That's my preferred method, light and shadow, because it creates drama in a painting.

Betsy: This Islamorada's Inaugural Paradise Paint Out is the first Plein Air Paint Out that has taken place over a weeklong period in the Florida Keys.

This Paint Out will be juried.

We will have a selection committee.

The 25 artists have been gracious.

They have been helpful and created extraordinary pieces of work, and I was surprised personally by how they really engaged in our community and with our community.

Betsy: We have people here who are asking for these artists by name.

Randy: The Keys has its own sort of flavor, and so being able to try to capture that, I think, is one of the things that I enjoyed most.

There's a certain vibe here that, you know, the laid-back, the casualness of it all, it feels good.

BJ: And now here's a look at some upcoming arts events around San Diego.

BJ: The Lyric Opera of Kansas City introduced its first class of a new Resident Artist Program.

It's a chance for young singers to bridge the gap between their opera schooling and the professional world.

Samantha Gossard is one of four resident artists, and as the season gets under way, she's thrilled by the program's possibilities.

Samantha Gossard: I remember the first time I saw an opera, I was in college, actually.

It came to me much later than, in life, than a lot of people who are in it.

I was just mesmerized completely, the spectacle, the sheer sound, the fact that these voices were carrying over the orchestra in this great big hall.

[singing scales] Samantha: A mezzo-soprano is a lower female voice, soprano being the highest.

Mezzo-soprano is the middle, and then there are contraltos.

We have a different tessitura, which is the range of voice where we're most comfortable singing for long periods of time.

[Samantha singing in a foreign language] Samantha: My teacher always tells me, "You have to say hello to your voice every day," even if you're taking ten minutes to vocalize in the shower, just to see what your voice is doing because your voice is its own--it's its own organ.

It's its own muscle, and it grows and changes as your body grows and changes, and you have to know what it's doing.

[Samantha singing in a foreign language] [Samantha singing in a foreign language] BJ: For nearly every aspiring opera singer, finding the right teacher is essential.

Like this man, world-renowned tenor Vinson Cole, Samantha worked with him during her graduate studies in Cleveland, then followed him to Kansas City, where he now serves on the faculty of his alma mater, the UMKC Conservatory.

Samantha: He's so down-to-earth and, just, very nurturing and has been such a mentor and friend to me for the past six years.

I mean, he's really taught me most of the things that I know.

You don't find many like him.

I mean, he is a master of singing, and he can also teach it.

[Vinson Cole singing in a foreign language] Samantha: Okay.

Vinson Cole: She's a real joy to teach.

You can't make somebody perfect, and you can't do everything, but there are times when there are different things you can do.

When you have somebody who's as agile as she is and adaptive, you know, you can kind of mold and say, "Okay, try it this way, try it this way."

It's the little refinement things.

When you take a breath, you know, or when you sing a line-- [inhales]--what's behind that?

What's the thought behind it?

[Samantha singing in a foreign language] Vinson: As I always tell people, I said, "You have to make sure that the end of the phrase is as good as the beginning of the phrase because what they're gonna hear is the end, and that's what's gonna stick in their ears, so we wanna make sure that you've got yourself set up correctly."

[Samantha singing in a foreign language] BJ: Cole can now add another credit to his already lengthy resume, director of the Lyric's brand-new Resident Artist Program for which Samantha was selected.

That means she and three of her cohorts, seen here at the recent Kauffman Bravo Celebration, will play onstage roles throughout the season with an opportunity to study others as part of their professional development.

It's the kind of program that Deborah Sandler believes will benefit not only young singers but also the company and the community.

Deborah Sandler: We're very excited that we have a wonderful chorus here, and they're local, but for the most part, we bring our principal artists in through international audition, and so, this way, if we're at a point in between productions, we have a group of people who are very comfortable setting out and doing special programs, and we're even starting a new series this year called the Exploration Series.

BJ: That exploring begins with an unexpected pairing of The Beatles and Schubert, then, on to music by Elvis Costello, and a trip through the American art song with resident artists and a few guests doing the bulk of the vocal work.

It's all part of the Lyric's big push to bring new patrons into the fold.

Deborah: It's the people who have never gone that we want to try to reach, to say, "Hey, give it a shot.

Here, let's give you a point of entry that may, you know, ease your journey."

BJ: These days, opera does pop up in commercials and on film soundtracks.

Productions at The Met are streamed live into movie theaters.

It may be centuries old, but younger singers like Samantha Gossard still feel its power.

Samantha: The stories we get to tell are so very human.

I often find that the art form and, really, honestly, live theater in general gives people permission to feel and think things that they wouldn't otherwise feel or think.

Singers in the opera world today are singing actors.

I've been, like, out of breath, running around, singing on recent productions, and I love that.

I love that it's so active now.

[singing foreign language] Vinson: You know, since I sing less now, it's very interesting to do something with young singers.

Vinson: It's never the top note.

It's what sets it up.

Samantha: You've been telling me that for years.

Vinson: If any singer gets to enjoy what I got to enjoy all these years, it's the greatest joy of my life.

I want them to have that same kind of feeling when they get to my age, and they say, "Okay, I feel like I've really done something worthwhile, something I loved and enjoyed."

[Samantha singing in a foreign language] Samantha: That's what makes it worth it to me.

It's communicating the story.

It's telling those stories, keeping that music alive, putting beauty in a world that really needs it.

[Samantha singing in a foreign language] Samantha: When I'm having my really down days and I'm like, "I don't know how much longer I can do this," "This is hard, like, getting rejection after rejection" or, you know, "I'm not getting this," "This music isn't coming easily to me," "I'm on a deadline, I've gotta get--" you know, and when I'm having my really hard days and I think, "I kind of wanna do something else," and then that's where my mind goes blank, and I can't really think of anything else I'd rather do, it's when, like, "Well, let's get back to it."

[singing foreign language÷} [singing foreign language÷} BJ: You can find out more by visiting kcopera.org.

♪♪♪ BJ: In Northern California, a ceramicist and sculptor takes inspiration from the flora and fauna of the surrounding mountains to create intricate works of art.

Take a look.

♪♪♪ Barbara Glynn Pridaniuk: I am a potter, so I work in clay.

I use mostly porcelain and stoneware clays.

I do both functional and sculptural pieces.

I've been potter for almost 40 years now.

♪♪♪ Barbara: Functional pieces are designed to be used as, like, a cup or a bowl or a plate.

They serve a function, and it's nice to do functional pieces because you're a small part of that person's everyday life, and you can bring a simple joy to that.

The sculptural pieces are narrative.

I am inspired by the things that end up coming through the yard.

There's a lot of wildlife around here that's passing through.

I've been in this current studio here in Truckee since 1989.

Outside my house across the street is a pond and a meadow.

It's quite beautiful, lovely place to go walk in the morning or in the evening.

I'll be on a walk and be inspired by some texture or something, and then I'll try to figure out how to make that into a piece.

I've worked a lot with ravens 'cause there are some ravens that live around here, and then they're associated with a lot of myth.

It's really easy to see why so many stories were made up about them, so there's a lot to play with there.

♪♪♪ Barbara: I work on a potter's wheel, an electric potter's wheel, so the act of throwing is taking the clay and slamming it onto the wheel head, and then you form that pot.

It's a process.

It's not always fully formed before I start.

It's--develops along the way.

I will decide what I'm gonna make, and then I will go to the wheel and start throwing.

♪♪♪ Barbara: Throwing is a very meditative place.

The initial act is called "centering" and that centering yourself is part of that process, so you need to center your focus on what you're doing in order to control the clay.

I like to experiment with different forms and try to push the limits of what the clay will do as far as it will support itself.

I use a sponge and some ribs, which are hard wood or plastic pieces that allow you to shape the clay, and then various things to trim back what's not wanted.

♪♪♪ Barbara: And then those pieces dry overnight, and then they're painted on and carved or whatever the design is gonna be before they go into the kiln.

It becomes more and more rewarding because of the challenges.

A lot of times, you're trying for something, and you just can't figure out how to get there.

You have to keep trying.

So, once you finally do get there, you feel like you earned something.

I intuitively follow things that catch my imagination.

I think there will always be something new to learn.

The more you learn, the more you realize how much you don't know, so that's why it's--continues to be challenging and exciting for me.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ BJ: And that wraps it up for this edition of "KPBS/Arts."

For more arts and culture, visit KPBS.org/Arts, where you'll find feature videos, blogs, and information on upcoming arts events.

Until next time, I'm BJ Robinson.

Thanks for watching.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ female announcer: Support for this program comes from the KPBS Explore Local Content Fund, supporting new ideas and programs for San Diego.