Soulful Arts Dance Academy Artistic Director Paulette Johnson is perfectly at ease as she leads a class of middle- and high-school students through their warm-up exercises, showing them how to stretch their muscles and stalking among the scattered bodies to make sure that everyone is feeling the burn. She is a commanding presence, firm but good-natured, her 29 years of experience as a dance teacher apparent. She compels her students to pay attention by paying considerable attention to them.
"Soulful Arts is a place where you can come as you are and … your soul will be filled," says Johnson. SADA students come from all walks of life to take classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern and, most recently, African dance.
The organization opened its doors in 2003 in a former furniture store at the edge of downtown St. Petersburg, renovated into a bright, airy space with three studios. SADA was the brainchild of Johnson and Executive Director Sonia Raymund, who met when Johnson was community arts coordinator for Ruth Eckerd Hall, teaching classes and staging The Chocolate Nutcracker from 1998 to 2002. Raymund's daughter studied with Johnson, and Raymund and her husband were so impressed that they approached Johnson about opening a nonprofit dance academy with support from the Raymunds' family foundation.
The organization has grown significantly in the past four years. Grants and donations helped provide need-based scholarships to more than 80 of the 250 students who were enrolled last season. And despite the fact that not all or even some of these students will move on to become dancers, Johnson is convinced that she's giving them something vital.
"What is most important for us to remember is that we're not here to develop artists, we're here to develop human beings, to nurture what's on the inside and help it to be beautiful, to allow the kids to grow at their own pace in their own space."
Her pride is palpable when she talks about her students. "Usually, you think it's the teacher who inspires the kids, but really, the kids inspire me just as much as I inspire them, and the work we create together is amazing."
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 4, 2007.