Today we’d like to introduce you to Spencer Powell.
Hi Spencer, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started own dance studio (Visionary School for the Performing Arts) and the dance company (Visionary Dance Theatre) in 2009. A few years later, I formed Kidz Danz Kompany, San Diego’s premier children’s dance company.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. As with many dance studios and dance companies, funding has been the primary challenge. Funds and donations for the adult dance company were scarce. The cost of living is high in San Diego. The cost of running a business in San Diego is even higher.
Artists and studio owners of color face both overt and subtle discrimination. With the school, many parents have a picture in their mind that their child’s dance teacher should be a white woman. Being an African-American and a man, I immediately start with two strikes. The adult dance company has always been multi-racial and multi-cultural. I feel the dance company has not been given the same opportunities as the other pre-dominantly white dance companies. If you look at the composition of the larger dance companies in San Diego, you will see that the dancers are pre-dominantly white.
I find that producing dance and performing arts in San Diego very challenging. There are not many resources available to help the average artist produce and present their work. There are few theatres and venues available. The ones that are available are very expensive. The press coverage of dance is very little, especially for the amount of dance that occurs in San Diego.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a teacher, choreographer, and performing arts producer. The dance studio, Visionary School for the Performing Arts (VSPA), currently focuses primarily on dance instruction. In the past and periodically, VSPA provides instruction in and produces musical theatre productions. Within the VSPA, I have formed Kidz Danz Kompany, San Diego’s premier children’s dance company. This multi-cultural, performance-based program explores all dance genres with a strong theatre background. KDK is unique by producing professional-level dance concerts and preparing young dancers for a life in the performing arts by providing professional-level training and coaching. All KDK training is geared to the artistic development of each student to prepare them for the professional concert stage. KDK dancers learn choreography and composition, with the opportunity to choreograph for the dance concerts. KDK stage productions go beyond the traditional dance recitals. KDK stages full evening-length dance concerts with the same rigor and discipline of professional dance companies. Through these productions, students get additional training and education in the production of dance concert events. Also, KDK does not shy away from tough topics. Alongside entertaining audiences, KDK also tackle topics such as racism, child separation, school shootings, etc. Whether the student is heading towards a career in the performing arts or not, we feel the dance training and production training provides discipline and skills that transcend beyond dance and can be taken wherever the student chooses.
Visionary Dance Theatre (VDT) is the adult professional dance company I formed. Alongside taking in professionally trained dancers, I have taken in dancers with less training, however, no less passion or dedication for the performing arts. VDT has a history of commissioning choreographers within the community to provide them the opportunity to set work on the dancers and present it on stage. VDT has also been a home for dancers of color that have been unable to get into other dance companies due to the color of their skin, not for their dance abilities.
Under Mounarath-Powell Productions, I have produced dance, musical theatre, and vocal productions in the San Diego county area. These productions have provided opportunity and encouraged growth in both young and veteran artists, especially the disadvantaged and those of color. It has provided a platform for the artists that would not have the means to produce and present their art.
I think what sets me apart is the diversity of community that I have been able to bring together as well as the diversity of work that I have been able to do and produce. I am very proud of the diverse and open-minded community of artists, non-artists, and arts-lovers that I have been able to grow and bring together. Being a person of color, it can attract other people of color to the community. I am also proud of the ability to give back to the community, especially the underprivileged and under-served. Beyond providing a scholarships and access to performing arts training, I have been able to create an inclusive environment where artists of color (both children and adults) are not put to the back of the show or class because of the color of their skin and where they are not tokenized or alienated because of the color of their skin.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I don’t know if it’s a lesson learned or if it’s more of the confirmation of a lesson already learned. Part of my success is from some very wonderful people in the community and throughout my life. Whether it’s money, time, energy, enthusiasm, or just their shared love of the performing arts, this larger community of people have made some of this journey possible and enjoyable.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@VisionaryDanceTheatre.org
- Website: www.VisionaryDanceTheatre.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visionary_dance_theatre/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisionaryDanceTheatre
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Visionary_Dance
