If dance in its simplest form is moving to the music as the rhythm inspires you, dance at its most advanced is what instructor and former City College basketball coach Derrick Curtis does every day.
Since the earliest age of humanity, dance has existed as a form of celebration, prayer, mourning and joy. For some, the most sophisticated form of dance that comes to mind is the slow dancing they may have done during a high school formal.
But at Santa Barbara Dance Center, no lines are drawn for instructors like Curtis who have over 25 styles of dance to choose from. In an effort to share their passion with kids who may not have been exposed to dance, dancer Judy Scher and Curtis have partnered together to bring teen reality show Dare Kids to Dance to the public of Santa Barbara.
“One day last summer I said I’d like to do a dance show, and he said ‘Let’s meet.’ Then I said I didn’t know if I could talk and dance at the same time, but he said, ‘I can,'” Scher, co-producer of the show said.
A world traveler and creative editor, Scher is also currently working on a book entitled, “The Wit and Wisdom of the Sages” which was inspired by a creative writing class she took at City College with the late Anne Lowenkopf.
“I wanted to give a voice to people over 65. These people have been taking [Lowenkopf’s] classes for years. They’re like her followers,” Scher said. “One day I showed up to class and she wasn’t there, she was too sick so I told her husband [Shelly] my idea and he said, ‘Let’s get you an agent, I think it’s a great idea.'”
The co-producer of DKTD characterizes herself as, “New York intense” while Curtis “is more laid-back. It’s a great partnership,” she laughed.
“I call Judy ‘the bulldog.’ I’m glad I’ve got somebody like that because things get done,” Curtis said. “It’s a good thing.”
Dare Kids to Dance is a free televised workshop that teaches children basic steps to dances like the cha-cha and tango. The show’s first filming was this Saturday.
Curtis has had over 22 years of experience teaching dance at studios, Montessori school and City College to name a few.
“I taught ballroom with Kay Fulton; she was my mentor,” Curtis said about the City College Associate Professor, who has had over 48 years of teaching experience herself.
But all the way from the court to the studio, Curtis has always been an activist.
“I coached basketball for three years with Morris Hodges. At one time I had eight basketball students living with me – those guys did not get along. I thought if they lived together as housemates they’d learn to get along and that reflects on the court,” he said. He also created “Stomp Out Tobacco Swing Nights” to advocate a tobacco-free lifestyle.
Curtis credits his passion for kids to “being able to be a mentor and helping them to have a better life – to be confident young people. Confidence is the key to success.”
10 boys and 10 girls will be chosen via lottery at each workshop to be filmed while learning to dance; no experience is necessary and kids 10-18 are welcome. For more information go to darekidstodance.com.
