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kidd's
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 photo taken by Raoul Dennis/Radenn Media Group |
There
are no strangers in Brooke Kidd's neighborhood. It is a place where
just about everybody knows your name and the mailman greets residents
as he passes through town. One early Novemebr day, a young girl
named Betsy, a regular, drops by for a visit and some leftover Halloween
candy. This is a typical scene at Kidd's non-profit, Joe's Movement
Emporium (JME) in Mt. Rainier. Community spirit is natural here.
A thriving business in the heart of a working-class ethnic neighborhood,
it encourages art in the form of painting yoga and dance classes.
Joe's is a part of World Arts Focus organization (WAF), which opened
in 1995 on a block with several struggling merchants. Unlike them,
however Joe's main product is promoting cultural and personal growth.
Adults and children get a healthy dose of creativity along with
a generous side of self-esteem adn discipline. "Core ot our
mission is sharing dance from all cultures and placing that experience
within a cultural history,"says Kidd, it's founder and execuive
director. The company offers classes for both children and adults
ranging from dance to martial arts to yoga. There is also painting
and playing with intruments. At an afterschool program call "Club
Joe's" children play and learn in a safe environment in an
area where places to 'hang out' are few and far between. "There
is a whole absence of school programming in this area," says
Kidd. Dance takes precedence over al other arts here. Folk, social
and functional dances are taught, which "has allowed for all
people reguardless of their level or their background or their body
shapes to engage in dance forms because [the dances' are not exclusive
to the stage.." Area artists often use the space, which includes
a front area and two dance studios, for rehearsals. Each year it
welcomes 30,000 visitors with a policy that 'turns no one away because
of lack of money." A woman with bright blue eyes and a hopeful
smile, Kidd, who teaches motion theater is also an accomplished
dance artist and choreographer. A graduate of American University
with an unusual double major in dance and international relations
and a master's in dance education, she plainly loves and believes
in her community. She founded the non-profit shortly after her graduation
in 1991. SHe chose Mt. Rainier because shesaw it as a neighborhood
on the rise. "I was not interested in subdivisions or upscale
area," she says. A city of 8,500 people in a 1.7 square mile
radius, Mt. Rainier as a 60 percent unemployment rate. Around 80%
of it's residents are non-white, according to the 2000 Cencus. Its
affordability has made the area a haven for artists and the city
has evolved into the venter of the County's arts movement. Kidd
recieves county funds as well as private donations. Additional revenue
comes from tuition fees and ticket sales of performances. The company
also has a strong relationship with the University of Maryland at
College Park, whose students take-in performances at the Clarice
Smith Performing Arts Center. Meanwhile, community support has continued
to grow. The organization will be moving into a warehouse nearby
next year. The new site will have room for three studios and an
arts education center as well as individual studio space for artists
to rent. The reasons for moving are straight-forward. "We get
a lot of foot traffic and we are beginning to outgrow our space,"
says Jessica Byler, marketing and programming coordinator. "We
will be getting more space in the new building adding a new studio
and 150-seat thetre. Also, there will be more space for an office
and reception area and cafe." |
