Documentary Research

Our documentary is going to focus on The Dance Theatre of Jacksonville (DTOJ) in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It is owned by Debbie Baile (who started the business 30+ years ago), and managed by Erin Warpole. Creating an opening montage, we are going to take footage of dancers from different age groups/experience levels based on classes DTOJ offers, such as: rhyme, rhythm, & motion and baby ballet (for toddlers); beginning tap, ballet, jazz, and hip-hop (for children); lyrical, jazz, junior hip-hop, intermediate tap, and intermediate ballet (for adolescents and teens); and advanced jazz, hip-hop, tap, ballet, lyrical, and protégé for more experienced dancers. Our main focus, however, is going to be on one particular dancer, Kayleigh Jewell.

Kayleigh attended DTOJ for 12 years, starting at age 7. She is now 20 and is entering her junior year of college at East Carolina University in Greenville. Kayleigh is considered one of the most talented dancers to come out of DTOJ, and is experienced in multiple types of dance including ballet, pointe, lyrical, protégé, and modern. Though Kayleigh is widely regarded by her peers and mentors as a lovely person and a skilled, hard-working dancer, she has had her share of struggles. A few years ago, her dad left her family, putting Kayleigh in a financial predicament with the question of if she would be able to afford to go to college. Her mom also battled with cancer in the wake of this difficult time. Having to make the difficult decision of mapping out her future, Kayleigh has since decided to pursue a career in dance education, which she is studying, in addition to psychology, at ECU. Though she has lacked the finances to seize professional opportunities some of her other peers have been able to participate in (such as performing in New York City, Los Angeles, in theatres, on talk shows, etc.), she is a “hidden gem” in a sea of talented dancers, and her merit should not go unnoticed.

The teacher who worked closely with Kayleigh throughout her years at the Dance Theatre is Debra Becerra, a 34-year-old with 31 years of dancing experience and 16 years of teaching experience. I have included both Debra’s and Kayleigh’s biographies below, taken from the Dance Theatre website (http://www.dancetheatreofjacksonville.com/):

 

Kayleigh’s bio:

Kayleigh-Anne Jewell started dancing at Dance Theatre of Jacksonville at the age of seven and continued dancing there for twelve more years. During her time at Dance Theatre, she was a member of their competitive dance teams as well as performed in their annual Nutcracker production. Kayleigh-Anne is currently at East Carolina University earning her BFA in dance education and BS in psychology. While at ECU, she has had the opportunity to participate in numerous dance shows and has had the opportunity to work with several guest artists such as John Magnus from the Joffery Ballet, artists from River North Dance Company, and Lauren Edson. Kayleigh-Anne also teaches during the school year at Kinston Dance Academy. She teaches ballet, modern, and lyrical for all ages and works with their competitive dance team.

Debra’s bio:

Debra Baile Becerra began dancing at the age of 3 at DTOJ. She started dancing competitively at the age of 6 years old. She studied under Desiree LeFebvre, Bridget Stone, Larry Payne and, of course, Debbie T. Baile, her mother and owner of Dance Theatre of Jacksonville.

She started assisting dance teachers at the age of 13 and started her dance teaching career at the age of 18. Under her direction, students have won regional and national honors at various competitions.

As a dance teacher, she has won choreography awards, top score awards, technical awards. DTOJ students and staff won the “Super Sport” award for good sportsmanship four times and the “Class Act” award at NYCDA for the most age appropriate choreography.

Debra has a deep passion for innovative and fresh choreography and instilling new concepts into her choreography. Debra also choreographs and directs the DTOJ Musical Theatre productions. For the past three years, she was hired as the choreographer / co-director of Broadway Junior Musical at DeLalio Elementary School in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Debra continues to educate herself on dance styles and improve her dance skills by attending conventions, workshops and master classes.