Interview by AFA Intern Danaley Silan in Spring 2022
Q: Who are you?
Kimberly: My name is Kimberly Schafer. I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. My main discipline of art is Dance.
Q: How did you first get involved in your specific discipline of art?
Kimberly: I have been dancing since I was about 2 years old, so it has been a part of me all my life.
Q: What role did art play in your childhood?
Kimberly: I have always been a dancer, but then around middle school, I started doing more musical theater, so I began singing and acting and putting on shows. I did this throughout high school and into college, and I still do that now. It has pretty much been my entire life.
Q: What is your educational background?
Kimberly: I got my undergraduate degree in Dance Performance from Oklahoma City University. I am actually currently graduating with a Master’s in Theater Education from Catholic University in Washington DC.
Q: How did you become involved with teaching?
Kimberly: Ever since I was a young girl, I would teach my friends little dance combinations, and so it has always been a love of mine. As I have gotten older, it has become more of a profession rather than just a hobby.
Q: Is there a story of an interaction or experience in the classroom that made you fall in love with your job?
Kimberly: I don’t have any specific story, but for me, I love to see students working so hard at something and being so dedicated until they succeed or exceed their expectations. Aside from Arts For All, I also teach college level students, so all of them want to be on Broadway. When I see them booking shows because of what I have taught them and what they have learned from me– their successes bring me joy.
Q: How do the children you work with inspire you to keep being a teaching artist?
Kimberly: Especially through Arts For All, what inspires me is the love and the happiness that I see when I walk into a room. A lot of these children do not get exposed to the arts very often, and so they get very excited when we play this dance game or this drama game. As soon as I walk in the room, they run up to me shouting “Ms. Kim!” and they give me hugs. This just shows me the joy that I am bringing through arts, and I think that will impact them in their lives. They could realize that they love doing it and maybe keep pursuing it as they get older.
Q: What is one important lesson that you hope the students learn from your classes?
Kimberly: I want my students to believe in themselves and have the confidence to create and imagine. I always ask my students at the beginning of class, “are you willing to pretend with me?” When students that are a little bit more shy really go for it and I see them coming out of their shells, I think that is one of the most important things that, for me as an artist, is a takeaway.
Q: What is your favorite thing about working with Arts For All?
Kimberly: I love working with the young kids through Arts For All because, as much as I love working with my college students, the joy that a child has is unbeatable. The vulnerability and openness of a child with their hearts and minds just show a new layer to a human being. It almost shows how everyone should be at all times before things get in the way as you get older. As I have gotten older and became an adult, the pure of heart in a child is what draws me to teach.
Q: What does art mean to you?
Kimberly: Art has been my life. I have always been a creative artist since I was a child. The pandemic has actually really made me analyze all of this because we lost most art forms. I realized how much I needed art as a human being. It is a part of me. It is my heart, my soul, my everything. It is almost like a pulse inside of me that will never be able to be taken away. It is my life. I have family and friends who I obviously love as well, but I feel like there is always going to be a part of my heart that needs and craves the different art forms no matter what.
