RESIDENCY SCHEDULEAnna Van Cura said participants will be accepted today in the following programs until the classes are filled. Call the recreation center to check on space availability.TODAY* Free ballet-based community class for children ages 7-12, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Brainerd Recreation Complex, 1010 N. Moore Road. Contact: Cynthia Gates, 425-3600.* Free ballet-based community class for children ages 7-12, 6:30-7:30 p.m., South Chattanooga Recreation Complex, 1151 W. 40th St. Contact: Kim Battle, 425-3550.* Advanced ballet master class for ages 15 to adult, 6:30-8 p.m., Van Cura Ballet Conservatory at Patten Recreation Center, 3202 Kelly’s Ferry Road, $20 cash only. Contact: Ballet Tennessee, 821-2055.* Adult ballet master class, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 200 E. M.L. King Blvd., $20 cash only. Contact: Ballet Tennessee, 821-2055.SATURDAY* Intermediate ballet master class for dancers ages 9 to adult, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Van Cura Ballet Conservatory in Patten Recreation Center, 3202 Kelly’s Ferry Road, $20 cash only. Contact: Ballet Tennessee, 821-2055.IF YOU GO* What: Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble* When: 8 p.m. Saturday* Where: Tivoli Theatre* Admission: $10 to $30* Phone: 757-5050.
If ever there was an example of the power of the arts to change a life, it’s Fredrick Davis’ story.
He got his first taste of performing in 1998 through Dance Alive, a summer program offered to children at city rec centers in a partnership between Ballet Tennessee and Chattanooga Parks and Recreation. Today, the dancer is returning to Chattanooga as a member of the prestigous Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble.
“I had a really traumatic childhood,” said the 23-year-old dancer this week in a telephone interview. “I grew up with nothing. I didn’t have an ‘official’ place to stay. I bounced around a lot. I remember getting meals at the Community Kitchen. We had no money.”
Although his mother lived in town, he lived with a cousin. At age 11, his grandmother, the late Evie Dill, took him in.