Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Arica Nyamsi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Arica, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I was in undergrad and I was an English major. I always make the joke “because you know you have to go to college to be a writer, you know?” but I don’t think anyone gets it. I just wanted to go to college, and I loved writing. I went to University of Missouri-St. Louis because it was affordable and accessible and I didn’t have any support from my family to attend higher education. I was signing up for my classes and saw that there was an Intro to Dance class. It was listed as a lecture and I had some high school experience on the “danceline” so I thought it may be an easy way to complete a fine art credit and learn about dance. Shockingly, this was NOT a lecture course, it was an overview of Ballet and Jazz and I had to buy a leotard and tights and I was NOT happy. I made friends on the first day and stuck with it. This was the very first class the UMSL offered in the newly formed dance program. None of us were dancers. Some had significant experience in the past, but hadn’t danced seriously in a long time. Some of us (like me) never stepped foot inside a dance studio. After the first semester, Ballet and Jazz had not ignited a love for dance, but I still signed up for the Modern class the next semester out of curiosity and because I really found my “people” in this newly budding dance program. I was very interested in Modern and became a more dedicated dancer in this semester and was pretty attached to the program and it’s students. Most of my peers were minoring in dance already, so I considered it. My third semester in college, I took Dance Composition and I was like “wait a minute, I can create any move I want? There are no rules? No guidebook?” I completely fell in love with choreography and I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I switched majors, started playing catch up and taught myself how to dance at age 21.

Arica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As someone who didn’t grow up dancing, I knew that I would have to create opportunities for myself to continue practicing post college. As soon as I graduated I founded a company for myself and friends to continue dancing and choreographing. At first, we just submitted work at community events and as word spread of our existence, many adults expressed interest in taking our class (which was just a warm up for our rehearsal) but not performing. It was then that I realized that dance classes for adults were offered along the coasts and in large cities, but St. Louis was not with the times. I launched an adult dance class program in 2011, the first of its kind. There were a few other dance companies offering classes for dancers and people with ample dance experience but CKDC was the first to offer open level accessible drop-in dance classes for adults. This was how most people knew about CKDC in the early days. We then worked on professionalizing our company, pursuing more technical dancers and offering more flexibility for adults who wished to continue dancing professionally alongside other important careers or family commitments. Once the position of Founder/Executive and Artistic Director grew too large, I left teaching positions I had at other area studios which disappointed many of my young students. In 2013 I added the youth training program to satisfy the demands of those students and in 2014 we earned out 501c3 nonprofit status. CKDC produces high quality staged works and makes them accessible to underserved audiences. CKDC’s youth training program was philanthropic from its inception, awarding need-based scholarships for under resourced families. These scholarships are not merit based and are not limited to students age 18 and under, but extended to any person in need. This year, scholarships have been made possible thanks to Veterans United Foundation. Today, CKDC is in a major phase of development thanks in part to earning the Capacity Building mentorship opportunity. This two-year teaching and mentoring program has been made possible by the Centene Charitable Foundation, awarded by The Regional Arts Commission and facilitated by the DeVos Institute of Arts Management. Currently CKDC is working to expand their donor base and to secure a permanent home with two studios under one roof for the much-needed expansion of their existing educational programs.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2015 we lost access to our rehearsal space with a few hours notice and had a performance in just a few short weeks. We were devastated, but quickly mobilized to find short-term rental space for three long summer months while searching for real estate. Thanks to some great friends and connections, we landed our first spot in the Central West End in the fall of 2015. It was our very own studio, with our logo on the door and was the beginning of a beautiful period of growth for our brand.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I believe that there are three easy and important ways to support artists and creatives. 1. VOTE for funding for arts in your community. 2 ATTEND dance concerts, art exhibitions, gallery openings, musical concerts and more. 3. DONATE to your friends fundraisers even when you think your contribution won’t matter. Lots of $1 and $5 donations from everyone add up to something sustainable and most importantly, make artists feel loved and supported. Don’t make them feel like their jobs aren’t “real” when we all turn to art in times of need.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ckdc.org
• Instagram: instagram.com/consumingkineticsdancecompany
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConsumingKineticsDanceCompany
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arica-brown/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ckdanceco
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@CKDC
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/consuming-kinetics-dance-company-saint-louis
• Other: https://www.arica.info instagram.com/aricackdc

Image Credits
Dave Moore Photography