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 Alicia Graf Mack has danced all over the world with some of the most prestigious ballet, contemporary and modern companies, such as Dance Theatre of Harlem, Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to name just a few. Yet last week, she was hard at work instructing students at the Kansas City Ballet School summer intensive.

As I watched her teach pointe class to one of the more advanced levels last Wednesday, I felt my inner dancer come to life. I swayed with the music and habitually adopted her corrections for students to stand up straight with their shoulders back. Mack moved in and out of the dancers, coaching them through each exercise in a relaxed, but motivating way. Tiny nuggets of wisdom escaped from her, urging the students to keep trying and not give up. “You don’t have to be moving to be dancing,” and “It’s alright if you fall, the floor isn’t that far away.

Nodding in agreement (and sheepishly reminded of comments I heard as a young dancer), it was hard to believe that just two years ago Mack had the illustrious and quintessential career that every budding ballerina dreams of. But her career ended prematurely – twice. Graf lives with reactive arthritis, an autoimmune deficiency disorder. Now, her career has changed paths to focus more on teaching than performing.

She began teaching at Center of Creative Arts in St. Louis two years ago while attending graduate school at Washington University. She heard about COCA from friend Antonio Douthit, a fellow Alvin Ailey dancer, who trained at COCA growing up. She only meant to do it as a part-time job where she could stay active. 

“I think I got sucked in,” Graf proclaimed, “in a good way.”

During her first year at COCA, she taught one or two classes a week. By the second year, she was teaching 11 classes a week. It was then that she realized teaching was something she loved and something she had to.

“When you have a lifetime of knowledge, and a very high-quality arts instruction, and have performed all over the world and have worked with amazing choreographers, you can’t not share that information,” she said.

If asked five years ago whether she thought she would ever be a teacher, her answer would have been no. But as she has learned over the years, things don’t always work out as planned and life throws you curve balls. Just recently 31, Mack has quit dancing twice due to her arthritis. The first time she left the stage, she had not yet learned of her disorder. While frequenting many doctors’ offices to pinpoint the problem, she attended Columbia University where she earned a history degree. She also interned with JP Morgan, working with sponsorships and corporate giving in the marketing department.

Upon graduating, she had a full-time job offer with JP Morgan, but by that time she was on medication for the arthritis and her desire to dance was resurging.

“The dancing was kind of pulling at me and my body was feeling good and I said, ‘You know, let me try finishing my career the way I want to finish it,’” Mack said. “So I ended up dancing for another six years.”

But again, her arthritis forced her retire. This time she started all over again in St. Louis, MO where her fiancé, now husband, Kirby was living. She went back to school again and in May she received a master’s degree in nonprofit business management from Washington University.

Her background with JP Morgan and her experience during Dance Theatre of Harlem closing and eventual reorganization in 2004 led her to pursue the business degree. Sharon Luckman, executive director of Alvin Ailey, was also an inspiration to Mack.  “I realized how important it was to have a background in arts administration and to know business,” she said.

With her degree, she planned to follow in Luckman’s footsteps as an executive director of a company or theater. However, she found herself enjoying teaching more and more.  “You can’t fight your passion,” Mack said. “I love being in the studio and I love dancers and I love movement. I realized that’s where my heart is.”

Mack said she enjoys sharing her wisdom and experiences with students, including those at the Kansas City Ballet School summer intensive. Every now and then she finds herself giving students a correction that Dance Theatre of Harlem co-founder Arthur Mitchell gave her - and that George Balanchine gave him.

“Sometimes you don’t really realize where it’s coming from, but you do have moments where you step back and say, ‘That’s crazy,’” she said.

This is Mack’s first time teaching in Kansas City and she said it’s been a great opportunity for her. In addition to teaching ballet technique and pointe classes, she also has a repertoire class where she teaches her own contemporary choreography. It’s similar to works she performed while with Alvin Ailey, in which the dancers are barefoot and move to a percussive, drumming rhythm.

“It’s called 'an intensive' and it’s definitely intense,” Mack said. “It’s intense for the students because they’re dancing all day, but also for the teachers because you want to give them a good class. And I’m only here for five days so I feel like I have to pack all my punch in quickly. But the students are great, they’re very receptive.”

Peter Pawlyshyn, school director, agrees that the students are responding “brilliantly” to Mack. He was enthused to have Mack with her very well-rounded background, as a guest teacher at this year’s intensive. It is a quality he looks for when selecting instructors for the program.

“It’s people that I’ve known in the industry either personally or by reputation, people who can really bring a blend of experience, education, knowledge and of the industry as a whole,” he said.

Pawlyshyn said he was blessed to have seen Mack perform with Dance Theatre of Harlem. When he heard that she had recently moved to St. Louis, he thought she would be a “perfect match” for the school. “She's just down the street and around the corner,” he said.

Although she was only available for one week of the four-week intensive, Pawlyshyn said she will undoubtedly leave a significant mark on both the students and the KCB community as a whole. He said he hopes that her presence this summer, and hopefully again in the future, will bring attention to the Kansas City Ballet School.

“I’d just like people to know that Kansas City Ballet School’s programming is attracting world-class teachers,” he said. “This phrase, ‘center for dance in the country,’ is not just a catchphrase, not just a marketing phrase. We want the country to know that right here in the heart of America, there are strong, powerful, incredibly talented teachers and programs and education to be had.”

One piece of advice that Mack said she likes to impart on all of her students is to keep trying, no matter what. It’s something she believes in and says from personal experience.

“Dancing is definitely hard,” she said. “It’s beautiful and it’s fun and it’s fulfilling, but it’s definitely the type of art form that you just have to dig your heels in and put the work in. And as much work as you put in, you usually get out of it.”

In the fall, Mack’s next adventure will begin as a full-time dance professor at Webster University. She will teach ballet and modern at the university and will cut back on the amount of classes she has at COCA. She also will have more free time to rediscover herself as an artist.

And at the end of this month, she is training for a performance with Michael Thomas’ Motion Theatre Lab as part of New York’s SummerStage. She has permanently hung up the pointe shoes as a performer and now focuses on contemporary and modern movement.

“It’s a challenge,” she said. “Your body is your instrument and the instrument changes. So you just have to get used to the change and accept all the different stages. I’m not the same dancer I was when I was 18.”

When asked what is next for her, Mack said she refuses to predict the future because usually anything she envisions turns out different. She prefers to live in the present and look forward to what’s to come.

“I’m definitely [in St. Louis] for a little bit,” she said. “Kirby’s work is there, we have a condo, so I don’t think we’re moving any time soon. But if an amazing opportunity arises, I guess there’s always a possibility.”

For more information on the Kansas City Ballet School visit www.kcballet.org/kcbschool/index.html. Or visit www.kcballet.org to learn more about the KC Ballet and upcoming 2010/11 programming.

Cover photo: Alicia Graf Mack with students of the Kansas City Ballet School. Photo by Laura Vernaci.

By Laura Vernaci

Dance Contributor

Laura Vernaci is a Kansas City native who has always been passionate about the arts, particularly dance. She began dance lessons at the young age of five and hasn't stopped since. She trained at the Kansas City Ballet where she became a serious dancer and learned about a professional company. 

She attended Butler University in Indianapolis, IN where she majored in dance. She transferred to Truman State University in Kirksville, MO in 2006 and received a degree in Journalism in May 2008.  Laura spent the 2008-2009 in Duluth, MN dancing professionally for the Minnesota Ballet. She performed in productions such as, "The Nutcracker," "Cinderella" and "Coppelia" as well as world premier ballets created on the company.

She recently moved back to Kansas City and is excited to combine her experience in writing with her passion for dance. In addition to performing and writing, Laura also enjoys teaching dance and choreographing.