Last Wednesday, the Best Talent Center dance troupe made its Muny debut as the opening entertainment for the production of High School Musical. The young people exuded confidence, calculation and professionalism, not only in their steps, but down to the pageant smiles on their faces and accompanying charm.
By the second song, the flock of proud parents of color who cheered their youngsters on became blended with a variety of shades of people who had come to the see the mainstage show but couldn’t help but take notice as they walked towards their seats.
“It made me feel so good watching the people watching,” Judy Best-Person, founder and artistic director of Best Talent Center. “And seeing the people asking, ‘who are they?’, ‘where are they from?’ and ‘I haven’t seen this before.’”
Fifteen minutes into BTC’s 45-minute set that featured routines that ranged from ‘70s disco to the fresh new artists on the hip-hop scene performed by students ages 3-18, the crowd was shoulder-to-shoulder.
Unfazed by the heat and humidity that made for one of the more sticky evenings this summer, the crowd was spilling out of the pavilion side stage and into the corridors of the Muny as children barely old enough to walk offered shakes and shimmies to the audience’s delight.
By the time the show was over, a lasting impression was left by a purely blissful happenstance.
“One of the dads works part-time at the Adam’s Mark and he was talking with the guests and asking them about their evening,” Best-Person said. “They talked about going to the Muny and said, ‘But there was this dance academy that was just as exciting as the main show.’”
The guests had no idea that the valet was one of the proud parents of BTC. That was until he shouted out, “That was my daughter!”
“Those kind of compliments make you feel really good,” Best-Person said. “Because they are unsolicited and let you know that you are on the right track.”
The Muny performance itself was unsolicited.
According to Best-Person, someone at the Muny called and said she was in charge of pre-show entertainment. She had seen the troupe perform at one of their many events and was elated by the idea of having them perform for the Muny audience.
“After the show at the Muny I told them, ‘I always tell you to put your best foot forward,’” Best-Person said. “You were obviously doing that one day and look what has come from it.”
Best-Person’s path to an award-winning dance studio started 21 years ago, and not by dance.
As a professional model taking part in beauty pageants, she noticed a lack of competitive edge among African Americans with respect to poise, talent and self-esteem. She was compelled to create Best Talent Center.
“It started off with dance, modeling, poise and piano,” said Best-Person. “But the dance just grew and grew, so I started focusing on it.”
Since that time more than 4,000 students have come through the doors of Best Talent Center’s studio in Northwest Plaza to study tap, ballet, jazz, pom-poms, hip-hop, tumbling and step.
Last year they celebrated their 20th Anniversary at America’s Center with a huge recital where past and present students came to pay homage to BTC.
Alumni of BTC have gone on to dance professionally for R&B star Ciara (Lorenzo Henderson), teach Eddie Murphy his choreography for the film Dreamgirls (Craig Hollerman) and become members of internationally renowned professional dance troupes (Chloe Davis of Philadanco).
Best-Person applauds her former students for successfully pursuing careers in the field of dance, but she is more impressed by the academic enhancement that her program appears to provide.
“The really exciting thing is that there are at least 20 young ladies who have gone on to college on dance scholarships,” Best-Person said. “It feels good that we woke something up in them and sparked that interest.”
Best-Person also boasted that many parents of the student dancers noticed their children’s grades have improved after becoming a part of the BTC family. She said approximately 80-90 percent of the students go on to college upon graduation from high school.
“We focus on trying to build their self esteem. We tell them, ‘You may not win, but you did your best, so you should feel good about yourself,’” Best said.
“And they get up there and do their best – whether we’re performing at the Muny, a competition or someone’s birthday party – they give it their all, and that always makes me happy.”
Best Talent Center is currently accepting applications for its fall term for students ages 3-18. Call (314) 739-BEST (2378) or visit www.besttalentcenter.com.
