"A personal letter on what KaRAR has done for my family I grew up with a mother who directed huge musicals each year. As a result, my whole family was used to working frantically with sets, costumes, lighting, singing, acting and choreography practices, advertising and an insane production week. What I couldn’t portray to others was how being a part of one of these productions could change the way you see yourself, your peers, and others in the community. My two daughters fell in love with competitive irish dancing at an early age, and for a decade, our life was consumed with competitions and practice. Although I was happy my girls were learning discipline, practice and how to win and lose gracefully, I always wished they could have that incredible experience of being part of a large theatre production. Then we found KaRAR. The first thing that attracted me as a mother was their focus on a yearly production instead of time spent on monthly competitions. Being a School of Performing Arts, KaRAR’s past productions were multi-faceted, including acting, singing and multiple dance genres. Three years ago, we enrolled my youngest (11 at the time) in Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet, Acro, Hip-Hop and Musical Theatre. This sounds like a lot, but KaRAR makes it affordable by capping the cost at 4 classes, and offering numerous fundraising opportunities throughout the year to off-set costs. The time commitment was large as well, but I was brought up with the philosophy that if a child is spending their time in lessons, there are few opportunities for that child to get in trouble. The first KaRAR production my daughter was involved in was “Tarzan”. Although she had a very small part, the encouragement she received from her peers as well as her teachers had her blossoming before our eyes. The next year, she had the part of one of the mer-sisters in “A Little Mermaid”. This is when she really grew. She worked as part of a huge team to produce an incredible show, gained some fantastic friends, was encouraged to push herself in acting, dance, singing and creativity. She felt she was part of a large, crazy family, had a huge support system, and began to feel depended upon as she encouraged other actors, practiced dancing and singing with various groups, participated in the parade where she was able to interact with little girls who dreamed of being mer-princesses, laughed at the antics of the older dancers, and cried with those who were frustrated or injured during practice. The euphoria of sharing the world and story they had been creating with the audiences truly changed her. This year, my oldest daughter (19 yrs), my step daughter (30 yrs) and I joined the adult hip hop class and became part of the “Brave” cast. My youngest had several roles that kept her running once again, but I was not prepared for how this KaRAR production would affect the rest of us. To be able to dance with my daughters in a large group of women was wonderful. So many times, our lives are so busy that we don’t connect with other adults outside of work. The positive environment of the KaRAR studios was addictive, the routines complex and energetic, and our fellow classmates encouraging. Nat, the instructor (and studio owner) had us learning moves we never thought we could pull off. Tarilyn (my 18 yr old) truly came out of her shell and became an outgoing young woman. I didn't truly appreciate how this organization could change a person until this past week. My step-daughter, Jessica, is a stay-at-home mom with three children. Other than a few short years as a child in gymnastics, she has never been a part of any group, volunteer organization or activity. Completely immersed in her own, small world, she was visibly secluded, self-involved, and unhappy. We managed to get her to enrol our granddaughter (8 yrs) in KaRAR, but she still remained relatively distant from the other parents. During the past year, she began to open up a bit in class and make a few tentative friends, but her true change occurred during production week. I spent the last few weeks helping out with sets and props, and both Jessica and Tarilyn helped with painting and gluing. Jessica began asking to assist me, volunteering to help actors with their costume changes, and kept the younger dancers entertained. During dress rehearsal, after we finished our dance number, I told her that she could go sit in the audience and enjoy the show. She turned to me and said “No, they really need me back here. I’ve been helping so many people. They keep asking me to do things and they appreciate me.” I wanted to cry. After 30 years, she had finally felt needed, and a part of something bigger than herself. When she marched out on stage on Sunday’s final show, her happiness could not be contained. Her excitement about performing for and connecting with that audience was contagious. This is her current Facebook status: “Such an amazing fun experience!! KaRAR is more then just practicing a dance. They're #family and I'm so glad to be a part of it!! #blessed THIS is what KaRAR does. THIS is how they affect lives. The instructors don’t just teach dance. They make better people. They produce dancers and actors that support each other, that spread love and laughter, that go out into the community and volunteer like they are taught to in the studio. I can’t thank KaRAR enough for how their studio has touched our family. I am excited to see how this uplifting, giving, community of performers will change even more lives next year!"