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Arts & Entertainment

Kimmestry - The Art Of Loving Me

A workshop held by KiMMiE GEE, a lead dancer for Beyonce, gives girls confidence and self-esteem.

“Are you ready?”

“I was born ready!” yelled 38 girls in the Lilburn Cultural Arts Center on Saturday as they prepared to end their Kimmestry workshop by performing a dance for their parents and families.  

"Kimmestry – the art of loving me, a workshop for girls ages 9-16," was created by KiMMiE GEE, a world class dancer who has performed alongside pop culture’s biggest names, including Usher. KiMMiE GEE is also a lead dancer for Beyonce.

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Starting from humble roots KiMMiE GEE said she worked her way up to these dream jobs by always setting her goals high and always doing whatever took to achieve them. Teaching this perseverance and self-confidence is something that became important to KiMMiE GEE while she was on tour with Beyonce. During the world tour young girls would send her Facebook and twitter messages, and many of them wrote about issues of confidence that women and girls struggle with daily.

“So many girls need this,” KiMMie GEE said. “They see me on the videos and on tour but I’m not larger than life, they can be where I am.”

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Before the end of the workshop KiMMiE GEE turned to the families of the participants and talked to them about a few things that the girls learned that day.

“They all agreed they are beautiful, they know they don’t have to look like Beyonce to be beautiful," she said. "They don’t have to want my life.”

Confidence and self-esteem are the cornerstones of the workshop, and as KiMMiE GEE went on to explain later, “confidence is a daily struggle, you can believe you are beautiful, but what about the days you don’t feel beautiful?”

Learning to deal with those weak moments is an important part of learning self-confidence, and learning to love yourself. KiMMiE GEE told the girls several times: “You shouldn’t have to tell somebody you’re confident, they should know. Tell yourself you are beautiful, tell yourself you are amazing.”

During the workshop, the girls get a chance to have girl talk, where they can open up about issues that are important to them. They talk about cute boys, friends, body issues, everything that the girls are concerned with.

“We want this to be as real as possible to get the girls to connect with us,” KiMMiE GEE explained.

The smiles and the energy of the girls after the workshop were clear signs that the girls enjoyed it. When asked about their favorite part of the program the Heal sisters all had a different answer. “The girl talk,” said Cierra. “The dancing,” exclaimed Kayla. Ashanti couldn’t decide so she simply answered “the dancing and the girl talk!”

Of course, their mother, Wanda Heal, had a different answer. “They learn confidence, self-esteem and that they can achieve anything.” She also went on to say that the program really values education and teaches the importance of it.

Yvonne Banton, mother of participant Melissa Cross explained that she likes the pep talks her daughter gets to hear during the workshops.

“Being a diva isn’t about what’s on TV or about makeup, it’s all about being yourself,” Cross said.

KiMMiE Gee was glad to hear the girls get so excited about the girl talk. “They can hear all day that they can be anything they want to be, but if they don’t connect with it, it’s just a phrase.”

Lois Chisolm, the founder and executive director of the Melanie Thornton Youth Arts Foundation, said she was pleased with the workshop's results.

The foundation, which owns the Lilburn Cultural Arts Center, was created and named after the late Melanie Thornton, who was the lead singer of LaBouche. The organization strives to provide a creative outlet for positivity to the youth of all backgrounds.

The organization has received a lot of support from the community including the local store and ABD Advertising who donated paint and signs. As the Lilburn Cultural Arts Center continues to grow through the support of the community, we can expect to see many positive workshops and programs like Kimmestry.

For a full list of upcoming events, please visit http://foundationforyoutharts.org.

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