THE RHYTHM OF THE MUSIC, the moves and the stories she told about the stage had Teila Williams hooked so much so that she found herself at work thinking about dancing.
In May, two years after starting Ayo Creative Ventures, she took that leap of faith and quit her job as a beauty adviser to pursue the passion full-time. Like any business, there have been ups and down but she is determined that the company born out of the need to show people that entertainment is a viable career option will flourish.
“I liked my job but I didn’t love it and it was really starting to get to me, physically, emotionally, spiritually and it was starting to conflict with when I had rehearsals and then I realised ‘Teila, you’re so passionate that you prefer to go to a rehearsal than go to work, to perform at a show than go to work’. I would go to work and cry because it wasn’t what I wanted to do.”
“Ayo means joy and celebration. I was always passionate about the arts. I dance, I act, I model and recently, I’ve been doing a lot more choreography as well. I’ve always been a part of the arts from the time I was about eight dancing in the community.”
She added: “The motivation for the business came when I entered [University of the West Indies] to do the programme in dance and theatre. For me, because I take the arts so passionately, I realised that entertainment and culture are not taken seriously the way it should be I decided to create business and show people that it is possible, that it is a market and a career that you can take and you can choose.
“Ayo Creative Venture has three divisions. We have Ayo Kids which focuses on teaching kids the art, the discipline of dance for now. We’re going to do theatre and stilt walking in the future and different cultural aspects. Right now, we’re focusing on dance and we start from the age of two. This term, we’re adding adults as well.”
Teila said that one of the initiatives starting this term is Queendom class for mothers and daughters to create movement and help them bond. The terms run like school terms starting and ending around the same time and boys and girls can enroll for ballet sessions.
What makes her company stand out is her “passion towards the student in terms of taking the time” and teaching the youngsters “affirmation”.
“When we cool down, we do things like meditation, I help them learn about performance etiquette and understanding things about themselves. Honestly, just by doing that and showing them love, to me it makes it a lot different,” said the creative director/choreographer.
“We do a give-back programme on Christmas Day, but recently I took some of the girls for the end of summer and we went to a Children’s Home. We did some singing and dancing and gave out some gifts. I take time to actually bond with them and create a family and show them that they’re not just coming to dance every Saturday and go back home. There’s a lot more to it and a lot more you can do.”
At the end of each term, there is a showcase for parents so they can see what they their children learnt. This could see the tiny tots, those two and three year olds who learn basic development and musicality skills, plus those in the creative movements class that learn basic techniques, showing off their moves.
They have also performed at shows, a charity luncheon and have a booking already for Christmas.
One of the plans that Teila has is to use the entertainment aspect of the company more. They provide singers, dancers and actors some of whom performed during Crop-Over and she would like to have them involved in product launches and events along those lines.
“We’re approaching companies and giving them more creative ideas to promote their products instead of just standing in a supermarket and sampling. You can do flash mob. There are things that can be done creatively to get your product or your service out there as well. That’s what we’re working towards showing people that there’s lots more that you can do creatively,” she said.
Another goal is to open her own studio moving from Arthur Smith Primary School. (GBM)
