The Face Behind the Arts: Kalya Yannatos

 

After the dance concert and numerous other art related events each year, people seldom take the time to appreciate the wonderful woman spearheading all of this work — Ms. Kalya Yannatos, the Director of the Arts, or simply, Kalya, as she prefers to be called. Kalya is a sprightly, whimsical woman with a dazzling smile, a passionate heart, and a fascinating life story.

Kalya grew up in a family of artists — musicians and visual artists, particularly. Being exposed to all these different forms of creative expression at such a young age led her to fall in love with art very early in life. Influenced by all of the artistry around her and born with boundless amounts of energy, she found dance. As a young girl, she “always loved to move and loved music,” and had a lot of energy. She added, “Just from that, [it made sense] that I was attracted to dance.” However, just as she lived in a family of artists, every one of those artists were also teachers. Thus, as she instinctively turned to the arts as a profession and a lifestyle, she naturally embraced teaching as well. She began teaching in high school as a teacher’s assistant and never stopped. Nearly all her life, whenever she was dancing, she was also teaching. “[That’s] part of the territory of being a Yannatos — , teaching and art.,” she recalled.

At the young age of 17, Kalyashe moved to New York to pursue professional dancing. “I was a little gutsy. But that’s what you did back then. When you knew what you wanted, you went for it.” Knowing there was no time to waste, she took advantage of her “instrument” while it was inat peak condition. Every— as any other artist has his or hertheir own medium, and Kalya’s hers was her body. Kalya had the unique experience of knowing New York and its dance component well although she was not from there. She had been going to New York on her own since the age of 13 and had even studied with the distinguished Joffrey Ballet dance company during her time there. This was an extraordinary feat for a young and unaffiliated dancer.

In New York, Kalya joined an elite dance class by audition and was studying under a woman who was the go-to for dancers looking for opportunity. She was surrounded by professional dancers and found it both a stressful and inspiring experience. There was great inspiration in working with such adept and phenomenal students and teachers, but it was additionally taxing to be taught by teachers that were more strict and traditional in their style. Eventually, she left that class for “more nourishing teachers.” During her stay in New York, Kalyashe taught dance while also at the same time still learning herself from her numerous mentors at the same time. This gave her the unique advantage of being on both sides of the same experience. When she had a question that one of her students asked her, she could easily ask her mentors for guidance on how to coach that concept well.

All of this culminated with Kalya moving to Los Angeles at the peak of her career, and she began to focus more on teaching and instilling a love for dance amongst her students. “I didn’t really leave my career,.” Kalya said. “I shifted it.” She moved on after receiving a grant to start her own company and traveled all across the country, spreading her love of art. When reflecting upon this part of her life, Kalya said, “I’ve always wanted art to be accessible to everyone. Arts enhance and create meaning in life and opens up potential for connecting in really rich and important ways.”

When she received a call from Choate while staying in Vermont, Kalya saw the potential to improve and develop The Choate Arts Department. “God bless these awesome student dancers,” Kalya remarked with a proud smile on her face. “It’s the students that keep me here.” As a teacher, she enjoys watching teenagers grow and develop their creative voice and find enjoyment and purpose in artistry. “Who you are through your art is more exciting to me. Individuality spurs us to [express ourselves] but hopefully, we all touch on something universal.

As for her future goals for the arts program, the additions of Colony Hall and the new dance studio will beis extremely helpful. She hopes that these new spaces will be able to introduce better opportunities for collaboration between the different forms of art — especially of those between dance and music. “We do tend to identify into the narrow [confines] of such categories, like as [a ballerina or a violinist], but when we really think about artistic expression, it is so much more than just these narrow fields. ”

Kalya is the epitome of the person we want to be — someone that strives to follow their dreams. “It’s not like I was looking for it, [the arts] found me. It’s hard to separate my life from dance because I think it’s just always [been a part of who I am]. Without dance, I would have been a miserable person.” She hopes to instill a love of arts to everyone and to guide students to do what they love and pursue their passions. “I strive to ensure everything that I do every day is of service to the community and to my students … to all of you.”