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Health & Fitness

State of the Arts

My Life in the Arts Stephen Waldrup is an owner of Center Stage Dance.

I am very excited to share with you my views on the state of the arts, from the sublime (Meryl Streep winning the Oscar) to the ridiculous ("Dance Moms" - need I say more?).  But before I jump into that, let me start from a place of gratitude.  I have spent most of my life working in the arts.  I have taught acting for the past 25 years, to kids, to adults, but mostly to teenagers, whom I enjoy and respect more than I can say.  I have acted on stages in New York and elsewhere, have produced, directed, written, and stage managed plays that have left me feeling extremely proud.  I have coached actors to successful auditions for movies, TV shows, plays, and college programs.  Though this is certainly not the road I envisioned for myself when I started acting as a freshman in high school (I'm pretty sure I expected to be an internationally recognized star by 25), it is an incredibly rewarding one.  Though the arts can certainly be trivial mindless diversion ("Dance Moms" again, anything with Jim Carrey), they are also how we express ourselves and understand ourselves and one another.  They allow us to explore feelings, experiences, times, and lives other than the ones we are living.  I feel blessed to be able to spend my life sharing the joy of creativity with others.

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