Meet Kayla
Kayla Geerts is a junior dance management major at Oklahoma City University (OCU). There, she is a member of the Star Dance Company as well as the Spirit of Grace Liturgical Group and trains in many styles of dance, including tap, jazz, ballet, and theatre dance.
Kayla has been dancing locally in the Des Moines area for 15 years and has been proud to perform in shows produced by Iowa Dance Theatre, Iowa Ballet Academy, Yaro Dance Company, and more. Recently, in addition to dancing, Kayla has had the pleasure of teaching at multiple dance studios, choreographing for Urbandale Community Theatre and the Iowa Choreography Festival, and working with Wagner Summer Theatre.
Since the start, she has been in love with the art form of dance, which she sees as a way to express herself, work through life’s challenges, and celebrate life’s wins. Following the completion of her dance degree at OCU, she plans to audition for Disney, cruise ships, and musical theatre performance jobs. Following her time performing, she hopes to return to the Des Moines area to pursue her passions of teaching, choreographing, and arts management.
It all started with a dream
Kayla has always been a dancer. Over time, her love for dance and being on stage only grew, guiding her to new opportunities and a relentless call to create and learn. Growing up, Kayla not only danced but also sang, choreographed, joined her high school theater program, played in her high school's marching band, and performed in her school's varsity show choir. Through it all, she admired that the arts gave her a safe space to express herself and embraced that the arts can truly have a positive impact on the community and those living in it.
An appreciation for dance, but also for nature and sustainability?
From a young age, I have always loved being outside. As my love for nature grew, so did my concern for it. By learning more about the climate crisis and the negative effect that humans have had on the Earth, I’ve felt compelled to do whatever I can to protect the environment and ensure the health and safety of today’s world and future generations.
This passion of mine grew alongside my passion for dance. While at the time the two subjects seemed so very distant, I quickly realized that they didn’t need to coexist. There are three lenses of sustainability, which include education, economics, and the environment. I thought to myself, why can’t what I do as an artist appeal to the benefit of all 3 of these things? For this reason, I value the importance of increasing access to the arts, educating through art, engaging in local sustainability efforts, and advocating for community building and partnerships.