Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Ann Sparks.
Hi Lori Ann, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I moved to Greeneville, TN August 2000. My family planned to farm, so we bought acreage in a rural area of Greene County. As I grew to love Greeneville and as people came to know me as a ballerina, Central Ballet School, Inc came into existence September 2002. Deciding that the school could not support the style nor vision of ballet performances that I desired, I developed Central Ballet Theatre, Inc. I walked through the steps to become tax exempt (501-c-3), and we jumped into our first set of shows. Our first cast numbered 35 in April 2004. Today our casts run at 110 – 125 dancers. CBT hires 2 to 3 professional dancers and the remainder of the cast are local dancers who have grown up in or are taking classes at Central Ballet School which now has 125 students. CBT’s performances recently moved from Tusculum University to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. When my family moved to Greeneville, I had just read a book. As we loaded our van to trek over the Smoky Mountains to our new home, I quoted from this Gilbert Morris book, “Over the Misty Mountains we go, and who knows what great things God has in store for us there.” I did not expect to purchase our own building to house a ballet school and performance company. I did not plan to create original works to put onto a stage. I did not expect to develop two corporations and have 9 teachers under my direction. This is my privilege. I love what I do and am grateful to be able to do it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been many barriers along the way. I turned from closed doors and walked through open ones. We started the school at the Roby Auditorium in Greeneville. It was a wonderful place — to be able to take classes on stage everyday was thrilling. We rented from The Little Theatre of Greeneville. Unfortunately, those doors closed when the auditorium could not meet fire codes. We had to move in the middle of a production prep into a tiny room on Depot Street. I rented a gymnasium the week of the show so that we had a place to rehearse. We moved into the building my husband and I purchased and remodeled on Summer Street 7 months later.
When deciding upon the name for my ballet school, I would pray and ask my Lord what to name it. Every time I did this, I saw in my mind the sign Central Christian Church, so I named it Central Ballet. My husband had been having dreams about a building for 3 years (even before we moved to Greeneville). Six months before we purchased Central Ballet’s home, he was dreaming this every night. Several people told him to look at this building on Summer Street, so he did. When he toured it, he knew this was the building he had been dreaming about. When I went to look at it, it stood beside Central Christian Church. It was confirmation that this was to be our ballet home!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
First, I do run two businesses. I do the administrative work and the taxes. I teach in the school and train other teachers. I am mindful of my students and their parents and keep everyone involved. Second, I am artistic director of my performance company. My main job is being the artist. I am a storyteller. I get a vision for a story to be turned into a ballet. Then I choose music and create choreography. One of my greatest thrills is to watch a scene located inside my head come alive in real life as dancers move into positions, dancing choreography I make up, to set a scene and tell part of the story. Another of my greatest pleasures is to stand on the side of the stage and watch the show go on and listen to the audience applaud the story — they get what we are saying in the form of dance, and I love that! We have grown so much from fabric backdrops to digital ones. I have professional tech crew volunteers do recordings for narrations and run professional sound and lights. I have builders willing to construct sets for us and seamstresses who sew original costumes. So many people work together to create the vision and make it better than anything I could do by myself. I love that too! My production coordinator, Blair Berry, became my best friend 21 years ago, and we have been through it all together along with my husband and children. I am grateful to a whole lot of people.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I believe my best attribute is being an intuitive. I see a very big picture. It is harder for me to see the details, but when I condense my picture to a smaller frame, I can get into the details due to my administrative abilities. I do not like to panic, so I avoid that, and I am extremely focused on goals and visions.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.centralballet.com/
- Instagram: CBTgreeneville
- Facebook: Central Ballet Theatre of Greeneville, TN
