THE creative arts scene in Guyana is ever-growing, with more and more local persons embracing their extraordinary gifts for music, dance, visual arts and even acting. Many persons have been joining in on the vision of having Guyana’s art and entertainment scene elevated to international levels and this includes the founder of “Best Art Studio” Keneisa Best.
The studio, which was officially launched on November 28, would facilitate classes in classical dancing as well as music for students ages 3 to 16 that reside on the East Coast of Demerara.
Best in an interview with the Buzz said that she started the studio as a way to bring necessary resources to children who reside on the East Coast of Demerara. She stated that she noticed that the major music and dance schools, the National School of Music and the National School of Dance, are located in central Georgetown which could potentially see some dance and music students having difficulty accessing those resources.

“I have noticed that the children of on the East Coast do not have equal opportunities as the children in central Georgetown when you go to dance competitions you see the difference in techniques and training and I know that this is because of the access disparity between them so I wanted to open a place where they would get the opportunity to come and get training and learn techniques so that they can be better at dancing and music and it would be closer to home,” said Best.
The Studio is located in Vigilance on the East Coast of Demerara and will be facilitating training in dance and music for children ages 3 to 16 with the addition of some adult dance and aerobics classes.

Best further stated that she has always had a love for the arts and always works to share her knowledge and training with other persons who are open to learning. She currently works as a creative arts teacher after gaining a distinction in the CSEC theatre arts programme through the institute of creative arts in 2018. She additionally holds a certification in two grades of music from the Royal Business School of Music.

Best told the Pepperpot that there are countless benefits from being involved with the arts and said that this is one of the main reasons she got involved in teaching so that she could assist the future generations in accessing those benefits.

“The arts, music, performing, dancing, they all help us to become better people, more diverse and better able to function in any position in life. I think the programme would be very instrumental in the lives of the students, who are mainly residents on the East Coast because the arts allow persons to express themselves to become more confident and have a sense of balance,” said Best.

Further, she stated that she believes art allows persons to function better in their academic pursuits. She reminded that although dance and music are hard work they also are a form of relaxation, and they allow persons to have that moment of relaxation away from their daily school or work obligations.

“A few years back the ministry piloted a programme in a few primary schools, and I was a part of the programme in my primary school and those children are the children that rote common entrance this year,” she said. “I’m not saying that music was the one thing that allowed them to perform but I will say that music was instrumental in that class performing so well because the children were so interested in learning music and we know that music opens both sides of the brain. It allows them to apply a different kind of skills so the arts will allow our children to become more confident in what they do.”

She further stated that while a cost will be attached to the training at the studio, she has already committed to having an outreach programme that targets five girls that reside on the East Coast who were offered the opportunity to attend free classes at the studio the remainder of their lives.

“However long their parents would like them to do dancing here they are allowed to have access to free classes. Also, I said we want to reach out to the community, it’s not always going to be about the money. We plan to have weekends where we have a free dance crash course for children to just come in and experience learning and being in a studio,” she said.
Best reiterated her statement that the studio was launched with the idea of bringing the resources to the children of the East Coast, and stated that this is one of the ways Guyanese can continue improving the entertainment and arts sector in Guyana.

“I am a resident here and I know of the talent we have here. All across Guyana there are talented little boys and girls who just need access to resources and that’s why I am here to help provide that access; to help those boys and girls realise the extent of their talent,” Best said. “I wanted to create a space where they would be given the opportunity to express themselves no matter their age or their skill level.”