Kids Excel El Paso : Board of Directors : Gemtria St Clair

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About Kids Excel

Board of Directors

Gemtria St Clair

Gemtria grew up in El Paso, Texas and graduated from Loretto Academy. She began studying ballet at the age of three. She danced with the University Civic Ballet Company under the direction of Ingeborg Heuser. Gemtria attended UTEP and later, The University of Utah on full ballet scholarships. She raised four children before resurrecting her dance background and becoming an instructor for the National Dance Institute of New Mexico (NDI-NM) in 1998. She spent several years as the North Artistic Director for NDI-NM, co-choreographing the End-of-the-Year Event, directing the North Show, overseeing staff, and training apprentices. In 2002, the NDI-NM Board of Directors appointed Gemtria the Managing Director for the organization. Working in close partnership with Catherine Oppenheimer, the Co-Founder/Artistic Director of NDI-NM, she facilitated a $7,000,000 Capital Campaign, oversaw the construction and management of the Dance Barns—a 33,000 square foot facility, managed the organization”s growing administrative staff, and planned for the dynamic growth of NDI-NM. In 2004, NDI-NM was approached by the Founding Chair of Kids Excel El Paso to seed a program in the El Paso community. Gemtria acted as an artistic and administrative consultant and was a founding member of the KEEP Board of Directors. Her interest in the success of the organization inspired her to move to El Paso to fill the position of Artistic/Executive Director for the budding program in 2005.

PHOTO BY JODY
POLK SCHWARTZ