THE POWER OF DANCE Founders of Ballet Conservatory Celebrate 20 Years of Dedication By Donna Kelly The Ledger donna.kelly@theledger.com WINTER HAVEN When Pirkko and Joseph Lawlor opened the Ballet Conservatory in 1983, the future looked bright. At that time, Russian ballet sensation Mikhail Baryshnikov was a household name, several dance shows were airing on television and the arts were receiving adequate government funding. "Dancing was cool when we started teaching here," Pirkko Lawlor said with a smile. The couple retired and moved to Winter Haven in 1981 from Chicago to be near Joseph Lawlor's parents . Two years of retirement were enough for the couple, who felt drawn to share their love of dance. They poured their life savings and their souls into the Ballet Conservatory, which overlooks Lake Silver at 505 Ave. I N.W. Pirkko Lawlor is the creative director, while Joseph Lawlor handles the business end of the conservatory. And while the area had a few dance studios, they were hardpressed to match the polished professionalism of the conservatory. Pirkko Lawlor's 40-year dance teaching career grew out of a love of dancing that began at the age of 5 when she used it as a way to escape the horrors of World War II in her native Finland. As her career developed, dance became a family affair. When she arrived in the United States in 1944, Lawlor began dancing and teaching with her sister, Anida Sedala, who owned a studio in Chicago. By 1955, she was teaching dance and she hasn't stopped since. Eventually, she opened her own studio in Chicago, which she ran for more than 25 years. Lawlor's influence extends beyond her own studio through teaching materials she has written and master classes she has presented at seminars, conventions and working with private teachers. Lawlor is a professional licensee of the Cecchetti Method of ballet teaching and a national examiner for the Cecchetti Council of America, credentials now also held by her son Kaarlo, the school's director. In fact, all three of the Lawlors' children dance and play an integral part in the Ballet Conservatory. Erika Lawlor Schmidt, 46, taught at the Ballet Conservatory before forming Vital Spark, a Lakeland performance group that takes the stage nationally and internationally. Kaarlo Lawlor began his career as his mother's student. At 44, he acknowledges his mother's influence in his life, yet has established a reputation of his own. He has performed with the Southwest Ballet Centre, Dallas-Fort Worth; the Florida Ballet Theatre, Tampa; Ballet Royal, Orlando; and Concert Ballet Theatre, Central Florida. And he has watched the arts, dance in particular, change over the past several years. "The Arts in general have been suffering," Kaarlo Lawlor said. "The situation for the arts is not good." And he doesn't like everything he is seeing on the local dance scene, either. Dance studios are unregulated, so virtually anyone can open a studio, he said. "There are lots of unqualified, uncertified instructors out there," he said. "Here we are internationally accredited." There also are schools for the arts that are part of the public school system, and most high schools now have competitive dance teams. Several local private schools have them, too. The Lawlors are concerned about the effect that undertrained and unqualified instructors have on their students. "I've seen spoiled backs and feet" on students who have been improperly trained, Pirkko Lawlor said, shaking her head. "We are given an incredible amount of power. We take in our hands the most beautiful possession -- children," she said. "A healthy soul and a healthy body, it is so important that you encourage that." "When children have this training, it stays with them for the rest of their lives," Pirkko Lawlor said. "They've learned to accept hard work." The Lawlors have taken the healthy-soul-and-healthy-body connection a step further in recent years. The lastest addition to the class menu at The Ballet Conservatory is Pilates, taught by the youngest Lawlor sibling, Michael. Pilates techniques are designed to sharpen the mind and strengthen the body without building extra muscle mass. Michael Lawlor, 39, is a certified Pilates instructor. Michael, known as Mikki to friends and family, has taught at the Ballet Conservatory for 17 years. Like Kaarlo, his talent was nurtured by the instruction from his mother and honed by touring with dance companies. He holds a bachelor's degree in theater from Florida Southern College and has studied at the University of South Florida and Florida State University. Two instructors at the Ballet Conservatory, Diana Ives and Ricci Keown, began their dance careers under the instruction of the Lawlor family. Keown, 27, attended the Ballet Conservatory from 1985 to 1997 and served as an instructor two years before she moved to Michigan. While in Michigan, she continued her study in dance, but what kept her dancing was the thought that she would one day return to the conservatory. "What kept me in it was the Lawlor family," she said. "From them I learned to be dedicated to whatever you do. If you remain dedicated, it will get you where you want to be." And Keown wants to be teaching at the Ballet Conservatory. She is thrilled to be instructing students in primary ballet, ballet 1 and tap 1. "The Lawlors are really concerned about training people as dancers and showing off their best assets," Keown said. "At the Conservatory, it is all about learning foundations and techniques." And there is a reason why the focus is on the basics. "If it's not, then you really don't become a better dancer," she said. The faculty is completed by tap dancer Jacob Twilleager. His performances include the PBS television show "Kid's Corner," Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," and "Disney Christmas Special." Twilleager has taught tap dancing throughout the United States for 10 years. The Ballet Conservatory offers ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, modern, and teen and adult ballet, and Pilates. And students of all ages present an annual recital that is reminiscent of a professional dance show, complete with lighting, costuming, professional choreography and excitement. "Here we are trying to keep the quality," Pirkko Lawlor said. "Quality is the most important thing." And just as ballet itself has persevered over its 300-year history, so the Lawlor family plans to do in its quest to pass on the love of dance to youngsters. "Through the arts we learn ourselves, who we are, and who we are going to be," Pirkko Lawlor said. And don't expect her to stop leading children to dance anytime soon. "To lead them in the right direction is not easy," Pirkko Lawlor said. "I should be retired. But I love what I am doing." The Ballet Conservatory is enrolling students for the fall semester which begins Sept. 2. For more information about classes, call the Conservatory at 863-299-1055. Published Monday, August 25, 2003 The Ledger: Lakeland, Polk County, Florida http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030825/NEWS/308250318/1191/CAMPUS