For her, life is a ballet By KIMBERLEE BETHANY-ALFORD kimberb@newschief.com WINTER HAVEN ÐÐ Pirkko Lawlor shares her secret for success with her students. "Per aspera ad astra," Lawlor said in Latin. "Through the struggles to the stars. That's my motto. Without that, there would have been lots of times I would not have made it. I give that to all of my students." Lawlor, the owner and artistic director of the Ballet Conservatory and Dance Centre, has had many students to guide, both along the dance floor and in life. The Ballet Conservatory, now open 20 years, has helped many Polk County children grow up with grace. Before she moved to Winter Haven, Lawlor was the director and owner of a private dance school near Chicago. Lawlor spent three years as a dance instructor at Taliesen in Wisconsin, training Frank Lloyd Wright's daughter, granddaughter and architectural students, who were required to take cultural lessons such as art, music, and dance. While at Taliesen, Lawlor was the first ballet teacher for a little girl named Olga who had a famous grandfather named Stalin. Lawlor has built her own fame within the world of dance. Orion released an instructional record called "A Child's World of Dance with Pirkko," which continues to be popular among dance teachers. Throughout her career, Lawlor continually developed her skills and furthered her training as a dance teacher, and now she is certified as a Cecchetti Council of America National Examiner. She cofounded two CCA chapters (in Chicago and in Central Florida) and in 2001, she selected the music and produced the CD for the new Cecchetti Primary Work. Teachers throughout Florida seek Lawlor as their teacher. The Cecchetti Method is a method of dance instruction based on the work of an Italian performer who was ballet master for the first Russian ballet touring company. Lawlor turned to the Cecchetti method years ago when she made the move from performing to teaching. Lawlor is from Finland. She grew up studying the Russian method of ballet. Ballet kept the young girl alive. "I lost my home twice to the war," Lawlor said. "Without my art, I don't think I would have survived the war. Going to theater and ballet classes was very important." When World War II started in 1939, Lawlor was seven years old. She and her older sister, Anida, went to dance lessons together. By the time Lawlor was a teen-ager, she was a soloist in the civic theater in Turku. "In Europe, the cities often have their own theaters and are city-supported," Lawlor said. "Our ballet was connected to the theater, and I danced in all of the musicals, usually Viennese operettas. That's why all of my students have to learn a Viennese waltz." Love sometimes changes plans. While still in university, Lawlor came to visit her sister in the United States. She met Joseph Lawlor. She applied for her U.S. visa and returned to Chicago a year later to get married. "I had been a performer. When you've been a performer and you suddenly start teaching, you realize that you need some organization to really learn how to teach the little ones," Lawlor said. Her need for organization helped her find the Cecchetti Method, which has brought her much success in teaching dance. According to Lawlor, the method is the grammar and vocabulary of dance. "Sometimes, people criticize something like a method," said Lawlor. "But it's like language study. You can learn to speak any language just listening, but if you want to speak it correctly, you have to learn the grammar and the vocabulary. Then you can create and develop the extra talent to become artistic." Lawlor's work is full of artistry. She has choreographed many of her own shows, including a 1985 work called Glimpses of Degas. Lawlor based the staging of each segment on paintings by Degas, and incorporated slides of the artist's work into the performance. Her work is intelligent, and she seems frustrated with the misconception that dancers are not smart. "My husband and I, we travel, we go to churches, art, museums. We love the theater. Dancers can't be dumb. Trying to make your feet mind you is difficult, and you have to think," Lawlor said. At the same time, dancing can become a form of meditation that helps the dancer stop thinking, Lawlor said. "Even if you're not going to be a professional dancer, dancing can be the most wonderful thing in your life," Lawlor said. "It can be a wonderful therapy. When you are dancing, you are totally involved, physically and mentally. Afterward, you are cleansed and you cannot think ugly thoughts." Dancing's powerful ability to eliminate ugly thought is obvious in Lawlor's kind, happy nature and beautiful smile. She has built a successful career, nurtured a happy marriage and raised three dancing children. Her son, Kaarlo, who studied ballet in Russia, is the school director of the Ballet Conservatory. Her son, Michael, is a certified Pilates instructor and a modern dance teacher. Her daughter Erika Lawlor Schmidt is a faculty member at Florida Southern College. Lawlor choreographed one dance recital to feature her and her husband, all of their children and spouses, and their grandchildren. "My children and eight grandchildren are a great achievement," Lawlor said. "I am the luckiest woman in the world. Life has been good in my art and it's been a wonderful 70 years. The world is wonderful." Polk County (Florida) News Chief Online Web posted Monday, February 17, 2003 http://www.polkonline.com/stories/021703/loc_ballet.shtml ------------------- Anida Sedala Staff Report Anida Sedala, 74, of Winter Haven, died Thursday, August 16, 2001, at Good Shepherd Hospice of Auburndale of heart failure. She was a native of Nokia, Finland who came to the area from Lake Forest in 1997. She was a retired ballet teacher. She was of the Lutheran faith She is survived by a sister, Pirkko Lawlor of Winter Haven. A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 20, 2001, at Abiding Savior Lutheran Church, 1910 Havendale Blvd. in Winter Haven. Ott-Laughlin Funeral Home, Winter Haven. polkonline.com (Polk Co., Florida) http://www.polkonline.com/stories/081801/obi_dsedala.shtml Web posted Saturday, August 18, 2001