Professional Dancer Isaac Kerr Flawlessly Mixes Aesthetics and Athleticism
By Vincent Mallory
At six feet five inches, professional dancer Isaac Kerr is a towering figure in Manhattan’s ballet and modern dance scene. In an intensely competitive world, dancers require profound dedication, Olympic-level athleticism,immaculate precision and a deep aesthetic sensibility — indeed a demanding skill set!
Kerr’s grand stature is both a blessing and a liability, He is an award-winning ice skater who began his formal dance training as a pre-teen in a field where most start as pre-schoolers. He faced more than his fair share of challenges.
“My journey to becoming a dancer was unique,” Kerr describes. “I started much later than most and was always the tallest in my classes and groups. My height is uncommon for dancers and made it challenging to be included in group choreography.”
Despite this almost non-stop discouragement, the teenager refused to give up.
“At first, my size made learning dance extremely hard because I have much longer limbs to control,” he said. “I started dancing in high-school after winning second-place in the North American Speed Skating Championships.”
Born in the Caribbean and based out of Toronto, Isaac studied at several schools in Canada including Classical Dance Conservatory, Joanne Chapman School of Dance, Quinte Ballet School of Canada, and the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. He won numerous scholarships along the way which fuelled his focus, ambition and drive.
In just a few year short years, he reached an elevated level of artistry and technical ability. he found himself competing against the top dancers in the United States and Canada at national competitions and conventions.
“After three years of competing, I decided to focus on Ballet specifically, and soon after I found a love for modern dance. it was then I decided I wanted to study both ballet and modern at a professional level.”
That meant New York City and auditioning for the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance School — a fiercely competitive process. Kerr persevered even when things seemed unattainable, auditioning for the Ailey school four times before being accepted.
After graduating from Ailey’s three-year certificate program, Kerr quickly became a performer in demand. Today he regularly performs with no less than an astonishing six different dance companies (Armitage Gone! Dance, Jennifer Muller the Works, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre, Visions Contemporary Ballet, Vashti Dance Theatre and Abanar Dance).
The ability to learn and perform a piece of choreography, with its intricate movement and artistic details, is a challenging feat that dancers undertake daily. Working in half a dozen concurrent productions in ballet, modern, contemporary, African and dance-film style routines, is an enormous challenge that drives Kerr. it demands an extraordinary amount of talent and dedication that Kerr embraces. he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“The benefits of being in six companies is that I’m able to rehearse a lot of different choreography,” he said. “I am always learning something new because each company has their own unique style. in this way, I am exposed to many movement influences, which fuels my movement explorations.”
“The challenge of being in six companies is scheduling. Each company has a different schedule, and sometimes performances fall at the same time as rehearsals for other projects. I tend to not have many breaks so if I’m not in rehearsal, I’m on the train going to the next rehearsal.”
His profound commitment to the art form is as boundless as his broad technical capacity, his comprehensive grasp of the full spectrum of dance styles and his tireless devotion to constantly improving and elevating his craft.
“I approach my work as if it’s an experiment,” Kerr said. “It’s constantly a process and every day is a possibility to improve my work. My philosophy is to be as versatile and open minded as I can.”
“As a dancer, it’s important to seek out new information. I love to be influenced by the art in a gallery, or even a person just walking down the street — in today’s age a professional dancer not only has to be a remarkable dancer, they also need to have their own artistic voice.”
