“Amanda Whites fosters confidence at the Kentucky Dance Academy” was produced during the 2023 Picture Kentucky Workshop in Frankfort, Kentucky, where students were randomly assigned subjects in the area to follow and complete a photo story over the course of four days.
Children fill the rooms at the Kentucky Dance Academy in downtown Frankfort, a space dance instructor Amanda Whites uses to provide all children with the opportunity to grow and gain confidence.
Whites, a 33-year-old Eastern Kentucky native, founded the dance academy after years in the profession, which has taken her to places like Pittsburgh and Nashville.
She said what her parents thought was just a phase she would outgrow is now her full-time job.
Whites started dancing at age 4, assisting classes around age 11 and has been teaching herself since she was 22.
“I don’t really, like, have a desire to do anything but this,” she said.
Whites said she worked in Fayette, Franklin and Bourbon counties as a ballet teacher, and after doing that for a few years decided she wanted to take more of an active role, having control over spending, how they serve students and outreach, which is why she opened her own studio.
Whites said she teaches several ballet classes for all ages as well as classes for students who are autistic and non-verbal, have cerebral palsy and other disabilities.
“That class is really all about, like, everybody’s capable of dancing in whatever form that takes,” Whites said.
Whites was also a preschool teacher for seven years and said she just really likes kids. Everything is exciting and new to them, Whites explained, and she enjoys the novelty they bring to everything.
“It’s really fun to watch artists grow and confidence grow, that’s why I do it,” she said.
