With a family of basketball players, ShaMeka Glaze was surprised when her three-year-old daughter, Kai Roberts, said definitively that she wanted to be a ballet dancer. Dance wasn’t something Glaze was familiar with, but she signed Roberts up for dance classes at the recreation center and quickly realized her daughter is a natural performer.
Now 10 years old, Roberts dances constantly – at home, at school and in lessons. The graceful movements of dance come easy to her and give her joy.
“I’ll hear music and look over and she’s dressed as some cowgirl, (with) a hat and some boots or a cheerleader skirt and she’s making up these routines and dancing and I’m just sitting there like, ‘What’s going on there?’ but she’s all into it,” Glaze says. “I’ll pull my phone out and get a video real quick because this is unbelievable.”
Photo courtesy of ShaMeka Glaze
Kai roberts
Dance has been at the center of Roberts’ life since she started seven years ago. She has tried her hand at gymnastics, basketball and piano, but eventually decided she wanted to devote all her time to her passion for ballet.
“With piano, she was kind of trying to do her own thing and the teacher was trying to distract her but she was just like, ‘I’m a professional’ and that didn’t go over very well,” Glaze says. “So yeah, we just stuck to the dance where she was more focused.”
Roberts’ dance journey eventually led her to perform with BalletMet in its rendition of The Nutcracker in 2023 and Alice earlier this year. Her involvement with the company started when she learned about the Discover Dance Scholarship while taking private lessons with her cousin. She auditioned for the scholarship and was selected to join the company.
“We’re very happy about it, and they just keep renewing every year,” Glaze says.
While many may get stage fright performing in front of hundreds of people at the Ohio Theatre, Roberts unapologetically lets her joyful personality shine on stage, even going as far as blowing kisses to her loved ones in the crowd as she ran off the stage during one of the shows.
“I’m like, ‘Is she allowed to do that? Okay Beyonce, what are all these extra things you’re doing?’ but they don’t say anything to her,” Glaze says. “She’s acknowledging who came there to support her and I do appreciate that. It’s really sweet to see, almost has me in tears.”
Photo courtesy of ShaMeka Glaze
Kai Roberts
Roberts’ family members are her greatest supporters and they are beyond proud of their young starlet.
“It’s worth the money. It’s worth the time. She just lights up and I can see where she leads a lot,” Glaze says. “I’m really impressed with seeing her perform. She’ll have at least 10 people at a show. It’s a major thing to everybody.”
While Glaze spends countless hours shuttling Roberts to practices and performances, she is not the only one who helps her succeed. During the COVID-19 pandemic when Roberts couldn’t attend lessons, Glaze’s close friend taught her lessons via video calls, and her great-grandmother “Nana” was always there to give her guidance and life lessons.
“(Nana is) my best friend and she makes me laugh a lot,” Roberts says. “I just love her a lot and she’s taught me to always be true to myself.”
With her enthusiasm for dance, Roberts isn’t hanging up her flats anytime soon. While she enjoys theatre and other styles of dance, ballet has a special place in her heart.
“I think it’s just more calming and it’s like meditating,” Roberts says. “What motivates me is that it’s fun to do it, it’s really something that I like to do and it feels good to learn something new.”
From the Stage to the Silver Screen
When Roberts isn’t dancing, she enjoys creating stories and being with friends. She is currently working on a movie script with a friend.
“It’s about just these two people… and they have superpowers,” Roberts says. “And then we have villains, and there’s drama obviously.”
Maisie Fitzmaurice is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mfitzmaurice@cityscenemediagroup.com.
