As the school year comes to a close and all the graduates are starting a new and exciting chapter, we wanted to catch up with one of our former WARM Place children! Kameron Bryant attended The WARM Place in 2016 after the death of his mother. He just graduated high school this month and has a bright future ahead of him! We are grateful that he was willing to share some of his story with us.
1) It’s been a while! For folks that don’t know you, tell us a bit about yourself and your connection to The WARM Place.
Hello, my name is Kameron Bryant and I’m 17 years old. I will be attending OU this upcoming fall as a Modern dance major. I started dancing at the age of 14 to help express myself and feelings due to my mother’s passing. From age 8 to 12 I attended The WARM Place to heal from the loss of my mother Krystal Bryant. Once I found a variety of ways to help grieve my mom as well as remember her, I moved into the next chapter of my life.
2) 2023 is clearly a big year for you, what is on the horizon in your next chapter?
After braving through the multi audition process for college dance programs, I decided that The OU School of Dance is the best place for me. This dance department is ranked among the top 3 dance schools in the Nation. It offers a variety of dance forms as well as the modern technique I specifically want to study, Horton. I will be a modern major as well as an education major with the intention to join a modern dance company such as Alvin Ailey and later become a dance professor.
3) We saw the amazing video on Facebook of the dance tribute you performed in honor of your mother. Tell us more about that.
I’m at a very transitional time in my life. As I moved through my senior year I always noticed myself thinking about my mom and what she would say to me now. I can probably say that this year has been very emotional for me. I’ve had times where I was just in my room and cried at the fact that I’m moving into a new chapter in my life while closing the one my mother was in. With my time being at The WARM Place, I noticed all of the artistic projects and activities we did to express how we might have felt when losing a loved one. Using my newfound way of artistically expressing myself, dance, I found a way to pay tribute to my mother. My dance I choreographed titled “A Loss of a Mother” reflects how I first felt when my mother passed away and how I now know that she is always with me. I have performed this solo numerous times throughout my senior year and it has been my therapy for so much.
4) As someone who experienced the death of a loved one as a child, what advice would you give to other children who are experiencing that same tragedy right now?
Remember that it’s okay to be different. Growing up without my mother at a young age was very difficult due to family-oriented activities such as “Muffins with Moms”’ or Mother’s Day card making at school. At times like this, I felt like I was so different from my classmates. While I was in fact different, I was uniquely stronger. Losing a loved one causes someone to think differently about the world. It provides knowledge and wisdom about loving everyone as well as appreciating what you have. Knowing this, I grew up caring more about others and relationships. The loss of my loved one created an opportunity for my dance journey as well as an opportunity in college. Because I thought differently, I was able to express myself in a unique way others really didn’t do. I am now able to do something I love as well as creating a career out of it. Being different from a group of people provides uniqueness and opportunity.
