My Story
Hello, Everyone!
My name is Katherine Hayes, and I am the owner of Adore Real Talent.
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​Some people find their passion or passions as a teen or even later in life. As for me, I was blessed to know who I wanted to be as a little girl. One of my earliest memories include moving my body to the rhythm and beat to two specific songs: “Mambo Number 5” by Lou Bega and “Prawy do lewego” by Bregovic & Kayah. I remember like it was yesterday, being in my grandmother’s kitchen in Poland with the radio playing those songs back to back. I would dance on the very tips of my toes to the tempo of the music and let the music move my body till the very last note, posing while breathing heavily with exhaustion, but solid! At the age of 7, I adored Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, and the legendary ABBA group. I would play them on a loop and always be moving my body to their wonderful songs. Thankfully, my parents noticed my natural talent and enrolled me in dance lessons. Ever since, dancing has been a part of my life and one of my greatest loves.
I focused on ballet, modern, and jazz dancing until 10th grade. However, I wanted to broaden my horizons and went on to explore belly dance, Bollywood, and finally, ballroom dance. Each was wonderful in its own way, but ballroom dance became by far my favorite. I studied ballroom dance for four years and decided it was time to fulfill my childhood dream and become a dance instructor. I worked at Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Fairfax, Virginia, for 3½ years and LOVED it! I learned so much about the art of ballroom dance and discovered that I loved working with people. It was inspiring and delightful watching my students develop their dancing skills while creating relationships that I cherish to this day. My students and I performed in numerous showcases and competitions, including Ohio Star Ball and Virginia State. I also had great opportunities to perform at wonderful events such as the DC’s Dancing with the Stars Gala for three consecutive years and won the Judges’ Choice award twice.
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Now, dancing is a huge part of my life, but am I a “one passion” woman? Not quite! I’ve adored drawing and painting since I was able to hold a pencil and brush in my hand. I dabbled in many art mediums, and out of many, my personal favorites are colored pencils, oil pastels, and oil paints. At the age of 12, I read many books focused on proportions, perspective, and foreshortening to enhance my art skill. In addition, I worked on figure drawing using Japanese comic art style called Manga. Then slowly transferring into realistic figure drawings. In high school and college, I took many art courses that fine-tuned my technique and artistic style.
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My wonderful husband Luke and I now reside in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is an inspiration to me and my rock every step of the way. I give great credit to my wonderful family who encouraged me to pursue my passions and helped me become who I am today! I am excited to build a place where dance and art are admired and encouraged for all. Adore Real Talent is a place where you can be yourself, have the chance to uncover your hidden talents, and find the ART within you!
