Art can come in many different forms, from painting to acting to dancing. This month’s Artist of the Month, junior Zaire Ramiz, is a great example of how art can be expressed in many ways.
Zaire is a proverbial jack of all trades in the performance world. “I love writing songs,” Zaire pointed out, “and I’m a singer. I love to dance and I would say all of those things, singing, writing, dancing, and acting, are all creative outlets for me.”
Zaire has many different inspirations when it comes to making art, but there is one that does come first and foremost. “My biggest inspiration as a performer I think is Beyonce,” Zaire said.
From the Choreographer Showcase to the Winter Musical, Zaire has been in many performances at KO and noted their impact on the KO community. “I think both are really beautiful ways for artists on campus to express themselves and to share their hard work and their artistry,” Zaire said. “I would also say their athleticism, especially in terms of dance. I think Choreographer Showcase and the musical offer a variety of ways for artists to really live and breathe on campus and be in community with one another. It allows us to spend so much time with each other. And really I think that’s really important in any artistic space.”
Zaire has performed in a multitude of ways outside of school. “The most recent thing I did outside of school was probably not last summer but the summer before that,” Zaire said. “There was a lot of stuff in middle school that I did. I was in ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Freaky Friday’ and I was in ‘A Christmas Carol’ outside of school.”
One thing Zaire wants to improve on within his portfolio is dance. “Dance is something that I do basically just at KO,” Zaire explained. “I’m trying to do some more stuff outside of KO soon, hopefully. Dance has been something that really has come to me through KO.”
Zaire also shared how art can affect a community. “I think art sends two things,” Zaire said. “Art sends messages about the world. I think it can show what certain artists, writers, and performers have to say about the world. And I also think that art helps people become in touch with their emotions, and it helps them display their emotions in a really beautiful way. I think art is a really emotional, mental thing. And I think it helps people to explore that side of themselves in a way that they might not be able to without art.”
Zaire has some plans for his future outside of school. “I am specifically looking to write more songs,” Zaire said. “And hopefully, one day, release my own music. I’m definitely looking more into dance and theater. I love that. And that’s something that KO has really helped me blossom with and helped me love even more than I did before I came here.”
Zaire certainly has an exciting future ahead of him at KO and we can’t wait to see what he does next in the coming years.
