In the near future, Encore School of the Arts wants to expand into the visual arts and with a summer camp offering jewelry-making, drawing and mixed media for youngsters and adults.

New Operations Director Kathleen Kiesselbach taught in Buchanan, at the Box Factory in St. Joseph and in Goshen, South Bend and Elkhart, Ind.

Kiesselbach is a graphic designer with a degree in printmaking besides her strong background in marketing and development.

“I see all the time how attending an art class in the evening for adults once a week or once a month really brings a new dimension to their lives and reminds them they have a creative side,” Kiesselbach told Dowagiac Rotary Club Thursday noon.

“Sometimes it’s a wonderful stress reliever.”

Kathee added, “Some of my duties at Encore include helping to make sure the community knows about what’s available, as well as coming up with ideas to fund some of the things we want to do.

“Every day I see little girls, unfortunately, who want to take a dance class from September through May and they can’t afford it. Maybe their parents have been laid off through no fault of their own. We want to establish a scholarship program,” which would take a student through the season for less than $300 for a weekly 30-minute class.

Kiesselbach continued, “We have a new logo designed in cooperation with Southwestern Michigan College’s design class. We’ll be unveiling that and adding a lot of things to the Web site.”

She can be reached at Encore at 783-0881 from 4 to 9 p.m., Monday-Thursday.

“Our fundraisers will include the community more,” she said. “I’ve noticed there’s not a lot of big things to do in Dowagiac. February-March we’re going to have a fun Mardi Gras. A year from now we’re thinking about doing a Taste of Encore and inviting people into our facility to look around, with food, wine, performances from some of the kids and musical entertainment. We have a lot more to offer than the community knows right now.”

Amy Rose, who danced with Encore for eight years as a student, earned her bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma City University and performed professionally in Branson, Mo.

She is in her eighth season as artistic director of Encore Dance Company.

Encore occupies the former Lincoln Elementary School at 405 E. Division St.

“We do a lot there these days,” Rose said. “We offer dance classes — ballet and clogging to jazz and hip-hop, you name it, we’re teaching it.

“A couple of years ago we were able to expand our programming into music. Volunteers built a music wing for us with four private rooms where we offer guitar, drums, voice and piano. We hope to see that continue to grow. Classes are for any age. It’s never too late to learn to play piano or to take an adult tap class. We start at age 3 and go to about 103.”

Encore’s nine-month season generally followed the school year, ending in May with a big dance recital.

“Then we offer different workshops throughout the summer,” Rose said. “I specifically direct Encore Dance Company, which is a smaller group of dancers who audition to become a member. These are kids who show extra interest in the disciplines of dance. They want more opportunities to take classes elsewhere and be somewhat competitive. Our students come from eight different communities, so we really represent southwest Michigan, and not just Dowagiac.”

Rose added, “Throughout the season, they work on shows. Our first is coming up in December, The Magic of Christmas, sponsored by Imperial Furniture and St. Denys Foundation. It is magical with a lot of special effects going on this year.

“Typically in the spring we take our dancers to regional and national competition. This year we’re changing up a little bit and we’re going to focus a little bit more on dance education.

“All of our dancers graduate high school and most of them attend two- or four-year colleges and universities. They’re very career-oriented, and I think that has a lot to do with being involved in something like the dance company, where there’s regular discipline and life lessons to be learned. They’re very responsible, career-oriented young ladies — and I have one young man. Everything they learn in the company goes on with them in life, so this year we’re really focusing on education. A lot of girls specifically want dance performance as a college major or career. We’ll be taking trips in the area. Next week I’m taking them to see Luna Negra Dance Chicago at Notre Dame. We just had one of their dancers (Eugene Peabody) come into the studio this last week to teach a master class.”

“As you know,” she told Rotarians at Elks Lodge 889, “Sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know. I feel the more professionals we can introduce these kids to, the better path they have to get to where they want to be in life.”

Besides performing around the area during the holiday season, in January Encore will hold a soup supper to benefit a human service project.

There will also be a can drive in conjunction with The Magic of Christmas.

“Because we’re a non-profit,” Rose said, “and because we work with kids who maybe don’t come from a background where they come from plenty of resources to make this happen, we depend on the support of the community. We do a lot of fundraisers and donor drives. This is our way to show the community we appreciate it, that we’re working hard and spending your dollars wisely and giving back where we can.”

Rose is frequently asked to distinguish between Encore School of the Arts and Encore Dance Company.

The latter is an extension of the former.

“The company is a core group of kids who want more out of their experience so they audition to become part of the company. We are looking forward to branching into more of the arts with Kathee’s fabulous background. She’s going to take us to the next level.”

Kiesselbach belonged to the Benton Harbor Rotary Club when she worked at Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph as marketing and development director.

She worked at the University of Notre Dame for 37 years.

“When I saw the opportunity open at Encore to come in and help take Encore to the next level, I was very excited about the possibility,” Kiesselbach said.

“Dowagiac seems to understand the value of the arts and culture in a town. Most small towns in the Midwest and other places, one of the hardest problems they have to solve is how to keep their young kids busy. Kids end up getting involved in things they shouldn’t.

“One of the things I was so impressed with about Encore is that it has this huge amount of students — just under 160 — that they provide things for kids to do that are meaningful and athletic. They take their experiences in school and expand them, not only girls, but young men as well. We also host a boxing club at the end of the Encore building run for free of charge for young men. Our vision of Encore School of the Arts is to provide a lot more than we do now.”