Hero in Heaven

by Kelly Burke (dancer, age 16)

If you ask a child who their hero is, common responses might be Superman, Batman and Spiderman. Ask a teenager and they'll probably name a distinguished athlete, an inspiring teacher, and one or two may even admit that their parents play that role. But if you ask me, I'll tell you that my hero is dead.

September 20, 2003 started out as any other normal day. I woke up late, grateful that it was a Saturday, and went out to run errands with my mom. When we returned later in the afternoon, I noticed the red light blinking on the answering machine; "Kelly...it's Courtney. You have to call me right away. Please". I picked up the phone to return Courtney Klinger's message, assuming that she was informing me of a change in rehearsal times, or maybe she needed a ride to dance class. Courtney, Jess's best friend, answered after the first ring. "Hi Kelly. Jess is dead."

The first thing you noticed was her smile. The contagious type. Jessica Karrat's smile could literally turn our world around. I'd often come to her in an unbreakable mood, wondering how I'd find the time to bring up my physics grade before the marking period was over. My hero would simply say, "Kelly, you've got it all wrong. Why do you need physics? We're gonna be famous". And famous we were. Ok, so you haven't seen us on a Broadway stage, and you won't read our names when the credits roll at the end of a movie. Yet if you could have seen us dance together, you'd think that we were already big time entertainers.

We danced together at the Schubert School of Dance Arts. We'd impatiently watch the clock during long ballet classes, waiting for the hour to end. We'd then race to the dressing room to change our shoes, because it was time for hip hop. Hip hop is a dance style that requires high energy and full dedication. About a year ago, I had the idea of starting a dance crew. It didn't have to be anything fancy or flashy, just a few dancers who loved the art. Even before I had worked out any of the details, I knew that I had to tell her. We were good friends, Jess and I, but to this day, I'm still not sure why I wanted her to be the first to know. Of course, she was excited about it. My hero never let me down. So we started thinking of dancers we'd audition and where we'd perform. Sure, we disagreed on a few issues, but one thing was clear, we had just created Fresh Revolution. It was going to be the biggest hit around, a hip hop crew who danced for themselves. No fame, no fortune, just a love of the dance. This was going to be a crew that could dance it on the street and bring it to the stage. It's rare to find dancers that have raw street talent as well as amazing stage presence. She had both. She lived, breathed, and died hip hop.

On the night of September 19, 2003, Jess accepted a ride from an inexperienced driver that she didn't know very well. On the way to Jess's house, the 17 year old driver was driving at 65 mph, where the posted speed limit was 45 mph. The sports utility vehicle hit a drainage ditch, flipped several times, throwing my hero from the car. She wasn't wearing her seat belt. You see, heroes aren't always perfect and indestructible - sometimes they are just little girls. Little girls with big dreams and contagious smiles.

While my hero died, her spirit didn't. A fund was created to keep her dream alive: the Jessica Karrat Dance Scholarship Fund, now a component fund at the Philadelphia Foundation. On March 27, 2004, a fund-raiser was held to raise money to be able to award scholarships to aspiring dancers. The first annual "Jam for Jess" raised over $3000 in scholarship money. It was a high energy dance show that included all kinds of street dancers and crews who danced along side their professional counterparts from Montazh, Rennie Harris Puremovement, and FloMotion. Fresh Revolution, now made up of dancers Courtney Klinger, Sav Dowling, Shawn Juliano, Nyle Emerson and myself, also danced in the show. The benefit was the first of many performances that we hope will be dedicated to Jess. The 76ers Dance Team was there as well because it had always been Jess's dream to be a member. The team presented her family with an autographed t-shirt, and announced to an emotional crowd that they had made Jess an honorary member for life. The mood didn't stay somber for very long, because the night was all about celebrating Jess's life, and she wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The presence of her spirit was immense, and every step to every beat seemed to be a special reminder of why we were there - to honor a hero.

For information about scholarships or the scholarship fund, contact Barbara Klinger at pbskling@bellatlantic.net