Leap of faith

As the first American to join Russia’s famed Mariinsky Ballet, Keenan Kampa had every intention of returning to the company after recovery from hip surgery in 2014.

Keenan Kampa

But a tweet from filmmaker Michael Damian changed her plans and led to a starring role in High Strung, a new family-friendly dance movie being released nationwide on April 8.

Now, the daughter of Legates Joe and Kate Kampa is living in Los Angeles, pursuing a film career while continuing to dance.

Natural talent

The Kampas — members of Legatus’ Northern Virginia Chapter — trace this latest phase of their daughter’s career to her childhood when she often would assume the persona of a character called “Auntie Matilda” and engage her parents’ party guests.

“As a kid she was always impersonating somebody and making us laugh,” said Kate. Later, because Keenan was homeschooled and studied dance locally instead of going to ballet school in New York or Boston, she was able to join her sisters who performed in musical productions produced by Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.

Even after becoming the first American to receive a full Russian diploma from the esteemed Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg (which was featured in Legatus magazine) and going on to dance with the Boston Ballet and the Mariinsky, Keenan held onto her love of drama and acting. When she arrived back in the U.S. for surgery, she signed up for private acting lessons to keep her spirits up and stay busy.

Damian’s life-altering tweet came while Keenan was still on crutches after surgery to repair tears in the labrum of her left hip. Damian told Legatus magazine that it went something like this: “Hey, I saw you on an Olympics special and looked at your clips online. Have you ever wanted to do a dance movie?”

Damian and his wife, Janeen, a classically trained dancer who wrote the High Strung script with her husband, had seen Keenan when NBC interviewed her during the Sochi Olympics as part of a piece on ballet in Russia.

The Damians had been seeking a professional ballerina for High Strung’s female lead, but knew most companies would not release a dancer for the eight to nine weeks it would take to film a movie. When they saw Keenan, they knew she would be right for the role and decided to reach out to her, not realizing she was in the United States. Once she expressed interest, it was agreed they would wait to see how her recovery went.

Catholic upbringing

Catholic filmmakers Michael and Janeen Damian on the set of High Strung

Meanwhile, the Damians continued to audition dancers in Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris, still hoping Keenan could play Ruby Adams, a dancer from the Midwest who goes to a New York arts school on scholarship.

Once Keenan sent the Damians a video showing her progress, there was no question they would book her. Michael calls Keenan “our angel from heaven and our fellow Catholic.” Adds Janeen: “Her hip surgery was a gift in a weird way. If she hadn’t had surgery, she wouldn’t have been available for the film. We kind of felt like it was divine intervention.”

Keenan agrees.

“It is amazing to see the big plan that [God] has. I think back, ‘If I hadn’t had the hip surgery, if NBC hadn’t interviewed me for the Olympics coverage, if Janeen hadn’t seen me…’”

By being home for surgery, Keenan also was able to spend time with her grandfather, Donald Hanrahan, before his death Dec. 29, 2014.

“They used to play chess all the time and just hang out with each other,” said Kate Kampa. “In fact, she was with him when he passed away. It was a gift she was given to have that time with him. She just felt like it was God’s hand.”

Joe and Kate Kampa pose with their daughter Keenan (center)

All this speaks to the faith that has sustained Keenan throughout her ballet career. Reared in a home where daily Mass and the rosary were emphasized, she relied on prayer to survive the rigorous training and demands of dancing in Russia.

“There were many, many trips through the snow at night and on Sunday when she had to get to Mass and get to the point where she had some time alone at the church there,” Joe Kampa explained. “That’s what got her through it all and she’s continued to hold tight to that.”

Keenan said her faith also gives her perspective in this new phase of her career.

“Just to know our purpose on earth is to get to heaven makes you take everything easier,” she said. “It’s not the end of the world if something doesn’t work out. At the end of the day, our responsibility is to be the best human being we can be and to try to live a life in God’s image and likeness — and to treat everyone we’re around with respect.”

Movie debut

In High Strung, Keenan’s character, Ruby, exudes a similar attitude, showing kindness to her arts school roommate, Jazzy (Sonoya Mizuno), whose nightlife is starting to affect her performance in class, and subway musician Johnnie Blackwell (Nicholas Galitzine), who is devastated when his valuable violin is stolen.

Ruby tries to help locate Johnnie’s violin and, until it can be found, loans him an instrument from her school. She then tells him about a string-and-dance competition with a big-money prize, and they decide to enter it with a hip-hop group called The SwitchSteps.

Filmmaker Michael Damian instructs Sonoya Mizuno (left) and Keenan Kampa (center)

Michael Damian said the film, which unites his wife’s passion for classical dance with their shared love of music, blends violin with several different dance styles, including rock, classical, hip-hop and fusion.

“People are saying it’s a cross between Center Stage and Step Up,” Janeen explained. “At the Santa Barbara Film Festival [where High Strung premiered in February], they were calling it the new Fame.”

Initially, Keenan said, she was intimidated on learning that seasoned actors Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), Maia Morgenstern (The Passion of the Christ) and Paul Freeman (Raiders of the Lost Ark) were part of the cast. But she said all of them, especially Seymour, put her at ease.

“The first day we got there, she kicked off her shoes and was dancing with us on stage and taking selfies with me. She just was cool.”

Seymour and Freeman play teachers and Morgenstern is the principal at the arts school Ruby attends.

Michael Damian said even though this was Keenan’s first acting role, he found it easy to work with her because she takes direction well. “That is 75% or more of the battle, because if you don’t take direction and retain it, it’s very difficult. She really was able to go completely into the zone.”

JUDY ROBERTS is a Legatus magazine staff writer.

Learn more: highstrungthemovie.com