As the first recipient of the Betsye Kay Finch Performing Arts Foundation scholarship, Abby Rogers intends to follow in the footsteps of Finch, known for decades in Lakeand as a teacher of dance and performance.
Rogers, who graduated from Harrison School for the Arts last spring and now studies musical theater at Drake University, was awarded the foundation’s first-ever $1,000 scholarship.
Performing has always been a part of Rogers’ life, since she was five years old. She maintains dreams of performing on Broadway one day and she’d like to teach, too.
“Not only has (the scholarship) helped me financially, but this incredible opportunity has opened my heart and mind to so many more possibilities,” Rogers said. “Reading about Betsye Kay and her legacy has motivated me to keep striving for my end goal of one day becoming a performing arts mentor and teacher to aspiring artists.”
Robin Phillips, Phillips Photography,
Finch’s daughter Alexis Rocker wants people to think of the foundation she established in her mother’s name as her mother helping young performing artists from heaven.
The Betsye Kay Finch Performing Arts Foundation, which launched in June, is designed to help graduating high school seniors pursue their interests in the performing arts, Rocker said.
“Abby was chosen for several reasons, including her array of talent spanning across not only her singing and dancing capabilities, but her contribution to the community with working with the Special Olympics, soup kitchens, and so on,” Rocker said
Rogers’ winning essay was about the love of dance and musical theater, and her contribution to her community, Rocker said. Her ambition to move ahead and educate others about the joy of the performing arts is what spoke to the directors on the board at the Betsye Kay Finch Performing Arts Foundation.
Rogers is working toward a bachelor’s in fine arts degree in musical theatre at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and hopes to act on Broadway and teach aspiring theatre students.
Immersing herself in her passion at Drake University is “truly a dream come true,” Rogers said, reached at home in Lakeland during her winter break.
“The foundation truly understands how important education is, especially when going into such a competitive field like musical theater or dance, and they are so dedicated to lifting up and providing for young artists like myself,” Rogers said.
And that amplifies the foundation’s mission, Rocker says:
“The idea is to assist these young people in (their) endeavor, whether it’s at a college or university or a dance academy or a theatrical institute. We’re just trying to give them a lift up to get them to continue on because it’s so expensive to go to school.”
Finch, who died in March 2019 at age 92, was born in Lakeland. After a successful career in New York, she taught generations of local dancers for more than 30 years at Betsye Kay’s School of Dance in Lakeland.
Ballet pose 
Tap pose
Laurel Renfroe was a student of Finch’s when she was growing up in Lakeland and teaches musical theater at Harrison School for the Arts. Renfroe previously taught dance at Harrison and learned many of her skills from Finch.
“Betsye Kay was larger than life to me,” Renfroe said. She remembers Finch as always greeting her students with a smile and never showing signs of losing patience.
“Betsye’s fully planned classes, joyous personality and kind spirit when critiquing students highly influenced my style of teaching,” Renfroe said.
More than anything, Finch wanted to see young performers get better at their craft and succeed, Rocker said. “My mom was very instrumental in impacting so many young people’s lives,” she said.
Finch’s roots in Lakeland run deep. As a child, she frequented the Polk Theatre and in 1988, she was asked to chair its 60th anniversary celebration.
Rocker’s relationship with Lakeland, from which she moved when she was 27, has come full circle.
“Lakeland is a special place,” she said. “I have so many friends and family here. By establishing the foundation in our mother’s name, it has brought people back into my life that I haven’t seen since I was young.”
After bestowing its first scholarship, Rocker envisions the foundation growing along with its donor base and becoming geographically larger, possibly statewide. Scholarship recipients are identified through Polk Education Foundation.
“My mother was such an optimist,” Rocker said. “I’m an optimist, and this whole foundation is an uplift.”
Renfroe said it’s not a surprise that Rocker would start this foundation in her mother’s name. “They both have generous hearts,” Renfroe said. “Giving to the community was Betsye’s mission, so to speak.”
The foundation held a virtual fundraiser in the fall to benefit further scholarships, like the one Rogers received.
The significance of the scholarship is life-changing, Rogers said, and Finch’s legacy has cast a meaningful light on her future.
“I hope to one day be the incredible, life-changing mentor that (Finch) was and still is to so many,” Rogers said.
Connect with Betsye Kay Finch Performing Arts Foundation or donate:
Online: www.bkfperformingarts.org
Facebook: facebook.com/BKFPerformingArts
Email: bkfperformingarts@gmail.com
Mail: 4798 S. Florida Ave. No. 225, Lakeland, FL 33813.
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