PRESS-RELEASE International Talent Academy serves Carmel families with 15 years of arts education. (CARMEL, Ind.)— The International Talent Academy is celebrating 15 years of arts education this September. The local non-profit organization has been providing liberal and performing arts education to children and families in the Carmel area since 2006, working to expand the minds and talents of young children. ITA’s mission is to develop confidence, creativity, and capabilities in every child by empowering students to discover their unique talents and accelerate cognitive development through internationally inspired performing and liberal arts programs. ITA’s programs are especially focused on the arts and are committed to early impact – students ages from 1-15. Every program’s curriculum is designed to foster creativity and confidence, as well as to cultivate each student’s unique innate abilities. In its performing arts programs, ITA offers lessons in piano, general music, dance, show choir, and musical theatre. The most popular group classes are the Main Stage programs –Theater and Show Choir for two age groups: 4-8 and 9-15. During a semester-long program, each student contributes to writing the script, making up their own role, and developing their character. No auditions or special skills are required to enter the program and students of all levels or backgrounds are excited to be a part of a Holiday or a Spring Musical. ITA’s approach to learning prepares students to become well-rounded adults with unique creative skills, a good work ethic, and the knowledge and confidence needed for high achievement in their chosen careers and in life. Executive Director and founder of ITA, Tatyana Komarova, says she created ITA because of a study she carried out, examining classical theories and modern research on early brain development, couple with her 30+ years of experience working with children and parents. She saw a need in the community and sought to fulfill it. “I believe that confidence is one of the most important life skills.  This is what will make children succeed in life. The Arts programs are in power to help kids develop their confidence and reach their goals. We design our programs around each child’s abilities to boost their confidence and creative skills to a higher level as well as work on particular needs of each child,” Ms. Komarova reflects. After partnering with the Monon Community Center in 2007, ITA has grown to offer 30 unique programs which serve to expand the minds of over 350 students each year. “We feel very lucky to join with the Monon Community Center since its Grand opening and offer our programs in this world-class facility! The staff and administration have been very supportive of our programs, and we are proud to be a part of this remarkable organization and serve our young artists’ community,” says Komarova. ITA boasts other notable accomplishments including providing over $80,000 in scholarships for students, and hosting 50 community-based events over the years, such as Carmel Debut International Piano Competition, Piano Recitals, Theater Shows, Performing Arts workshops, Children’s Arts Festival, and more. ITA supported music students who competed in national piano competitions and performed at Carnegie Hall, hosted free camps and classes for underprivileged youth, and even represented the United States at a performing arts camp in Russia. During the pandemic months, all ITA programs were canceled and we took this time to re-group, re-think and develop new cultural activities to expand our programs to broader communities. What has been done during COVID:

1. New internship and volunteer program has been established with universities across the country – 60 interns and volunteers provided professional help during 2020-21.
2. ITA produced 32 educational arts videos that were posted for free on Social Media and Youtube for families to continue on their arts education.
3. ITA researched, developed, and posted educational resources and tips for parents on various topics.
4. ITA planned the first ‘Rising Star” competition online in music, voice, theater arts, with a goal to motivate kids to continue working on and developing their talents.
5. ITA planned and launched interactive online programs, which would give kids an opportunity to interact ‘live’ with expert instructors, as well as their peers.
6. ITA staff had training on new online marketing and business strategies.
7. ITA redeveloped the existing ‘in person’ programs to start them again once the pandemic is over.
8. ITA developed and launched ‘Life Skills for Youth’ Scholarship Program for underprivileged families.

To preserve and advance the arts in our community, we established a Carmel Arts Rising Star competition that ran online in May 2021 and included 130 participants from USA and 5 other countries. In March 2022, we are planning to run our first live competition at the Monon Community Center. The competition gears toward beginner and intermediate performing arts students and has piano, voice, theater arts divisions. The main goal of the competition is to encourage and facilitate collaboration between professional artists and students and provide a supportive, educational, and mutually beneficial environment where young artists, parents, and teachers learn about all forms of the performing arts. We invite children ages 5-18 to participate, local artists to judge and run workshops, community activists to join our organizing committee. Let’s make the arts happen! This year ITA celebrates its 15th-year anniversary, and we can proudly state that we have impacted 10,000 students and parents, provided more than 300 arts programs, and awarded $80,000 in arts scholarships to Indiana families. We are committed to continue making a big impact, preserving, and advancing the arts in our community. Please, join ITA to discover and develop your talents and help kids in our community! ITA would like to formally thank Mayor Brainard and the City of Carmel for continuing support, Current in Carmel for being our Media Sponsor, its families, friends, sponsors, and community supporters for making these 15 years a big success! The community is both an integral part of ITA’s success and the primary object of its efforts and we are looking forward to grow and expand our programs to benefit our incredible youth! For more information please visit us on Facebook or a website at InternationalTalentAcademy.org. For media inquiries please contact Tatyana Komarova at tatyanak13@gmail.com.