I am continually inspired by our students here at Donais Studios. But today, I want to shine a spotlight on our adult students. Their unwavering commitment and willingness to pursue their passions—to carve out time for themselves and their goals—never cease to amaze me.
Why? Because the arts touch every facet of our lives in bold and beautiful ways.
The quote, “Without commitment, you cannot have depth in anything,” deeply resonated with me as I wrote this. Commitment is the cornerstone of change and transformation. It shapes character, which is why it’s a core value at Donais Studios.
The arts possess incredible power, and today’s “Impact of the Arts” guest, Shivani, beautifully illustrates how her artistic journey has profoundly influenced her work and life as an engineer.
Here’s how the arts have shaped Shivani as an individual, an artist, and an engineer:
➡️ Consistency: Weekly lessons and a regular artistic practice have instilled a sense of consistency that leads to powerful results in her life.
➡️ Commitment: To herself, her goals, and her passions.
➡️ Self-Trust and Self-Efficacy: Strengthening her confidence not only in her artistry but also in other areas of her life and work.
➡️ Empathy: Enhancing her ability to feel, understand, and be present with others—putting herself in their shoes.
➡️ Collaboration: Fostering teamwork and working toward common goals, both in music and life.
➡️ Attention to Detail: Heightening her focus and precision.
The skills we cultivate through the performing arts extend far beyond music and creativity—they are transformative.
I encourage you to read Shivani’s entire interview below. It’s inspiring, relatable, and exemplifies a beautiful balance of art and science. We need both!
I’ve always dreamed of taking a dance class. Since I was a small child, the desire to dance has been with me. Every time I work with one of my adult students, I’m inspired to think…maybe it’s time to pursue my own passion for dancing. Maybe 2024/2025 is my year! We shall see. 😉
The arts are not a luxury—they are essential! 🤍
Keep singing,
xo Andrea “let’s dance” Donais
P.S. Have you been thinking about taking voice or piano lessons? Perhaps this is your sign! We’ve opened up registration for The Artist Within Academy’s 2024/2025 Season for just two weeks! Schedule your complimentary 30-minute introductory lesson today here.
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I had the great pleasure of interviewing Shivani Nathoo this weekend and I got to hear some ideas and perspectives that she has about the impact of the arts in her life – potentially yours too!
Shivani’s interest in the arts was initially sparked back in preschool and then she began taking piano lessons in grade one. She joined her school choir in grade three, and then was inspired to join a community children’s chorus in grade five which she sang with until grade twelve.
She has taken guitar lessons, played the drums and the flute in her school band, taught herself the ukulele and dabbles in many crafty and creative hobbies. She is currently taking singing lessons with me at Donais Studios 🙂
Shivani works as an engineer in the electricity sector, and I was curious, aside from lessons at the studio, how she keeps music involved in her life. She explained that music is involved in the majority of her day – to the point that her Spotify Wrapped claimed a total of 86 thousand minutes in one year!!!
She mentioned that by committing to voice lessons, it has encouraged her to stay consistent and is allowing her to carve out more time for herself and her hobbies. Shivani shared that she picked up a few instruments to explore for fun in her free time such as the trumpet and violin on top of the keyboard and guitar. I asked if Shivani has found any parallels in her career path with the arts and she had this to say: “There are a lot of transferable skills – attention to detail is one. Working towards a common goal with different people is another.”
I asked Shivani what specific personality traits that she believes the arts can enhance or create. She said “I believe that one personality trait that the arts enhance is empathy. When we perform a song [or dance to a song] we have to put ourselves in other people’s shoes to truly tell the story.” This is so true, and even to understand art or literature, we have to put ourselves in the perspective of the artist or the author.
In our interview, I asked Shivani how she feels her artistic practice has changed her view of herself, her confidence and her self-trust. She said so wonderfully: “I feel like in terms of self trust, it [my artistic practice has] shown me that if I work at something enough, I can do it, a lot of the things that I have done are things I thought would be cool but then I actually tried – and with practice, was able to do it.”
She explained that her connections and experiences with the arts have improved her self-efficacy and made her see herself more as an artist. She added that her experiences with the arts have made the arts more accessible!
~An interview by Amelia DePiero, Donais Studios