Terry Rockette – WV Native Returns Home To Share His Passion For Performance

Terry Rockette – WV Native Returns Home To Share His Passion For Performance

Terry Rockette told me when he was young, he was a very shy young man; but after spending a couple of hours with him last week I don’t believe it for a second! 

I sat down with Rockette, the owner of Rockette Studios and the founder of Youth Vineyard, a non-profit organization, to discuss what brought him back to his hometown of Water Valley and led to his current role in the community. 

Rockette left Water Valley in 1992 and did not return until 2008, but his time away taught him a lot about himself and helped prepare him to come back home. After a brief time in Memphis, Rockette headed to Davenport, Iowa, where he earned a degree in Criminal Justice, but even then, he always knew his true passion was dance. 

“Dancing was what I loved and what I wanted to do,” he says. While in Iowa, Rockette also took some theatre classes and got to meet a wide variety of people from many different backgrounds. 

At the time, Rockette was spending his time creating dance routines for several groups, including one that served as back-up dancers for artists like MC Hammer, LL Cool J, and Boys II Men, among others. He was also working as a youth counselor at a juvenile prison in Fort Hood, Texas, when he first thought about returning to Water Valley. 

“I didn’t want to come back,” he laughs, “but I felt it was my calling.” Within three months, he was back home and with plans to address a need he saw in his hometown. 

Rockette founded Youth Vineyard, an organization aimed at promoting artistic opportunities for local youth, in 2006, before he actually moved back, but upon his return he threw himself into furthering the organization. “We had a group of about 20 students, and we were practicing in the yard of my apartment,” he recalls.  Rockette wanted the group to provide students in the Water Valley community with the chance to express themselves creatively and keep them off  the streets and out of trouble. He specifically avoided associating the organization with a particular church, because he wanted a place where all students felt safe, welcome, and free of the pressure of being inside a church. As members of the group, students at Youth Vineyard participate in programs to grow as performers, whether it be singing, dancing or acting. 

In addition to Youth Vineyard, Rockette also created Rockette Studios, which puts on plays and skits around the area. This was the perfect avenue for Rockette to pursue his passions, but he sees the venture as an opportunity to unify people by creating a sense of community and building families. Rockette Studios has performed many plays in recent years, but Rockette hopes to also transition to making films, eventually even one filmed right here in Water Valley. That dream will take its first step in the coming months, as Rockette begins work on a short film centered around the life of legendary Mississippi blues legend, R.L. Burnside, as Rockette has already been promoting and working with the late singer’s family. 

For Rockette, both of his ventures have similar objectives within the community, and personally, both of them bring him a great deal of joy. “With Youth Vineyard, one of my favorite things is seeing our students graduate,” he says. He adds that many former students continue to be successful and how rewarding it is to see them excel. Rockette Studios productions can have the same impact, though, as he laughed happily while discussing a woman in her 60s who recently took part in one of their productions. According to Rockette, she had wanted to perform her entire life, but never had the chance until this particular play. “She owned the stage, it was incredible!” he exclaimed. If the goal is to provide people the opportunity to express themselves creatively, it sounds as if things are going according to plan. 

For Rockette, coming back to Water Valley was everything he hoped it would be. “It’s a safe environment, that is laid-back and family-oriented,” he says. Obviously, there are challenges he faces just like any other business or organization. Sometimes he encounters parents of students who do not see the value of art and expression in the manner he does, and with a small organization, funding and logistics can be an issue as well. In fact, if you walk into his studio today, it looks more like a shop, as he is selling items to help fund the Burnside short film. “I want to get more people involved,” he says, “art is so valuable because it allows people to build skills and confidence.” 

For Rockette, seeing a young person come out of their shell and shine in the arts is a truly wonderful experience that he never grows weary of. “We approach each student as an individual, if they are shy, we may begin with spoken word poetry and build from there,” says Rockette. He is proud to describe his former students who have been asked to speak at their colleges and universities, earned scholarships, and been selected for roles in theatre, dances, and films. Rockette Studios has sold out shows at the Powerhouse theatre in Oxford and other surrounding locations and continues to grow. Rockette hopes the Youth Vineyard comes to play a role in the community similar to that of a YMCA, only with more of an emphasis on the arts. His goal is to have a running stream of plays and classes to offer the community, all with a positive message, as reflected in the group’s mission statement, “Performance with a message.” 

Rockette hopes to use his organizations to serve as a leader in the community, build future generations of leaders, and inspire others to succeed. One thing is for sure, Rockette stated he felt like coming home was a calling, and after talking to him in person, I could not be more convinced that is true. 

Now for the rapid-fire questions to close the interview with Rockette

What was your first car? 

– 1985 Ford Escort that I paid for myself! 

You are stranded on a desert island, what three things do you want to have with you? 

– A volcano drink, a pen, and paper

Is a hotdog considered a sandwich? 

– No! (emphatically!) 

If you could have one superpower, what would it be? 

– Invisibility 

It’s karaoke night, what is your go-to song to sing? 

    – Mustang Sally 

Last meal, what do you want? Entrée, desert, and beverage? 

– Shrimp scampi, peach cobbler, and sweet tea