What has been years in the making, has finally come to fruition this year thanks to Spring2ACTion support and grants from Alexandria Office of the Arts and Virginia Arts Commission. Driven by our commitment to increasing equity, accessibility and inclusion in the dance field, we launched our pilot program for a no-cost year-long dance program at William Ramsay Recreation Center in the West End of Alexandria. This program removes financial and transportation barriers by providing access to students in their own neighborhoods and at no cost to their family and aims to provide long-term investment in the students.
Currently, we offer 3 weekly classes in hip hop, creative dance and ballet. This program has been nothing short of amazing. One of our students, Emily, always comes to class early and eager to learn. She is still learning English and recently grabbed the dance dice and was practicing counting in English with jumps around the circle. These classes provide so much more than just the physical benefits of a dance class. Students develop their ability to interact with others, communicate effectively, regulate emotions and behavior, solve problems, and increase self- confidence and feelings of being valued.
Students and parents have expressed how grateful they are for this program, even asking for added classes on the weekends. Over the course of the past 6 months, attendance has steadily increased. We have witnessed the confidence of students to create dances and ability to respond to dance improve steadily since we started in September.
We are so grateful for the support from Spring2ACTion that allowed us to get this off the ground and are thrilled to continue to expand it and share our outcomes as we grow.
