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Carole Mikita reportingDance makes a difference. Operating under that premise, a new partnership has formed to take this art form into all of Utah's public schools.
The idea came from the University of Utah. The Colleges of Fine Arts and Education and Virginia Tanner Dance, also located at the U., have joined forces. They believe dance should be a regular part of every student's studies. Their catch phrase is, "DNA is a part of us. Art is in all of us."
By stringing their individual DNA maps, Tanner Dance students learned how unique each one of us is. Then they turned the science into dance. This future vision will serve as a model for other students.
Mary Ann Lee, director of the Tanner Dance Program, said, "We serve about 4,500 in the community partnership programs through Tanner Dance with 88 weekly classes where the dance specialist and the classroom teachers are working side-by-side."
Dance is already part of the curriculum at Lincoln Elementary. No one is ever late to this class.
Alma Megia, a fifth-grader at Lincoln Elementary School, said, "I wanted to because it brings a lot of energy and it's fun and exciting."
Another fifth-grader, Jose Lazalde, said, "I just didn't like dance before." Now he thinks it's cool.
Katharine Dalton, a fifth grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary, said, "It demands from them focus, patience, community. They have to learn to trust each other, and when it comes together, it sparkles. There isn't another time like it, ever!"
Tanner Dance has a class for children with disabilities. They find joy in the movement. There's a belief that no matter the age of the child or the ability, dance is a way to express who they really are.
The results? Children using their imaginations, learning and laughing in a creative process that some hope will soon include every Utah student.
The nucleus of this program will be created at a new arts and education complex on the U. of U. campus. But it is still in the fundraising process. No decision yet about where it will be built.
