Arts Learning

For the Heart of Dance grant proposal, we wanted to work with diverse populations from Four Seasons A+ Elementary School; Benjamin E. Mays World School; and Friendship Academy of the Arts. I am happy to report that we did successfully reach our targeted audience. Of the 184 students at the three school we collaborated with, 65% were African American; 15% were Asian American; 11% were Caucasian; and 9% were Hispanic. We changed the actual population benefited to “individuals below the poverty line” because 86% of the students we worked with at the three schools qualified for free or reduced price lunch based on their income level. It is the goal of Heart of Dance to make Dancing Classrooms accessible to all students with accommodations for religious practices, language differences, and for students with physical and mental disabilities. All three schools we worked with were ADA-accessible, as well as the location of the Colors of the Rainbow Team Match. We were able to make adjustments for students that were unable to dance, making sure they were still included in the group somehow. For example, at Benjamin E. Mays World School there was an autistic boy that would not dance and had such high anxiety that being involved in the dance circle was detrimental. He became the class DJ and Teaching Artist Assistant, which gave him a sense of responsibility in the group. He was able to connect with his classmates in a way that felt comfortable to him, yet kept him involved in the program. 184 students from three Twin Cities elementary schools learned to dance through Dancing Classrooms. 86% of surveyed parents of participating students reported that they saw a positive change in the way their children felt about themselves as a result of the program.