Dancing Out Of Poverty INTRO: Immigrants from all over the world move to Washington, D.C. looking for new opportunities. Some don’t know much English when they arrive. But at one elementary school, they’re learning the universal language of music—and dance. Kim Riemland has the story. SCRIPT: (Locator: Washington, D.C.) Teacher: “You feel tall? You feel long?” Student: “When I grow up, I want to be an ice skater.” Teacher: “Nice long back.” Student: “I would like to be a vet.” Her students’ families come from Ethiopia, El Salvador, and many other countries. Student: “…a doctor and a ballet teacher.” Teacher: “Right on the music.” Dance instructor Barbara Gaskill wants to help make dreams come true for children of immigrants in Washington, D.C. Barbara Gaskill/Founder, The Ballet Studio: “It just changes their whole self-image. They’re doing something special.” Gaskill had her own dream: a ballet company for these children. Her church, Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist, helped her launch the project. Teacher: “Stretch. Get it straight.” Now, with the help of the church and other donors, she dances her way into the lives of inner-city families…teaching youngsters the discipline and grace of ballet. Erica Hodge/Dance Student: “I like ballet because it was invented by a French king.” The dance of kings may help these elementary school students learn more than plies. They’ve ventured beyond the boundaries of neighborhood poverty. Some have gone on to prestigious high schools and universities. It might not have happened without ballet. Rosa Santos/Parent : “She will have more opportunity in a lot of places since she learned how to dance ballet.” Barbara Gaskill/ Founder, The Ballet Studio: “I think it’s at least as important as library funding or any other school program.” (Piano music plays) Gaskill says many of these students may not become professional dancers... Teacher: “Thank you, Erica.” …but she says the self-esteem and the lessons they learn here can last a lifetime.
TAG: The Ballet Studio opened in 1992. Barbara Gaskill, who also teaches dance history and appreciation at the University of Maryland-College Park, says she didn’t know the program would attract so many international students. She’d like to find a larger home for the program so she can teach more students and offer summer classes. For more information, call 202-244-3512.
Also see Dance of kings helps inner-city youth.
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