Educate and empower at-risk children through dance

DANZAREA continues to thrive despite the current global and local challenges. Among our goals for 2021 are to continue the virtual dance classes. We will transition into the in-person dance classes in small groups starting mid-year always taking in consideration local sanitary rules and conditions. We are also happy to announce that we have started a class of contemporary dance for the younger brothers and sisters of our students. These are children between 4 to 6 years old and our goal is to create learning and happy environments for our students and their families. Our program will continue to serve up to 60 students this year. Our motto is Educating through Dance. However, our approach to education is holistic. We started the school year with an “organization campaign” to empower our students to organize their time and chores. We continue with the tutoring sessions for our students who have had difficulties with school assignments as they proved to cause good academic results. We are also in the process of hiring our Academic Coordinator who will oversee all issues related to academic support for our students. It has always been important but more relevant in today´s world since our students live in at-risk neighborhoods with low to no connectivity. Our goals are to avoid school dropout and to encourage academic achievement and high school completion. In alliance with one of our sponsors, our students have received a workshop on basic financial education. It is one of several workshops, they will receive to learn the importance of saving and managing their individual and family resources. We are also a place for professional development of our teachers. Between March and April, all our dance teachers participated numerous hours of training in preparation for the new school year. The training consisted of contemporary dance classes, aerial conditioning, and dance technique. In addition, one of our dance teachers participated in a Social Circus Training which is very important to be able to use circus techniques to develop a learning environment connected to the community. Social Circus training also uses the Arts as a tool for individual development. We have been very active and finding learning opportunities for the growth of our students, our teachers, and collaborators. We will continue to adapt to the current situation but always doing our best to provide with learning opportunities for our students, their families, and the community.