By Danielle Robinson-Prater | Director
Happy Spring from Minnesota! I hope this message finds you and yours well. Thanks to your generous support, I am writing to update you on the progress of our Youth Outreach Project at Zenon Dance School.
The Youth Spring Session is starting this week in full swing, with classes at Zenon and off-site partnerships with local park and recreation centers. Our mission this school year is to forge unbreakable bonds, empower our youth communities, and conquer challenges with unwavering determination. Together, we create a brighter future filled with endless possibilities.
Our Winter Session provided ten weeks of outstanding dance programming to youth in greater Minneapolis communities and on-site at Zenon’s studios. On-site classes from January through March added modern and ballet classes for ages 11-14 and expanded the Creative Movement classes for ages 3-4, welcoming over 30 students weekly. We partnered with Minneapolis Park and Recreation centers to offer Youth Hip-Hop classes for age groups 5-8 and 9-12, reaching students in their local communities for six weeks. This partnership will continue through the spring session for an additional six weeks, and we look forward to adding more classes in the fall.
The Winter Session culminated in celebrating youth dancers with families and friends in an open studio classroom. The open studio highlighted the dancers’ progress after winter classes, and they shared their dancing wiggles in a safe space with a welcoming audience.
The Spring Session will provide on-site youth Creative Movement, Ballet, Modern, and Hip Hop classes for dancers ages 3–14 and culminate in a final Spring Showcase at the TEK Box performance space in the Hennepin Center for the Arts. This performance opportunity helps students transition their dance skills from the classroom to the stage, dancing with production (lights and sound) and an audience.
Even though it is just Spring, we are planning ahead for the busy Summer months with community partners, Camp Zenon, and our Summer Session. Summer youth programs include a partnership with MacPhail Center for Music (a community music school providing individual music lessons and group classes in over 35 instruments and voice) to dance with students ages 7-11 and explore how music and movement partner well together in two–one–week Sampler Camps; two-one-week on-site summer camp opportunities for ages 4 through 10; and an entire session of weekly classes. Additional partnerships with community organizations are unfolding now, and I look forward to sharing them with you in the July newsletter.
Your generosity has profoundly impacted students this winter, spreading the joy of dance and touching the hearts of many. We are immensely grateful for your unwavering support and steadfast partnership in our mission to empower young dancers in Minnesota. Together, we are making a difference, one dance step at a time.
Warm regards,
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