As a dance instructor, it was a great privilege to work with youth dancers and their fathers. Their passion and love for ballroom and latin dancing grew each time they danced together. We set the goal to perform in front of our community at a local event and started working on our Salsa choreography and the performance.
Our youth group classes began with simple Foxtrot classes. It was designed to teach youth dancers on how to have great postures and find elegance and gracefulness within themselves. Our students fell in love with ballroom and latin dancing and that's when we knew that having a challenge would create a positive outcome for them as dancers and growing youth.
We met with one of the well-known local organizations, On Broadway, Inc. They host various family events in our local area. One of their great events, LeVitt AMP Music Series, is designed for families to come and enjoy the live music by various musicians. When we reached out, they suggested about performing at one of their events. Within 6 weeks of preparation, our youth dancers and their fathers were ready and excited to perform their Salsa in front of their community.
The performance was a great success. Not only because they performed so nicely but because they grew from the experience. They pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to be in front of others. They had to gather their strength, courage, and trust in their partners to be out there and perform. Both of our youth dancers, Ariella and Shayleigh, shared how exciting and fun ballroom dancing has been; "It is really fun. It teaches you how to be elegant and graceful...I'd recommend to other youth dancers to at least try it."
Many things had to happen in order for our youth dancers to experience what they have experienced. First, their supportive parents encouraged them to try out and pursue dancing as their new hobby. Also, their fathers had to make extra efforts to dance with them as their partners. One of our fathers, Sean, shared that "Dancing is not really my thing but I wanted to try it for the girls." His dedication, commitment, and willingness to try something for his daughters have touched many people's hearts including his daughters. They mentioned that "It was nice to have these memories with dads."
Also, other students' support and cheers encouraged our youth dancers immensely. Before the public performance, our youth dancers performed at one of our social dance parties. Other students cheered and encouraged our youth dancers and their fathers. They shared the excitement of the coming up performance and provided the warmth that they needed to perform.
We are so privileged to have our students; they are so encouraging, brave, courageous, and supportive. As a result, the culture at our studio is warm, inviting, and encouraging; like a family! This kind of environment is what youth needs as they grow older; to pursue and love something with others that are supportive of their growth and visions.