Chaperoning a field trip is tolerable at most. Ususally I walk away with admiration of the teachers we entrust our children to and relief that I am not in their shoes.... but today was different; today I spent the afternoon being inspired by 400 youth and found myself loving it!
Ballet Met Columbus puts on a yearly program called Momentum, an enrichment program using dance as the medium to enhance 4th graders’ ‘excellence, discipline, and self-confidence’ using The Ohio Department of Education’s Dance Content Standards.
Over the school year, dance instructors come to the seven participating schools and instruct the students weekly about movement, self-control, and dance. At the end of the year the students unite as a large collective group to perform on the stage the choreographed program for their parents, teachers, next year’s performers, and donors.
The program was appropriately titled One World - One Beat. It beautifully illustrated cultures from around the world through music and dance. However, what I found more intriguing was the communion of cultures on the stage.
To see a diverse group of kids from the urban and suburban schools uniting was truly inspirational. I have never chaperoned an event that brought tears to my eyes… but today definitely triggered that within me; the kids were alive, electric, and full of confidence— a refreshing expression among a generation faced with many hard realities that were unfamiliar to us when we were kids!
The 3rd graders in the audience were so respectful and captured by the grace of the performers. I am sure they were experiencing the thrill of their schoolmates being on a theater stage and the anticipation of their own dance adventure next year.
I couldn’t help but wish that each child in the world had an opportunity to express themselves like these children did today!
Ballet Met Columbus puts on a yearly program called Momentum, an enrichment program using dance as the medium to enhance 4th graders’ ‘excellence, discipline, and self-confidence’ using The Ohio Department of Education’s Dance Content Standards.
Over the school year, dance instructors come to the seven participating schools and instruct the students weekly about movement, self-control, and dance. At the end of the year the students unite as a large collective group to perform on the stage the choreographed program for their parents, teachers, next year’s performers, and donors.
The program was appropriately titled One World - One Beat. It beautifully illustrated cultures from around the world through music and dance. However, what I found more intriguing was the communion of cultures on the stage.
To see a diverse group of kids from the urban and suburban schools uniting was truly inspirational. I have never chaperoned an event that brought tears to my eyes… but today definitely triggered that within me; the kids were alive, electric, and full of confidence— a refreshing expression among a generation faced with many hard realities that were unfamiliar to us when we were kids!
The 3rd graders in the audience were so respectful and captured by the grace of the performers. I am sure they were experiencing the thrill of their schoolmates being on a theater stage and the anticipation of their own dance adventure next year.
I couldn’t help but wish that each child in the world had an opportunity to express themselves like these children did today!
Bravo!
The performance will be aired on television in Ohio... Although I couldn't get the specific information, if interested you may want to contact Ballet Met Columbus directly.
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