Giving The Gift of Dance: Koresh Kids Dance
Teresa started class by clapping, slapping, stomping out rhythms with her hands and feet. Without speaking, the 30-or-so 5th grade students all responded by repeating her rhythm. After a few minutes, she silently led them on stage, and placed them one-by-one. Once all the students were ready, she belted out the beginning of a call-and-response chant that she uses each week with the kids. The kids clapped, danced and answered back. Since it was the day before Thanksgiving, the chant ended with each students getting a turn to say what they were thankful for. The ten-year olds offered “I’m thankful for my family!” “I’m thankful for my teachers” and “I’m thankful for a roof over my head!”
The enthusiasm, energy and honesty that only kids seem to offer floored me.
But, Teresa didn’t skip a beat. The kids were on to their next warm-up game in which each student showed off a dance move, and classmates echoed their movement. The entire routine ended with the students reciting the tenets of the class while dancing (“I am safe to express myself” “I will respect myself and others” “I will listen when others speak”).
This is no ordinary class. I surely never had a class like this when I was in school.
It’s a class at FS Edmonds, run by Koresh Kids Dance. In tandem with the artistic and outreach mission of Roni Koresh and the Koresh Dance Company, Teresa VanDenend Sorge heads the program (and it's just one of the various outreach programs that Koresh brings to our community). The kids learn about dance theory, explore different ways to express themselves through dance, develop their own choreography, and learn some steps as well. It’s a weekly program that is provided to a select few Philadelphia schools at no cost to the school (FS Edmonds Elementary, D Newlin Fell School, and McCall Elementary). Over half of the children in each of these schools are considered economically disadvantaged. Koresh Kids Dance reaches nearly 200 kids, ages 8-11, in total. Koresh hopes to expand the program to more classes, and more schools.
While I watched the students in the auditorium of FS Edmonds, they began to prepare for their end-of-the-year performance. This major event teaches students teamwork, goal-setting, and the payoff of hardwork. The shows become major school events, costumes and all, with parents and community members in attendance.
After participating in the program, a 5th grade boy (sounding wise way beyond his years) explained, “I like this program because it taught me how to express my feelings through dance… It taught me how to be myself instead of trying to be someone I'm not.” If that doesn’t illustrate the worth of programs like Koresh Kids Dance, I don’t know what would.
Sharen Finzimer the Principal of F.S. Edmonds School said about the program, “The dance instruction has been tremendous for the students. Our parental involvement has increased ten times the usual amount that we document in attendance of school events. Student attendance has improved greatly in the classrooms involved in dance instruction. I cannot say enough outstanding things to highlight the progress of our students involved in this program.”
In an age where arts programs are being cut left and right from public schools, Koresh Kids Dance is a beacon that provides an important outlet for young students, fostering their creativity, communication, and critical thinking skills.
Honestly, I can write and write and write about the good the program brings to schools, but you won’t truly understand it unless you see a class in action. The way that Teresa interacts with the students, challenges them, validates their feelings and their movements… the way she leads them by creating a safe space where creativity flourishes… it’s really something indescribable. A half hour in her class made me rethink the way I teach dance to my 7th graders.
The Koresh Kids Dance program gets major support from the William Penn Foundation and the Dexter F. and Dorothy H. Baker Foundation, and it’s easy for you to support Koresh Kids Dance by making big or small donations, and spreading the word. With more support, Koresh Kids Dance can reach even more young Philadelphians. As Philadelphians, we have to consciously make the choice to support programs that allow kids to organically discover that there are ways to express themselves that don’t involve violence. And as dancers, we have to remember to support dance programs like Koresh Kids Dance to make sure all children have the opportunity to see all that dance offers.
I’m personally honored to have been given the opportunity to catch a small glimpse of what goes on in a Koresh Kids Dance class. During warm-up, Teresa told the kids to write “Thanksgiving” with their hips. It was hysterical, and I won’t say I haven’t been practicing...
*Photographs by Sandy Mitchel
This post was part of the "Giving the Gift of Dance" article series, which highlights just a few of the amazing programs in Philadelphia that bring the beauty of dance to kids in our community at no cost. Check out the introduction to the series, and find links to the other articles in the series here. Read, be inspred, feel good, and spread the word! These programs deserve our attention and our thanks!
Article written by Hannah Lorenzo.
