Atlanta Ballet opens doors for young dancers

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Credit: spec

“Skylar has been dancing pretty much her entire life,” said her mother, Jasmine Dodson. “She loves to dance. Even when she’s not at practice, she’s dancing, flipping, doing it all.”

More than 1,200 students are involved in community engagement programs that integrate dance classes into the curriculum at local schools and community centers, offering programs before, during and after school.

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Credit: spec

In addition, 10,000 children will attend an Atlanta Ballet matinee performance through the engagement’s Kids in Step program.

“To have that experience at such a young age, and to expose young people to dance and the arts is so valuable and rewarding for us, and also for them to learn something they may not have ever had an opportunity to,” said Diane Caroll, manager for the Centre for Dance Education community partnerships.

Caroll said that most young people are not exposed to the arts unless they attend a live performance or have had artists or educators visit them in the community.

“So it’s very important to have these programs available to young people,” she said.

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The Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education is the official school of Atlanta Ballet and the sixth-largest dance school in the country.

Caroll, a former professional dancer, has overseen the community initiative since 2014. She is always seeking to expand the program and said there is considerable room for growth.

“It’s exciting and I just try to keep up with the pace,” she said. “Atlanta Ballet is doing great things and is a leader in these programs.”

Students receive instruction from professional dancers and have opportunities for scholarships for further instruction at the Centre for Dance Education.

The program also partners with six metro Atlanta high schools, where more than 460 students participated in the in-class dance instruction last year. Thirty seniors received college scholarships from the community program to further their dance education.

“I feel it’s very important to target young people at a young age so they really see what that could entail and have choices,” Caroll said.

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Skills they learn on the dance floor often bleed over into other areas of life, too. Skylar’s confidence has soared since being on the Atlanta Ballet Academy team, her mother said.

Dance classes are held four days a week at the Michael C. Carlos Dance Studio in Midtown, and Skylar’s mother, grandmother and a family friend coordinate their schedules for the commute from Ellenwood.

At the academy, “she has harder skills, and when she’s able to master those, it boosts her confidence,” Jasmine Dobson said.

“I’m extremely proud of Skylar and to see her growth,” said Caroll, who had been one of Skylar’s instructors at Utopian. “It’s going to be wonderful to watch her grow through the school. I’m really excited for her pathway.”

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Credit: spec

Caroll can relate to many of these young dancers in the community programs. Her life was forever changed when, at age 10, she saw her first professional dancer perform while watching TV in her Brooklyn, New York, apartment.

“That was the first time I had ever seen a ballerina,” she said. “I just couldn’t believe it, and I begged my mom (saying), ‘This is what I want to do. I want to dance.’”

Caroll began her training at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York, continued at a performing arts high school and then auditioned for and received a scholarship to the Ellison Ballet, a year-round dance program in New York City.

“I knew I would need to be dedicated and work hard to get where I wanted to be,” she said. “Had it not been for opportunities of having support for my training, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

“I realized those dreams that I had as a 10-year-old to find a way to explore the world,” she said. “Now I’m so privileged to have a platform to give back to young people who have dreams like that.”

MORE INFORMATION

Corps de Ballet Fashion Show and Luncheon

This is a fundraising event that directly benefits the community engagement programs.