TAMPA, Fla. — Learning how to dance ballet without proper ballet shoes can be quite difficult, which is why Tuesday was a big day for some fourth and fifth graders at Patricia J. Sullivan Partnership School in Tampa.
“At first, I’m just a newborn baby. So, I didn’t know anything, and then after I started getting to know everything, then it became easier,” said one student about learning ballet.
The Straz Center, which offers free ballet classes to these students every Tuesday, donated proper ballet shoes.
Hannah Box is with the Straz Center, and she’s been teaching many of these students how to dance ballet for years now, seeing their progress.
“They may have started out being a little unsure about ballet, and now we’re on our third year together, and they are very enthusiastic. They’re already ready to perform on stage,” said Box.
She said ballet has personally saved her life several times.
“So, to be able to give that joy and share my passion for the art form and hopefully give these children another tool for self-expression and hopefully a way to cope and feel more joy in the world,” said Box.
She knows that for some of these kids, dancing can be a distraction. Some are home insecure and live in Metropolitan Ministries’ homeless shelters.
“A very important thing, for me, as a teacher, is to make sure that kids that are dealing with the heaviness of the world much earlier than other kids may have to, that they get to experience the same fun and joy and expression that every kid truly has a right to,” said Box.
