Dance DC

Since 1999, The Washington Ballet has endeavored to reach underserved areas of the DC community through DanceDC, a celebrated education and outreach initiative that has served tens of thousands of Washington, DC public school students.  This unique program combines creative movement with an integrated language arts curriculum in compliance with DC Public School (DCPS) Standards, the National Standards for Dance Education and Howard Gardner's "multiple-intelligence theory."  Today DanceDC classes are taught onsite at Green, Malcom X and JO Wilson Elementary Schools in Southeast Washington DC, Bruce Monroe and John Eaton Elementary Schools and the Sitar Center for the Arts in Northwest DC, and TWB's newest school location, Smothers Elementary in Ward 7 - DanceDC reaches over 700 children each year.

One director and two movement specialists teach this program, which reaches a diverse population of DCPS students.  Seventy-nine percent of students currently participating in DanceDC are African-American, 16 percent are Hispanic, 3 percent are Caucasian and 2 percent are Asian. More than 70 percent live at or below the poverty level.

The goal of The Washington Ballet's DanceDC program is help students:

• Engage in a program that supports DC Public School efforts to improve reading test scores and vocabulary comprehension and provides opportunities for creative thinking
• Learn teamwork through cooperative learning.
• Develop a greater sense of self-esteem, confidence and discipline
• Study the principles of dance and gain an appreciation for the arts.

Through DanceDC, an increasing number of students have been introduced to the arts via integrated classroom instruction, fostering a strong relationship between the arts and cerebral learning.

The achievements of DanceDC prompted The Washington Ballet to implement a unique scholarship program enabling girls and boys from DanceDC schools to receive free ballet classes and dance attire. The program, called EXCEL!, provides students with the same high-caliber training offered at The Washington School of Ballet in Northwest Washington, DC in the unique facility that houses a satellite campus of The Washington School of Ballet in Anacostia.

One of the major components of The Washington Ballet’s mission is “to serve and involve the entire community through extensive dance education and outreach programs.” DanceDC embodies this facet of the organization’s mission, which not only makes the community stronger but invigorates and inspires the entire organization.

For more information about DanceDC and EXCEL! call TWB@THEARC at 202.889.8150.