The Carolina Dance Project

Vital Stats

Lauren F

Chapel Hill, NC

  • people helped50
  • People Doing It10

The Problem

At this point in time, a formal dance education, especially one in classical ballet, is limited to a specific socioeconomic background in the United States. This problem has likely not been addressed, most notably in the Triangle area, because of the large expenses associated with such an undertaking. Due to the fact that a great disparity exists between households’ ability to pay for such an undertaking, there are very few individuals that are able to fully invest in this artistic education. Small organizations also find themselves unable to invest in this sort of measure because of the substantial expenses that would be required of them: a physical dance space with an appropriate floor, dance shoes, and teachers. Although several European states are able to sustain government-funded dance education that allows for a more uniform opportunity to dance, such programs are not found within the United States. Furthermore, In the United States, participating in a formal dance education also requires substantial parental support-especially in the endeavors of classical dance forms, which are often considered to be the most essential foundations of all other dance. The parental support often comes in the form of transporting the child for a significant amount of time to and from the studios, and advocating for the child within the dance school’s myriad of political webs. When parents in a family find themselves tied for time possibly due to working several jobs, the possibility of advocating a dance education for a child becomes increasingly smaller.

Plan of Action

“The Carolina Dance Project” seeks to build a lasting, and fruitful partnership between the UNC-Chapel Hill Dance Community and Maureen Joy Charter School in Durham, NC. By bringing an established dance education program to Maureen Joy Charter and other schools in the community, The Carolina Dance Project will seek to build a life-long love of dance in the participants of the program, and a unifying passion for teaching and dance among the dance community at UNC-Chapel Hill. The project will further establish a friendly relationship between the university and its home community in a new, artistic format. This program will ideally be brought at zero cost to the students of Maureen Joy Charter and other schools in the area, and the organization of the Carolina Dance Project will be responsible for finding adequate funding for the dance supplies required of such an undertaking. By creating a strong foundation of classical ballet among the students, the program seeks to bring an eclectic mix of dance techniques and forms to the students’ horizons. The several diverse student-led dance groups on campus will serve as the source of teachers for the organization, and the organization will draw teachers across several disciplines including western, nonwestern, contemporary, and classical dance forms. The students will receive one classical ballet technique class a week, and another class with varying dance techniques that will rotate on a weekly basis. The students will then be able to show the fruit of their labors to family and friends in biannual performances, ideally, so that dance may be seen as something with an ideal end-product as part of a larger journey as a dancer, an individual, and an artist. Such a performance will not only serve as a creative outlet for the students at Maureen Joy Charter School, but also for the several choreographers, teachers and dancers in the UNC-Chapel Hill dance community.
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Arts in Education

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