TAMPA, Fla., (WFLA) – Wednesday was a very meaningful day for the kids who live at Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa, they received a surprise during their ballet class.
The group of second to fifth graders were surprised with a pair of ballet shoes.
It was a room full of joy as the kids received their shoes at Metropolitan Ministries, a non-profit that serves at-risk, homeless, and underserved families.
“That we get to learn new things every day, like Wednesdays, we come here and do ballet,” said Malaysia Johnson, one of the dance students.
For Trisha Stever, with the Straz Center, she said all of this is able to happen thanks to a 20-year partnership between the Straz and Patricia J. Sullivan Partnership School.
She said it is Straz’s mission to bring performing arts to underserved communities.
“Arts give the kids another layer of understanding, understanding their body, understanding how to express themselves,” Stever said.
The students getting ballet shoes gives them the flexibility to dance.
“One of the first things you teach a ballet student is how to point their foot. In sneakers, you don’t have that flexibility,” Stever said.
Through this class, they learn balance, how to find their center, and use their body as a whole.
“They’re learning discipline, they’re learning how to stand still, they’re learning how to work as a team,” Stever said.
The saying goes: if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life, and that’s how Stever looks at her job.
“I get to bring the joy of dance and theatre to these kids that don’t normally have access to it,” she said.
What these kids learn in the classroom will be showcased on the main stage when they have their recital.
The kids get to keep the shoes and use them for their upcoming class next week.
For more on Metropolitan Ministries, click here. For the Straz Center, click here. For Sullivan Partnerhsip School, click here.
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