John Lennon, a Senegalese fishing village, and Mexican culture have a lot in common—they are the centerpieces of dance for nine and ten-year-olds at P.S. 163.
A New York City-based nonprofit, the National Dance Institute this week launched its fifth year of partnership with P.S. 163 on 96th Street. The organization brings weekly dance classes to fourth-grade students each year and puts on performances with different themes, ranging from musical icons to African cultures.
According to organizers, students will learn fundamental techniques this fall, present a small showcase in December, and mount a larger production in the spring—which this year will center on fable traditions from around the globe.
Lead teaching artist Bianca Johnson said she knows firsthand the value of dance in education. She participated in the institute’s program as a child and has been associated with the organization for over 20 years. Beyond her passion for dance, she said she appreciates that the discipline helps students stay active and alert during long periods of standardized testing, while also giving them valuable social skills.
“The kids’ change is astounding throughout the year—they learn great discipline, teamwork, about focus. It’s a pretty huge change,” Johnson said, adding that building up a diverse school community is close to home for her, having grown up across the street from the school grounds.
Wes Webb, the NDI education director, said that the programs are designed to encourage diversity. “It’s incredible and wonderful but the result is that sometimes, the kids tracked according to language may not have the opportunities or any opportunities to interact with students who are of different socioeconomic and racial status,” Webb said.
This year, the school is set on creating a schedule that creates art classes with students from all different levels working together, Webb said, adding that “the whole idea is about creating global citizens, and the way to start doing that is looking at what opportunities to interact we need to create for them.”
For PTA co-president Carrie Reynolds, the program is an opportunity to fill a hole in the Board of Education’s art curriculum. “The fourth-grade experience with NDI is probably one of the best things about fourth grade for these kids,” Reynolds said. “This is their chance to shine in an area that they might not have done before,” she said, adding that the parents also do a lot of fundraising to try to help fill the void in public school arts.
Additional funding for the school’s partnership with NDI comes from Empire State Partnerships, an organization sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Education Department.
The school won an Empire State Partnership Grant again this year, after receiving it for the first time two years prior.
According to organizers, for some students who have completed the program, 45 minutes each week has made all the difference.
“We had one boy who really struggled academically, really had a hard time controlling himself, just had a difficult time coming to school—it was not an enjoyable place for him,” Johnson said. “NDI was able to come in to 163 and give this kid a little bit of hope, some positive reinforcement, and he was a fantastic dancer. All the things that worked against him in the classroom worked for him in NDI.”
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