This May, Esperanza’s Dance Majors capped off the semester with a recital unlike any other. Under the tutelage of Tania Ramos-Oton, the Esperanza Academy Dance Ensemble has achieved many accomplishments and won many awards and titles across the city of Philadelphia. From the beginners to the experts, Dance majors showed not only a range but also a refinement of style.
From individual performances…
to group performances…
the students showed off their depth and dexterity in hip-hop, jazz, ballet and modern interpretive dance in front of a packed house of friends, family, and community supporters in the Esperanza Academy Auditorium.
The tight-knit nature of the program creates the right conditions for alumni of Esperanza Academy to come back and mentor other young dancers as well as lends the opportunity for collaborative choreography. These relationships strengthen the community and allow students to visualize their dance education beyond graduation.
The art of dance allows students to be vulnerable in a way that they may not be otherwise. Themes of self-doubt, frustration, gratitude, and triumph were expressed throughout the performances creating a safe and healthy space for alternative expression.
However, it’s the technique taught at Esperanza Academy that helps our students take their talent and turn it into real-world success. This discipline is evident not only in their performances but also their behavior in the classroom and outside of the school setting.
In the end, the goal of education is to empower our students to pursue success in the fields in which they are passionate. The Dance major enhances students’ bodily awareness and health as well as gives them a deeper connection to anatomy. physics and math through rhythmic and spatial reasoning. Whatever our Dance majors decide to pursue, they will be equipped with the grace and discipline to do so.
Esperanza is incredibly proud of yet another class of Dance majors bringing their semester to a fierce and skillfully executed close!
