You make me feel like dancing

"One, singular sensation. Every little step they take."

Students in physical education classes at Piñon Hills and Minden elementary schools got a big dose of what it would be like to be a dancer during a program, Dance in the Schools, brought about through a collaboration of several agencies.

For six weeks, ending Friday, children in grades first through sixth have been learning hip-hop, swing, jazz, ballet and even the cha-cha from professional dancer Beth Beasely of the Sierra Nevada Ballet.

"Ow, ow," said the novice fourth-grade dancers as they stretched their muscles to do side leg lifts.

They walked in four lines doing kicks across the gym floor at Piñon Hills, as Beasely tried to teach them control.

"Step up, step up, step kick, control," she ordered.

"A lot of what I'm teaching is based on creative movement," said Beasely, between classes. "It's really promoting proper positioning and posture through jazz, levels of position, choreography and rhythm. We're also working on creativity."

Both Beasely and Youth Development coordinator Shannon Montana of Douglas County 4-H said they were really surprised when the sixth graders chose the cha-cha as their final performance.

"We've had an overwhelming positive response from the kids," said Montana.

Robert Beaty, 10, said "probably the spinning" was what he enjoyed most.

"I like learning new steps," said 10-year-old Mallory Seidlitz, one of the high kickers of the group, who said she's been inspired to take more dance classes.

"A lot of them have never experienced this before," said Beasely, "but once they get over that hurdle, I can't get them to leave."

Dance in the Schools program is not just about fun, but it also satisfies the physical education requirement, said Montana.

"It was developed as a pilot program, a very prestigious program, for California schools," she said. "The teachers found it engaged students in ways they weren't reaching them. It was actually keeping them in schools."

Artistic director of the Sierra Nevada Ballet, Rosine Bena, of Genoa, developed this six-week dance program to meet California and Nevada's physical education standards, she said.

Bena is a "prima" ballerina who has danced internationally for 28 years. Beasely, 31, has been dancing professionally for 13 years, been with Sierra Nevada Ballet since June, and has taught dance within school systems for years.

"It's just an incredible amount of stuff they've been going over," said Montana. "They're learning the basics of all these dance moves. If they see a ballet on TV, they're going to say, 'Oh look. I know what they're doing.' It's so important to learn the arts."

Adaptive P.E. specialist Paulette Irving works with special needs children in physical education classes.

"I think it's nice because it's individually based," said Irving. "Even some children with learning disabilities have been popping out the words. It's really exciting that they're remembering the names of the movements."

The Dance in the Schools program is a joint effort of: Douglas County 4-H; MEFIYI, a non-profit organization which promotes youth athletics; Douglas County School District; and Sierra Nevada Ballet.

Montana said she hopes the program will be considered a pilot for future programs in Northern Nevada schools. But, because of the amount of time involved in coordinating the program, she thinks it won't be back for a couple of years.

"It's huge," said Montana. "I started writing the grant this time last year. I may have to skip a year.

"I just did this in my extra time. It took 25 hours just to coordinate the grant."

Montana worked closely with MEFIYI director JoJo Townsell to write the grant for the program.

Funding obtained through the Nevada Arts Council was enough to sponsor the Dance in the Schools program at just two schools.

" The trick will be to find more funding partners," said Montana. "The Arts Council only has so much money. Next time I'd like to include all the schools."

Students in Ellen Lucas' P.E. classes at Minden Elementary and Doug O'Dell's P.E. classes at Piñon Hills were given "a solid introduction into the basics of dance," according to Montana, who believes in the importance of bringing arts back to schools, since they've mostly been eliminated due to No Child Left Behind.

The program will culminate in live performances at the schools in the next couple of months of an excerpted premiere of the "The Unicorn, The Gorgon and the Manticore," a Sierra Nevada Ballet presentation that will take place at the Brewery Arts Center in May.

"(The students will) be able to see all these things they've been working on," said Montana. "They'll be able to witness the endurance and strength of the dancer."

For more information on the Dance in the Schools program, call Douglas County 4-H Youth Development coordinator Shannon Montana at 782-9960.

Information on the Sierra Nevada Ballet company can be found at www.sierranevadaballet.com.

-- Jo Rafferty can be reached at jrafferty@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 210.