Get Schooled: Matthew Whaley Program Offers Ballet Classes To Students

By Amber Lester Kennedy Friday, December 17, 2010

Tasja Bartlett stands with her back straight, walks with grace, wears her hair in a perfect bun and demurely accepts compliments when they’re offered. She is the very model of an aspiring ballerina.

Three years ago, Tasja took her very first ballet class in an after-school program at Matthew Whaley Elementary School. Tomorrow, she will dance in the Virginia Regional Ballet’s performance of “The Nutcracker” at Phi Beta Kappa Hall at The College of William and Mary.

On Wednesday, she dropped by the basement music room of Julie Jones to visit this year’s dance class. While Tasja stood and listened, Jones described her accomplishments in dance to the girls, who seemed awestruck by the elegant little girl on her way to rehearsal. She is now enrolled in ballet, jazz, character and pre-pointe classes at the Virginia Regional Ballet school, thanks to a sponsorship she earned through Matthew Whaley’s ballet program.

Since 2008, girls have gathered once a week after school for what they informally call “Ballet Club.” When I visited their class this week, they were abandoning the typical structured format in favor of a holiday dance party with their instructors, Cathy Leach and Alexis Hopkins.

 

To the techno beat of Selena Gomez’s “Naturally,” the girls lined up behind their teachers and performed stretches to warm up. From the first head roll, I was having flashbacks to the 10 years I spent in peachy-pink tights, black leotards and pink leather ballet slippers. My mother was a ballet teacher and though I was never really as talented as she, I will always cherish the lessons she taught me.

 

When my muscles feel tight, I do the same warm-up routine I first learned when I was three years old. I flex and point my feet compulsively without even thinking about it. When I want to stand up straight, I remember my dance teachers telling me to pretend an invisible string is pulling up my head. If I’m really honest with you, I’ll share that I almost always cry when I see an excellent ballet performance on TV or in a movie.

Just like any other extracurricular activity, the lessons of dance stay with its participants forever. These girls are not only learning basic stretches and technique; they’re learning how to stay active, how to express themselves and how to move and manage their bodies with grace. And they’re doing it because a teacher saw a need and found a way to fill it in a time of shrinking budgets and cuts to arts programming.

The club began three years ago when Adelle Carpenter, studio director of the Virginia Regional Ballet, volunteered to choreograph “The Nutcracker” for the third grade play at Matthew Whaley. Jones shared with Carpenter that the children had loved the time they spent with a choreographer and Carpenter said that if Jones could find grant funding, Carpenter would provide the instructors for an after-school dance program.

The program became one of the offerings of the School Health Initiative Program (SHIP) that promotes healthy and active lifestyles for children in the WJCC school system. SHIP provides the classes with snacks and transportation, along with funding for classroom sponsor Millie Pegram, a first-grade teacher at Matthew Whaley.

The class is open to girls in the third, fourth and fifth grades, who enter a lottery to be chosen for 24 spots. Jones said priority goes to the girls who might otherwise not be able to afford classes or have available transportation. The class meets for 25 sessions during the school year.

Jones writes the grants each year and although funding is becoming harder to find due to cuts to nonprofits, she secured funding this year through the two local Targets, the Junior Women’s Club of Williamsburg, the Williamsburg Community Foundation, the Optimal Service Group, the Kiwanis Club and the Virginia Regional Ballet. The money pays for two field trips (this year the girls will see “The Nutcracker” and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), along with an end-of-the-year recital, complete with costumes, tights and shoes. This year’s recital will be at 6:30 p.m. on April 27 in Matthew Whaley’s auditorium.

The Kiwanis Club and Virginia Regional Ballet have paid for one-year scholarships for students who show potential in dance to take classes at the Virginia Regional Ballet school. Jones told me that when they planned the program, however, they didn’t plan for funding the scholarship winners' classes after the first year. They were able to find a sponsor to pay for Tasja’s classes this year, but now they aren’t sure how they’ll continue to fund classes for the girls, which cost between $900 to $2,000 a year. It’s stressful, but Jones knows it’s worth it.

“Tasja’s teacher has said this little girl could go to college on a ballet scholarship,” Jones said Wednesday. “By taking these girls to a ballet and a modern dance, they think, ‘One day that could be me.’ I’m as proud of Tasja as if she was my own daughter. I can’t wait to see her on that stage in ‘The Nutcracker.’”

To donate any money to Jones’ projects and classes, visit her page on Donors Choose, an online charity that funnels donations directly to classroom projects. To give money specifically to the dance program, contact Jones by e-mail.