#chappelow

We only have 41 hours left in our indiegogo campaign. Help us reach our goals!

Local belly dancer and yoga teacher Sandy Myers came in to work with students toward the end of the reaches in the photo, the kids are really working. It's so great to see them giving it their all. 

I've had a lot of people asking me to post the letter given to me by the 8th grade dancers after our last dance concert. I was finally able to type it up today.  5/16/13 (our last performance date) So you have regularly asked us what dance means to us this year. Usually answers were vague and not meaningful, but now that it's our last year here, I feel that I speak for everyone when I write this. Here is the final answer of what beauty means.  When you used to ask what dance means to us, you would get the answer, “I don't know.” That was also when many of us didn't talk because of cliques. There are the “jocks, populars, nerds, psychos, lovers, haters, swag kids, etc.” (and yes, we have cliques like this middle school sadly.) Now we have all grown and when we dance we are one. There are no silly grudges and fights, when we dance it is passion and love. It is probably the only time we all share something in common. Dance has bonded all of us and given each of us room to grow. Together we have experienced laughter, joy, pain (lots and lots of pain/injuries.)  Dance is an escape, a gateway to freedom. It is the only way we can express what beauty means to us freely, YOU are the reason that all of us know how truly beautiful we are, inside and out.  To sum it all up, it's not what dance means to us, it's what you mean to us. You're the reason we have dance at school and the only reason we have fallen in love with dance. So, thank you Ms. Leggett, you are why we are TITANIUM. We love you!!! From your 2012-2013 8th Grade Dancers It is signed by many students, several have nicknames they earned over the last two years written after their names.  It makes me very sad to think that they may go on to never dance again. I hope they do continue to dance, that they don't wait for me to push them along.

Chloe, a Chappelow 7th grader, has been working on this piece for several weeks this summer in the courtyard at the apartment complex. She had her mom record her performance, complete with costume and edited music, so it could be shared so everyone could see how much she learned in dance classes last year.

Help Keep Chappelow Dance Alive. 

The end of the video is maybe my favorite thing ever. Chappelow students aren't well off for the most part, some of them don't have internet access at home. Lindy has never heard of tumblr, but she knew it existed and that I was posting stuff about the Chappelow Dance Program on it. 

I also love that she included her drawings. How cool is that?

Maddi was an eighth grade student at Chappelow last school year. Prior to dance at Chappelow she had no experience with the art. She's an insanely creative and intelligent kid with a lot to say and a lot of personality with which to say it. It wasn't until we made this video that I really knew how important dance had become in her life. 

Big shout out to Carissa Tobias at Northern Colorado Dance Fusion for continuing to teach Chappelow students and letting me use your studio space to make this recording. 

Keep our Dance Program Alive.

Savannah had knee surgery during this past school year. While I knew she was a star (she ended up dancing with us the previous May even though she wasn't in any dance classes) it wasn't until after the surgery that I saw that star truly shine.

Once she was able to get up and dance again without the pain she had been experiencing she became a leader in her class. She is never afraid to step outside her comfort zone to try something new or different. That willingness is all that most dance teachers can ask their students to give.

Keep our Dance Program Alive.