This fall, all Grady students had the opportunity to enroll in a new dance class. The idea for the class originated last school year when teacher Lee Pope agreed to sponsor a dance club formed by several students.
“So many students were interested that I decided that it was time for us to put dance back into Grady,” Pope said. “So I talked to the other teachers in fine arts, and they gave in and we created a dance class.”
Pope recalled his experience and struggle with his theater career with little dance training.
“When I was working as a performer in New York, one of the things that was missing was that I couldn’t dance,” Pope said. “There was nothing available at my school for dance when I was growing up. We had acting and singing, but no dancing. So it was really important to me that we have a dance program at Grady.”
While Pope is the class’s official teacher, the course itself is almost entirely led by three students, who each instruct different levels of dance: introductory, intermediate and advanced, which are respectively taught by Karsyn Young, Tsehai Messiah and Allie Schneider.
“It’s really allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone,” Schneider said. “When I first came to Grady, I was kind of shy and a little bit intimidated by everything, but I figured out that if you want something to happen, you can just put a foot forward and make it happen.”
At the beginning of each class, Schneider leads all the students in a group warm-up, after which the three groups split up to practice in different spaces. The class is currently focusing on ballet.
Schneider, an advanced dancer herself, said she has benefitted from the experience.
“It’s been a really rewarding and eye-opening experience,” Schneider said. “There’s a big difference between dancing on my own and actually [leading] a dance class. I have to think about dancing in a different way, because I have to think in greater depth about each step in order to break it down and actually explain everything. I think it may have improved some of my technique because I can apply the changes that I give other people to myself.”
Sophomore Ebet Lansing, one of the advanced students, said she appreciates Schneider’s approach to dance.
“Allie’s an amazing dancer,” Lansing said. “You can just tell that ballet is her thing. She’s really patient, too, which is so important. She’s very understanding toward the people who aren’t as experienced at ballet.”
Junior Layla Muhammad also said she enjoys being mentored by Schneider.
“Allie is really nice,” Muhammad said. “She really helps me a lot with the little things I mess up, and I think it’s really improved my technique. When I go to my regular dance classes, my teachers can really see a difference.”
Pope said that the class has been a great success.
“My goal is to step out of the picture entirely,” Pope said. “I’m hoping to bring in a teacher that has the necessary skill and the background in dance, because there’s only so much a fellow student can do to teach technique. It takes somebody that has actually been out in the field.”
As the class approaches the end of its first semester, many students are thankful for the new program’s existence.
“I feel like I’m learning a lot,” Muhammad said. “At my dance company, we really focus on competition dancing and not enough technique. It feels good to learn the basics.”
Lansing also said that the class has been a rewarding experience.
“I love the class,” Lansing said. “I think it’s great that it really goes out to all levels of dancers, but it’s also a challenging class, even to people like me, who have had seven years of dance experience.”
Schneider hopes that in years to come, the class will continue to spark interest in dance at Grady.
“It’s been a really great experience,” Schneider said. “I’m just happy to see so much passion for dance at Grady. I really hope that it grows more as I’m here and even after I leave.”
