DNG In Action

DNG IN ACTION Every weekday afternoon, students are picked up after school in The Sarasota Ballet’s DNG vans and transported to the DNG studios where they change into dance clothes and shoes provided for them at no charge. The children enjoy a healthy snack provided by our wonderful partner All Faiths Food Bank, supervised homework time with adult mentors, and at least an hour of dance instruction each day. To ensure there is no obstacle to participation, the DNG program is free to the students and their families. From transportation, dance instruction, dance clothing, dance shoes, mentoring, enrichment activities, and tickets to The Sarasota Ballet’s main-stage company performances, these resources are completely free to the participants.

DANCE AND ADDITIONAL SKILLS DEVELOPED Students receive instruction in ballet, jazz, elements of dance, and choreography in a progressive curriculum. Research has shown that studying dance benefits children’s lives by teaching the importance of discipline, effort, focus, time management and teamwork. 10

MENTORSHIP Two afternoons a week, students participate in one hour of supervised homework time guided by an adult mentor with access to a state-of-the-art computer lab. This helps build consistent study habits beginning in third grade and continuing all the way through their senior year in high school. From sixth grade, students are also eligible to join Take Stock in Children’s mentorship program.

ENRICHMENT DNG brings in guest speakers such as The Child Protection Center and Manatee County Animal Services to cover life skills dealing with such issues as bullying and staying safe on the internet to “how to be a responsible pet owner.” A particularly exciting opportunity for the students this past year came through a partnership with the Junior League’s Kids in the Kitchen program.

PERFORMANCE All students have the excitement of performing in their annual performance, and some students have also performed with The Sarasota Ballet in John Ringling’s Circus Nutcracker. Families are also invited free of charge to experience The Sarasota Ballet in performance.