Dancing For Joy, Free Kids Dance Program Offered at Legacy

ALACHUA ‒ Children naturally gravitate toward dancing almost as early as they can walk.  And benefits of dance for children are widely accepted.  From physical fitness to coordination, to balance, strength and posture, dance provides a variety of benefits in early childhood development.  

The City of Alachua has teamed up with the Dance Alive National Ballet (DANB) to bring their dance program for children directly to area youth.  Danceabout is a Dance Alive program for elementary and middle school children that brings dance to the community through experience and education in a fun and uplifting way. According to Outreach Director of Dance Alive Emily Pozek, the concept is “Educate, Entertain, Inspire.” Classes are designed to expose children to the art of dance as both a way to express themselves and a possible future career. 

DANB isn’t new to Alachua as the dance company has performed their annual Christmas Nutcracker performance in Alachua for the past four years as well as other dance performances.  The Gainesville based DANB has been performing over 56 years and has become an internationally recognized ballet company. Education and community outreach have always remained a priority to DANB, and in addition to their established professional school, the company has several programs to bring dance to the community and provide exposure of the arts to people and children that might not otherwise have the opportunity. 

Classes are designed to be fun for the students so they enjoy dancing, all with friendly encouragement from the teacher, Emily Pozek.  Pozek has been providing art based outreach programs to children and hospitals throughout her career. She graduated from the University of Florida with a BFA in dance and was the first graduate to earn a Masters in Arts in Medicine. For over five years, Pozek was the Dancer in Residence for UF Center for Arts In Medicine, as the lead instructor for their Parkinson’s dance program. 

Pozek also taught as an adjunct dance professor in the University of Florida School of  Theater and Dance. In Virginia, she served as outreach manager for Charlottesville Ballet overseeing multiple community programs including Chance to Dance, which provided over 250 elementary students free weekly dance classes.

Now the classes are being offered in Alachua as a joint collaboration between Dance Alive and Alachua’s City's Parks and Recreation Department.  Each Tuesday through March 1, Pozek will be offering free classes and dance experience for children in 1st through 8th grades at the Legacy Multipurpose Center from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. 

About the decision to offer the classes in Alachua, Interim City Manager Mike DaRoza said, “We heard about the school programs Dance Alive has conducted and that these classes made a positive difference in student performance and focus.” To register to attend, DaRoza said parents should call the Alachua Recreation and Culture Department at 386-462-0145.

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Cont: Free classes offered by Dance Alive National Ballet