WEST COLUMBIA, SC -- There are some definite perks to being a fifth-grade student in Lexington Two – and one of them is the Day of Dance.
The annual event, in its 10th year, invites fifth grade students to Busbee Creative Arts Academy, one of the district’s arts magnet schools, to participate in a day of dance classes, with a performance later that same day. There are typically four master dance classes offered, among them jazz and hip-hop, as well as sessions on related topics like musical theatre and creative movement.
When the event started a decade ago, only fifth-graders from the district’s other arts magnet school, Saluda River Academy for the Arts, participated. The event was so successful that it was opened to the district’s other elementary schools.
Fifth-grader Gabriella Dorsch of Saluda River Academy for the Arts said she liked musical theater the best: “I do theater, and I also like dance, so when it ties together … BOOM. It is perfect!”
Kayla Jennings, a dance instructor at Saluda River Academy for the Arts, said the day goes beyond just teaching skills.
“The Day of Dance is a valuable learning experience for our fifth-grade students, because they have the opportunity to learn from other teachers, see what the inside of a middle school looks like during the school day, and get to know other fifth-grade students from the district,” Jennings said. “I had several fifth-grade students tell me that they felt better about going to middle school, and they got to meet new people.
“Dancing brought them together.”