DANCING THROUGH LIFE WITH ROBERTO PARRIS

Roberto Parris, High School Wellness Counselor and Academic Coach, launched a new drop-in after-school dance program in introductory hip-hop and Latin fusion for students in Grades 6–12. Students meet one or two times per week over 10 weeks, culminating in a performance showcasing students’ newfound skills. The program is made possible through a generous gift from the Swartz family.

“Dance promotes physical fitness, agility, flexibility, creative thinking, and mental and emotional health and well-being,” Roberto says. “With the introduction of a dance program this past school year, I’ve seen our students become more open to their creative and expressive sides. The arts allow our students to better understand how they feel about certain things, create meaning out of them and connect with others when words fail them, especially during uncertain times.”

As part of a continued commitment to bolstering the creative spaces on campus, the dance studio space in the Herbert Center gym is currently being renovated through a grant from the E.L. Wiegand Foundation and will feature full-length mirrors, a new dance floor, an improved HVAC system and a state-ofthe-art sound system.