1. Paddles Up - Dance Studio Expansion

Duchesne’s dance program, founded within the last three years, has grown to represent the pride, spirit and tradition of sisterhood within the school community. Currently housed in the Hutcheson Fine Arts building, the studio is sized for up to six dancers. Needless to say, the enthusiasm for dance has outgrown our current capacity and it’s time to honor the needs of our girls and pay homage to our own “Dancing Queen,” Patricia Swenson whose passion for music and dance can be honored by naming this new state of the art space after her.

This year’s paddles up hopes to raise funds to expand the dance studio to triple its size. An expanded space, fully equipped with dance appropriate flooring, ballet barre and mirrored walls would allow the existing dance program to thrive and make way for a full expansion of dance across divisions.

The Dance Studio Expansion allows for:

• Expansion of the dance program to Lower School girls which could allow for the additional opportunities to offer Pom, Hip Hop, Tap, Jazz, and Ballet after school.

• Offer 5th grade dance programming.

• Allow 7th and 8th grade dancers access to a studio setting, relocating them from the current Fine Arts lobby.

• Build upon current dance offerings in Upper School and eliminate scheduling conflicts with other Fine Arts and Athletic classes and activities.

A revitalized and enlarged studio would allow for warm up and choreography space for the Charger Girls before school, accommodate after school programming for Lower School girls, who wish to dance at Duchesne and expand the dance elective for Middle School dancers.

So get your jazz hands ready and raise your paddles for Duchesne Dance!