Students of the Central Indiana Dance Ensemble (CIDE) combined their passions for dance and community this past holiday season by sharing the beauty and grace of dance to local girl scouts and to youth in attendance at educational workshops held in area libraries.
CIDE dancers brought the beauty and grace of dance to nearly 200 girl scouts from 12 separate troops in Hamilton and Boone counties by attending their meetings and helping them earn their coveted Dancer Badge. Over 20 CIDE Senior Company Members visited dozens of children (ages 5 to 9/grades K-3) from the Carmel, Westfield and Zionsville school systems. The high school performers graciously offered over 50 hours of combined volunteer time to share their love of ballet with these young girl scouts.
“By enthusiastically teaching fundamental ballet positions and moves, performing snippets from our Nutcracker dances, and allowing these young girls to choreograph their own Nutcracker variations, our dancers were able to kindle an appreciation of the fine arts in the minds and hearts of these girls,” said Ashley Jacobs, Co-Artistic Director of CIDE.
Troop leaders said they truly loved the connections that were formed and praised the dancers for the pure joy they brought to the event.
Additionally, CIDE proudly showcased educational workshops at the Carmel, Westfield, and Zionsville public libraries, at which over 300 children happily attended to learn more about The Nutcracker, which the dancers performed in, and the history of the ballet, while they enjoyed excerpts from the show.
CIDE culminated its efforts to give back to the community with a free Nutcracker performance at STAR Bank Performing Arts Center to an audience of over 1,000 underprivileged local youth.
Jacobs summed up the experience for all of CIDE: “We are grateful for these opportunities to serve our local communities by educating, inspiring, and performing.”
To learn more about CIDE, including its mission, history, and upcoming shows, visit cidedance.org.