"If I had no voice, if I had no tongue, I would dance for You like the rising sun and when that day comes and I see Your face, I will shout Your endless, glorious praise"

Years ago when I was first married, without kids, with plenty of time on my hands, I volunteered with an after school arts program at the Salvation Army in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. We had leotards, tights, and shoes donated and the children who lived in public housing across the street would come take ballet. The little girls would take off their school uniforms, wipe the cheetos from their hands, spit out their gum, pull their hair back and be transformed, if only for an hour, into some of the most beautiful little dancers I've ever seen. The beauty was in their spirit. Their pride. Their determination. We would march downstairs past the boxing ring to a little area with mirrors that the boxers allowed us to use one afternoon each week. It was wonderful and difficult and precious and heartbreaking. I took headshots of the girls and we gave these to their mothers at the end of the year performance. Years later one of the little ones who wasn't so little anymore came up to me and said her mother still had that photo beside her bed. It was a darling photo of that angel in a pink leotard, hair pulled back, clean, proud, and beautiful. I was so very thankful to be a part of that amazing group of leaders at Salvation Army and to have known those amazing kids. I loved them dearly.

At the same time, we were attending a small church that was quite diverse in economic status, race, and age. We adored that church. I realized that, as I was giving my time to kids downtown who obviously wouldn't have been able to afford ballet classes, I had families with children in my own church who couldn't afford lessons either. Dance classes are usually quite expensive and we had many families with gifted children who simply couldn't take dance because of finances.  I began teaching classes one night a week to our church family kids who were interested.  I had boys and girls of all ages. My church kids and my inner city kids joined together to put on a show about Jesus' great love for us at the Salvation Army. Honestly, it was a bit of a mess as these were all beginners but it was a beautiful mess! The creative, amazing junior high girls I taught are now mothers themselves but several of those students are still dancing today. I still have the friendships made during those years! 

My love for offering dance to those who might not otherwise be able to take classes was born there in Ohio and that's what we still try to do today with this studio. This program is run mostly by volunteers. There is no way I could do this on my own as it has grown much bigger than anything I could manage. As more teachers have joined our ministry, I have added other classes to give students what I think will benefit them in their artistic pursuits.  I cannot be more thankful for my amazing staff!

My heart is to offer dance to kids of all ages, all backgrounds, all economic levels. We have 'something for everyone', so to speak. But, not something to "sell" everyone... this isn't a business about profits... it's a place where I hope kids can come and take the gifts they have been given, use them, grow them, push their own boundaries, and learn to love God and love people with our whole hearts.