Dance-The Next Generation
Sarasota Ballet of Florida, Inc.

Sixteen-year-old Bridgett Zehr, a DNG graduate, appears as the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker Suite with the Sarasota Ballet.

Photo: Courtesy of Sarasota Ballet of Florida, Inc.

Stick with the program for seven years and you will receive a full four-year scholarship to one of two local colleges, Manatee Community College or the University of South Florida, Sarasota. That’s the extraordinary promise that the Sarasota Ballet has made to children in its after-school program, known as Dance-The Next Generation (DNG). So far, about 45 students have graduated from the 11-year-old program and used dance as a doorway to higher education.

Sarasota is one of the wealthiest areas in the country. It also has, however, many families of limited means. And it is in these families that DNG is most interested. Teachers at neighborhood schools help DNG publicize auditions for the program, held for third-graders with an interest in dance. The children accepted into the program spend from two to ten hours a week, depending on their skill level, at the Sarasota Ballet, taking classes in a variety of dance forms as well as in nutrition, social etiquette, and public speaking.

Classes are small, and communication with parents is emphasized. A tutor offers homework help, and a social worker is available for counseling. As students gain dance skills, they are eligible for small roles in professional productions and to attend the professional training school of the Sarasota Ballet and its International Summer School. They also receive tickets to Sarasota Ballet productions and a host of local theater, opera, and symphony performances.

The program is free to participants, with the Sarasota Ballet picking up the costs for instruction, dance clothing, studio space, costumes, and other production costs as well as transportation.

Whether the children continue to dance or go on to college, everyone agrees that Dance-The Next Generation yields a return well worth the investment. “When you see the students graduate after seven years of dance, discipline, mentoring, and loving support, they have been transformed,” notes Nancy Roucher, arts education chair of the Sarasota County Arts Council. “Most will not become professional dancers and that is not the goal of the program, but they will certainly be knowledgeable arts supporters and, most important, contributors to society.”