When two Hockaday students were searching for a way to incorporate social impact into their education, they thought, “What better way to be impactful than to dance?” Maddy Grace Sporl and Jane Taten decided to introduce elementary school students to the fine arts by teaching third and fourth-graders dances to perform for their parents.
The Hockaday School’s top dance classes aim to participate in social impact every year, led by the student leaders of the class.
“Hockaday is trying to move in the direction of making classes and school more social impact-oriented,” Sporl says. “Kids who might not have the best day at school or the best home life get to come in and just dance. At the end of the day, social impact is about happiness and bringing people together.”
The girls’ two dance classes traveled to Foster Elementary to teach jazz and hip-hop. Later, the students performed what they learned for their parents and teachers.
“Especially because of COVID, we are always on social media wanting to be a certain way and look a certain way,” Sporl says. “Dance is all about expressing who you are and expressing yourself and your gifts and talents. We really see the kids shine.”
The idea came when Sporl and her classmates visited an elementary school last year to perform for the students and wanted to find a way for the students to get involved.
“It’s like the little kid in the Spider-Man jacket showing his Spider-Man signs. Just getting them to embrace their personalities and expressing who they are,” Sporl says.
When it comes to social impact, the girls are also looking for ways to bring the art of dance to people who don’t have the opportunity to participate. To give elementary schoolers an opportunity to participate in the dance world, Taten organized a costume drive to donate dance costumes to the Foster Elementary students. Taten received so many costumes that she is looking to other organizations like South Dallas Cultures to donate to.
“We could dance for things like money or ourselves, but we do it because it brings more joy to be able to teach these classes,” Taten says.
Though this year’s children’s performance is over, Hockaday dance students are also bringing the fine arts to neighborhood senior centers by performing an excerpt of their ballet on Dec. 14.
