No Dancer Left Behind Scholarship Program

Introduction

The three-year-old nonprofit organization provides free dance lessons to disadvantaged children ages 6 to 19 at the Diversity Dance Center in Sunrise, Florida. Since 2012, the NDLB program has given out $10,000 in scholarships, but much more in life skills. Beyond a solid dance education, the program helps students overcome the many possible obstacles they can face outside of the dance school, such as bullying, gang violence and teen pregnancy.

Main Item

Founded by Artistic Director/Choreographer Terrica Maura and her mother Cassie Maura-Rahming, Assistant Director, NDLB goes well beyond dance instruction to shape participants into self-confident, poised performers and citizens.

NDLB provides full scholarships to qualified disadvantaged youth of all genders and ethnicities, as well as those with special disabilities such as autism and mental challenges. The commonality is their passion for dance and inability to finance lessons on their own. NDLB teaches them an array of dance styles such as: ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, hip hop, tap, liturgical, African and more. All experience levels are welcome. The most talented train and participate in competitions and charitable and local events under the name "Fierce Creationz."

Maura-Rahming states:

"Our mission is to empower deserving youth with strong leadership and social skills through technical dance training that builds self-confidence and minimizes obesity. While using dance as our platform, we also encourage good eating habits by offering healthy snacks and literature for parents to take home to assist in preparing healthy foods to fight childhood obesity." Good hygiene is also encouraged. Participants receive mini gifts throughout the year for maintaining these important body care necessities."

"Our program and dance style are unique. I have never seen anything like them in Florida. Our choreography is physically demanding as well as artistic. The intensity of our dance training prepares our youth for college level dancing."

In the words of Artistic Director-Choreographer Terrica Maura, who has trained and danced professionally:

"Many of our students were afraid to dance in front of their peers. The positive reinforcement of training with me and our other instructors enhances their self-image. These kids start to act like professional rock stars on stage. It's beautiful to see the transformation."

The community-based organization began in May 2012 in the City of Sunrise, Florida. Terrica Maura and her mother Cassie were inspired by the many children visiting the Diversity Dance Center wanting to take classes but whose parents did not have the financial means to pay tuition.

"Eventually, we started spreading the word that a limited number of scholarships were available to those who can prove their hardship. We chose the City of Sunrise because of its high proportion of single, low-income parents. With so many growing families nearby, we felt this ethnically diverse community had great potential to produce some incredible dancers. We only wish we could take on more students," concludes Terrica Maura.

Attribution/Source(s):

This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World due to its significant relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by No Dancer Left Behind Inc., and published on 2014/12/27 (Edit Update: 2023/04/18), the content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. For further details or clarifications, No Dancer Left Behind Inc. can be contacted at +1 (925) 548-7758. NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranties or endorsements related to this article.

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Cite This Page (APA): No Dancer Left Behind Inc.. (2014, December 27 - Last revised: 2023, April 18). No Dancer Left Behind Scholarship Program. Disabled World. Retrieved October 10, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/disability/education/scholarships/dancer.php

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