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Wendy Perron
May. 11, 2015 10:33PM EST

No Child Left Dance-less

Teaching dance in public schools can be filled with joy—but not all the time. The endeavor has to have the support of school principals as well as access to excellent teachers. This month New York area folks will be able to see PS DANCE! a documentary that gives five examples where those two ingredients line up and every kid gets to dance.

Five master teachers in NYC schools—Catherine Gallant, Ana Nery Fragoso, Michael Kerr, Ani Udovicki, Pat Dye—reveal how they use contagious energy to instill the love of dance in their students. All the kids jump in willingly—the shy, the loud, the nerds, the jocks—and they move without fear or inhibition and they speak on camera about how dance stimulates the imagination.

Nel Shelby directed this film with an eye to the innocence of the children and generosity of the teachers. Jody Gottfried Arnhold, initiator of NYC’s blueprint for dance education  (her motto has always been #danceforeverychild), was the mastermind behind the film, and Joan Finkelstein, former director of dance for that NYC Department of Education, was advisor.

For any dancer interested in teaching, this film is valuable and uplifting.

Tune it to where PS DANCE! will be shown:
• Friday, May 15 on Channel Thirteen at 10:30 pm,
• Sunday May 17 on WLIW21 at 3:30 pm and 10:00 pm
• Tuesday, May 26, at NJTV at 10:00 pm.
For more info and to view the trailer, click here.

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