DANCE
says of the importance of offering all
children extracurricular enrichment.
“This gives children a sense of normalcy and belonging. They come in
and they’re so happy. And everyone is
together so all the girls feel at home.”
The school also plans outings for students, such as their “Bowling in Tutus”
event, to promote team bonding, and
the dance team participates in a number
of charitable events each year. While no
boys are currently enrolled, they hope to
have boys join in the future.
The school’s main subsidy program
is the Blossoms Sisters Dance Scholarship Fund, which covers a considerable
portion of tuition for many students. The
fund is supported largely through ticket
sales from a year-end recital and benefit
concert, as well as through a variety of
small grants. Elliott is actively pursuing
additional grants to help them reach
even more underprivileged children,
and to help finance a “Dream Fund” to
help some students take classes for free.
“For some families, paying anything
at all is really difficult, and this is often a
child’s only after school activity. So it’s
important that we help those children
38
stay here,” Elliott says.
The school is also planning a
February 2017 fundraiser called
“Keep Dancing Your Heart” to raise
money for their programs.
While the majority of students are
from Hackensack, the aspiring dancers
travel in from many areas, including
Englewood, Teaneck and Paterson.
“In many areas where our students
live it’s not safe to go outside and play,
so this gives them a safe place to come
learn and have fun,” says Shaw, noting
that the school recently partnered with
the Ce nter for Hope and Safety to
offer dance therapy to children at that
organization.
“We knew their population was in
need of more enrichment programming,
so we were able to provide three
scholarships to children there to come
here for classes,” Shaw adds.
The school also relies on the generosity
of the community, including their volunteers, who help with everything from
running events to teaching classes, as
well as those who donate money and
clothing. “The Girl Scouts does a yearly
drive for us to collect gently used shoes
and dancewear, and we get donations
directly from [the dance wear company
Capezio] also,” says Shaw, noting that the
school is especially in need of gently used
or new shoes and monetary donations.
“We couldn’t do this alone,” Shaw
says, “so we’re incredibly grateful for
the support of the community.”
And they’re not the only ones who
are grateful.
“We get letters from the girls and
their parents all the time, telling us how
much this means to them, and that
they’ve never been this happy before
and they never feel as good as when
they dance,” Shaw says with a smile.
“Hearing that, that just makes it all
worthwhile.” ●
For more information on the school’s
February benefit and how to donate,
visit blossomsistersdance.org.
TOP LEFT: JEREMY SMITH; TOP RIGHT & BOTTOM: TAV JINIVIZIAN
COMMUNITY SUPPORT Blossom Sisters dance students (above) take a bow after performing at
the Sugar Hill Gang 25th anniversary concert at Hackensack High School. (Right) A trio of dancers
at the Blossom Sisters Dream Scholarship Fund performance. (Below) The school’s younger dancers
take the stage.