This One’s for the Boys!

Discover Dance, AMB’s program of free classes introducing grade-schoolers to ballet, is branching out! Beginning this fall, our collaboration with Girls Inc. will be joined by a new Discover Dance program just for boys, offered in partnership with the NorthStar Foundation.

Boys from NorthStar got their first taste of ballet during Momentum by viewing a dress rehearsal, followed by a Q&A session with several of the company’s male dancers and Discover Dance coordinator Kogan Murphy.

“Many of the boys went into the night feeling hesitant and skeptical (this was a first for almost all of them!), but they all emerged from the performance feeling excited and impressed,” said Jenna Workman, NorthStar’s elementary school academic manager. “It was wonderful to see their horizons expand and their perspectives shift in real time. Everyone involved in the performance was amazing, and I am extremely grateful that you gave us this chance.”

The program will get its official rollout in November, when a group of boys will begin meeting for weekly classes with AMB company artist Marsalis AnderSon-Clausell.

“The boys were so engaged! They asked incredibly thoughtful questions in our Q&A session and you could see their excitement building. I can’t wait for these young men to start working with Marsalis.” – Kogan Murphy