Help Build Ballet Program Sustainability! Please contact us for more information.

 

Consider sponsoring a Beginning, Elementary or Intermediate student or class! In effort to create real sustainability, annual sponsors are sought for this amazing and unique program. Donations are graciously accepted.

Sponsor a student:

• Beginning Dancers (2x weekly classes): $700.00

• Elementary Dancers (2-4x weekly classes): $1,300.00

• Intermediate Dancers (3-5x weekly classes & transportation as needed): $2,200.00

Sponsor a class:

• Beginning Class (2x weekly classes): $8,750.00

• Elementary Class (3-4x weekly classes): $13,000.00

• Intermediate Class (5x weekly classes & transportation as needed): $22,000.00

Additional items on the Ballet Wish List:

• Washer & Electric Dryer for daily laundering of Ballet Clothing

• Van or mini-bus (8 passenger) in very good condition for student transportation

For securities, please contact Sindi Westberg at 602-707-2032 or email cwestber@osbornnet.org

 

The program can also be supported through Tuition Tax Credit donations to Encanto or Clarendon Schools.

 

The program offers ballet training after school for 110 boys and girls from third to eighth grades annually with a focus on discipline and related academic studies. The Osborn School District Ballet Program offers profession- oriented ballet training after school for boys and girls with related studies, activities and fieldtrips. Currently in its eighth year, it has contributed to improved student achievement and added additional depth and breadth of education and experience. Most students would not be able to participate in dance lessons were they not offered free of charge, and with some transportation provided. Proceeds from the Ballet Builder will support program costs including a regular pianist.

The program annually attracts in excess of 60 fourth through sixth graders from Clarendon School with an additional 50 third grade students from sister school Encanto and continuing seventh and eighth grade students from Osborn Middle School. The overarching goal is to make professionally oriented ballet training available to students who do not have access to it. Students have earned the privilege of auditioning with professional dance companies and receiving scholarships for further study. The Ballet Program is recognized as an A+ Exemplary Program by the Arizona Educational Foundation and has recently received the prestigious Arizona School Boards Association Golden Bell 1st Place Award for 2009.

The program includes academic work and Nutrition classes in addition to dance study. Beginning dancers attend two-hours per week, in separate boys’ and girls’ sections. More advanced students attend up to five days per week. The Ballet Program curriculum consists of classical ballet technique, ballet terminology (in the French language), and ballet history is included with general historical background as a reference for understanding and context. Instruction also includes an introduction to music as it pertains to training, history and performances. The Ballet Program addresses the Arizona Department of Education Arts standards in the area of dance. All students participate in extra-curricular studies, read from the ballet library, and can participate in supervised study hall, tutoring, and homework support.

To date the program has served more than 625 students since its inception in the fall of 2003. Many of the students served would not be able to afford the cost of professionally oriented dance instruction. The Osborn Ballet Program is open to Osborn students at Encanto, Clarendon, and Osborn Middle School for an annual fee of $2 and is supported by Tax Credit donations, the Osborn Educational Foundation, and the 21st Century Community Learning Center after-school grant.