The Allan Hancock College Dance Department has been wildly popular for quite some time, so much so that a Youth Dance program has been a welcome supplement, providing guidance in various dance styles to local elementary, middle school, and high school students
The current director of the Youth Dance program at the college can attest to the quality and effectiveness of the program, having attended herself a few decades ago.
“I started dancing through the children’s program at Allan Hancock since I was 6,” said Courtney Grimnes. “I continued with that until I was 18 and danced through all the advanced programs. I was dancing with the company that we still currently have.”
Grimnes’ experience growing up and performing for the Youth Dance program has certainly informed her almost 10 years of directing the program herself.
“I have a love of the program, and I have committed myself to it, so that it is here for the future generation,” she said. “I see the importance of it because it’s all about the kids. That’s really what is comes down to.”
And Grimnes has a diverse array of talent to draw from in creating a dance recital, all by students who aren’t even adults yet. They’re mostly from Santa Maria, but a few come from Guadalupe, Nipomo, and Arroyo Grande.
“The kids get really awesome life skills from the program: goal setting, self-discipline, and my favorite is to see them develop confidence in themselves,” Grimnes said. “And Allan Hancock College has been really good at meeting the demand for dance classes and providing them for younger students.”
The college offers dance classes in many styles. Ballet is a no-brainer, and often fills with young girls on their way to becoming ballerinas, but from there, Grimnes explained, their interest may move in another direction.
“As they start to grow up and get older, they start to see other styles and so maybe they try jazz dance or ballet folklorico,” she said.
After the students graduate from the basic programs with experience—but also age—they’re admitted to the advanced classes if they pass an audition for the advanced program.
“We have a corps right now of 10 girls who are the most advanced girls who have auditioned and been accepted into the company,” Grimnes said. “We like to provide them with different opportunities; we let them dance lead roles in outside productions or events.”
One 16-year-old advanced student, Grimnes explained, has actually tried her hand at choreography for the upcoming recital. Lyrric Burgos, a student at Pioneer Valley High School, will be presenting an originally choreographed piece at the upcoming performances.
The program can end up taking a lot of time out of these students’ schedules, Grimnes explained. Though most classes meet only two hours a week, many of the students spend hours of outside time practicing their dances, especially closer to recital time.
“They do not receive any credit at their schools for this, but it’s a huge commitment for them,” she said. “They have to really love dancing, especially these advanced girls—they spend at least 10 hours a week dancing, and that’s all on top of their homework and honor classes.”
Many of these students will join Allan Hancock College’s adult dance program in the coming years, but some will use the experience they gain to help pirouette themselves straight to a four-year university.
“Quite a few of them take Hancock classes after they graduate,” Grimnes said. “We have a lot also recently that have gone straight to UC Irvine, and because of the program that they are being provided here they can audition to the dance program at UC Irvine.”
Amid their busy youthful lives, Grimnes said, the dance time is a welcome break from academics for the students. They get to exercise, but more importantly express themselves.
“Personally, for me, it was a good way for me to be able to emotionally express myself,” she said. “As a teenager growing up, it can be hard to express yourself, and dance for me was a way to find who I was. It kind of set my spirit free.”
All that creativity and expression still needs to be shared with family, friends, and the community, though, which is the purpose of the upcoming recital event at the Ethel Pope Auditorium.
“Performing is really the way to show how hard you’ve been working,” Grimnes said. “The youth spend hours in the studio with me learning, and performance is a chance for them to show what they have learned, and it’s important for them to get up there and do it, and get applause and recognition for what they do.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne has two left feet. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 23-30, 2013.
