Dancing After School will be holding a special benefit to raise money for their work. Founded in 2006, Dancing After School is a non-profit organization committed to providing life-changing dance programs to youth in underserved areas throughout San Diego County. The organization uses dance as a vehicle to inspire youth and provide a culturally relevant outlet.
DAS has been able to make an extremely positive impact in communities where a tremendous need exists. Based in San Diego, sites are located from Vista to San Ysidro and provide meaningful dance fitness programs to more than 1300 students each week.
Ever wish you learned to dance as a kid? I recently saw a documentary about dancing in Argentina and noticed that very early on kids there are taught Argentine Tango along with their regular studies. Although I’m not sure how prevalent this really is in Argentine society, it’s safe to say Argentina has produced some very good Argentine Tango dancers as a result.
What if we could start having our kids learn to dance early on as well here in San Diego? Well, its already happening.
Dancing After School (DAS) , a 501c3 non-profit organization, is dedicated to providing comprehensive life changing dance programs to youth in under-served areas throughout San Diego County. Dancing After School has been able to make tremendous strides in educating and inspiring youth to learn dance. Based locally here in San Diego and founded by Walter Meneses, the organization serves all of San Diego including the border regions teaching dance to thousands of elementary school children.
Why teach kids to dance? There are lots of reasons I can think of including giving kids a positive role model to follow in terms of instructors, giving them something to master in their free time, and getting kids up and moving around. Indeed, with obesity rates rising every year with our youth I think it’s paramount to give kids another outlet for meeting their needs.
The video I’ve posted here is from an Argentine Tango dance class taught by DAS instructors. They also teach other types of Latin dance including salsa, merengue, bachata, mambo, Cha Cha Cha, and Jazz. After the students are taught the dance for a term they are given an opportunity to showcase their work. This next video shows a performance by a group of kids who’ve gone through the classes.
