In this week’s Everyday Heroes, we visit a local dance studio where BIPOC kids have space to fully express themselves.

The adults running the program are going the extra mile to provide today’s kids with opportunities they didn’t have growing up.

“When I danced, there was not many people that looked like me or represented me. I felt not inclusive. I didn’t feel like I was in a safe environment to fully express all of who I am,” said Jill Geidt about here experience growing up as a dancer.

As an adult, she’s helping to create that safe space for kids today.

Jill teaches in the BIPOC youth dance program at Steps PDX in Southeast Portland.

“I think that creating a safe space for dance within the community is so important,” she said. “And, especially in the ballet world, you know, where everybody knows that every shape and size and gender and ethnicity and culture is all part of it.”

And being a part of childhood experiences like the ones offered at Steps PDX can have lifelong benefits.

“I wish that a program like this existed when I was a little girl," said Monica Parra, director of education and community engagement at Steps PDX. "I grew up doing Mexican folk dancing, and I stepped away from it for a really long time. And I was really kind of discouraged to not continue it and maybe not voice specifically, but there was a feeling of it not being appreciated and not maybe being good enough. And I think that if I would have had a program where I saw more teachers that look like me that spoke my language and understood my roots and culture, that I might have stuck with it more.”

In a city with such a low BIPOC population, class sizes are bound to be small, but this has its own unique benefits.

“I feel like it’s smaller groups than most of the time, where there will be a big group, and it’s hard to help individual people,” said student Anisa Williams. “But here it’s smaller groups, so we can -- the teachers can help individual people.”

In this program, children learn all sorts of dance styles, from ballet to tap. But the children don’t just learn dance, they are also taught about BIPOC history as it relates to dance.

“So that's something that at the different levels we find different age-appropriate ways to talk about that, along with giving really the rich history of dance and rich history of tap dance, which is rooted in so much resilience," said Karida Griffith Walker, a tap dance teacher. "You know, people, West African people, who came here under such circumstances to start to express the rhythms and music of West African culture, through the footwork and through the dancing, and create this incredible new art form from it. It's such a symbol of resilience and freedom. And so we really want the students to learn it as that in the very beginning, and to feel it as a tool of resilience. And that’s something they can apply in other parts of their lives.”

For the kids, it’s about making connections and building pride in their identities.

For the teachers, it’s about giving the next generation a chance to thrive.