RPS fourth graders combine dance and curriculum through Minds in Motion program

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Minds in Motion students are preparing for a big performance at the Dominion Energy Center this week.

More than 700 fourth grade students from 15 Richmond elementary schools will take the stage on Thursday and Friday to showcase a routine they’ve been practicing since September.

“Through dance, we’re teaching self-discipline, self-awareness, self-confidence, teamwork,” Katherine Smothers, Minds in Motion artistic associate, told 8News.

The Minds in Motion program by the Richmond Ballet is in its 29th year, and allows instructors to go into Richmond elementary schools to teach the fundamentals of movement. From September to April, weekly classes combine science, history, and math with memorable dance moves.

“We are teaching regular movements that we make complicated through patterns,” Smothers explained. “They are gaining confidence because they’re learning math skills, science. We do geometry. So, they are working together in these combinations, and then we add it into more complicated choreography so that they’re putting together long dances and they’re really having to work together.”

Smothers adds while students point their toes and step to the beat, they’re learning valuable skills they can use in the classroom.

“Every child learns different,” she said. “Some people need experiential learning. Some people need to read it, hear it, see it, write it. So many teachers say, ‘Wow, this student is really attaching to this curriculum because they’re getting it in so many different ways.'”

The program can also open doors to new careers.

Richmond Ballet company dancer Darius Mealy found his love for dance decades ago through the Minds in Motion program as a fourth grade student at John B. Cary Elementary School.

“One thing that this program does very well is you can have a shy kid who has not thought about being a dancer or thought about doing anything like this, and then just give them something to do and it can instantly change their mind,” Mealy said.

The free performances are open to the public, and will be at the Dominion Energy Center on Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26. No tickets are required.

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