In the practice room below the World Music Hall, a child is chastised after picking up a baton and banging on a giant gong. Other children run around, wired and jittery, while concerned looking parents mill around and try to control the excited kids.
This rare sight of young children on campus is the product of a two-month-long service project run by Micaela Gutierrez ’07 with the help of senior dancers from Caliente, the Latino-Caribbean dance troupe. This past Saturday, the children, ages 9 through 12, performed in Caliente’s Mezcla show, along with other dance groups.
The class meets at Green Street Arts Center on Tuesdays and Fridays from 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Center, established by the University in 2005, provides homework help and a variety of art classes for Middletown children, in addition to the salsa classes.
“Last semester I took a class called Dance Teaching Workshop and part of the class was teaching dance at Green Street,” Gutierrez said. “I got to know the kids through the service-learning component of that class.”
Gutierrez wanted to further cultivate her relationships with the children, as well as impart to them some of her passion for salsa.
“It was really fun and I got attached to the kids so I wanted to keep doing it,” she said. “I wanted to teach something that I really love, to convey that excitement to the kids.”
The class has worked out very well, both for the kids involved and the students teaching it, she said.
“A lot of times when people volunteer people think of it as a one way street,” said Gutierrez. “I think it’s always a two way street, you always learn something from that. Our goal was for both parties to learn and it has been a great success.”
Amy Ruiz ’07, another Caliente member who volunteers at Green Street, agreed with Gutierrez.
“It’s been a really positive experience because it’s a coming together of Green Street and Wesleyan,” she said. “It’s great working with the kids, you really have to get to know them to build a good relationship. They really depend on Wes students to help out, show them a different perspective.”
Parents of the children gathered at the CFA to support their kids and expressed their appreciation of the program.
“I love the fact that Wes did something with the North End kids. Green Street has been a godsend,” said Diana Almodovar, the mother of one of the performers.
According to Nat Holmes, after-school director at Green Street for the past two years, the youngsters were very excited to get an opportunity to showcase their talents and what they have learned at the center.
“They’ve loved it, they’re really excited to be performing in front of a real audience,” Holmes said. “We look forward to future collaboration with other departments as well.”
While most of the kids have some previous dance experience, the program opened their horizons to salsa, with which few of them were familiar.
“It’s great here because they teach you new stuff all the time,” said Indya Lindstrom, a ten-year-old who has attended the center since the beginning of the school year.
Students enjoyed the new additions to the semi-annual Mezcla show.
“It was really cute watching the kids,” said Olivia O’Dooley ’09 after the show. “I always enjoy the performance groups, but watching the younger kids was a new addition that made it even more fun.”
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