Dance class offers creative, therapeutic release for Asheville students
By Stephanie Santostasi
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — Some students at Asheville High School spend each morning moving to the music.
“Dance One” brings together teens with all different abilities. Caroline Althof Salas is the dance teacher.
“When I was a teenager and kind of in that, ‘What am I gonna do with my life’ – dance always served as a creative and therapeutic release for me,” she said.
It’s a feeling she now hopes to pass on to her students.
“I think there’s this notion that you have to kind of start dance early in order to be in dance and that’s not the case,” added Althof Salas.
In this class, everyone comes from different backgrounds and with different levels of experience.
“I’ve been dancing since I was 5,” said Ella Estrada.
“I am a mountain biker. I also do BMX. I fly fish. I do a lot of stuff,” said Finn Seifert.
“My brother took it, and I wanted to see what it was like for myself,” Karma Keener explained.
Over the course of a semester, the group learns a variety of dances, including contemporary and jazz.
“I usually do a hip hop genre. Very short ballet genre,” said Althof Salas.
For students like Estrada, dancing’s become a way of life for her.
“It’s the way that I express myself and get out of my head and just let my emotions kind of move me across the floor,” she said.
For Finn Seifert, dancing isn’t exactly his first love.
“I actually got thrown in this class. I didn’t sign up for it,” he laughed.
But, he said, it’s taught him so much.
“I think the stuff I do outside has really helped with this, actually,” Seifert added.
It’s not your typical high school course. For the kids and teacher, it’s so much more than that.
“I think that’s one of the most rewarding parts is seeing them perform with confidence and also their relationships I see form throughout the duration of the class,” Althof Salas said.
It’s something worth dancing for.
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