Story by Sadie Jo Smokey

Photo by David Wallace

The Arizona Republic

May 31, 2009

PHOTO: Ballet instructor Camden Lloyd adjusts 9-year-old Mineth Escobedo arm and head during ballet practice at Clarendon Elementary School in Phoenix earlier this month.

PHOENIX - The aspiring ballerinas in blue leotards, white tights and pink slippers try to stand as still as stone. Straight legs, no scratching and no looking at their neighbor, Camden Lloyd, the ballet instructor, reminds the girls.

"They don't play pretend ballet," Lloyd said. "They know how hard it is, how repetitive it is, how boring it is to do the work."

The ballet program, founded by Lloyd in 2003, has taught hundreds of children from needy families the fine art of classical dance. It was named a 2009 A+ Exemplary Program by the Arizona Educational Foundation. The after-school enrichment program, which serves third- to eighth-graders at Clarendon and Encanto elementary schools and Osborn Middle School, is funded primarily by grants, school tax credits and donations. Lloyd said she never turns a student away, even if the $2 annual fee is paid weekly with dimes or quarters. But as demand and interest grows each year, so do the expenses associated with providing the very basic dance attire.

"I can demand you show up and that you work," Lloyd said. "But I have to have all the supplies, materials."

Besides shoes and clothing for the boys and girls the program includes a healthful snack, a library of ballet literature, a nutrition teacher and a teacher to help with study hall.

Sindi Westberg, the Osborn District's resource developer, said that this year for the first time the district extracted how students in the program performed academically. Officials knew the 80 to 90 students' grades improved, at the very least, because turning in their homework is required in order to earn the privilege of participating in the program.

"Their reading and math scores are up 8 and 9 points higher than the rest of the school," Westberg said. "That's meaningful."

Lloyd, who moved here from San Francisco, began at the district as a volunteer. The past three years, a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant has provided her salary.

The program is more than looking pretty in a tutu. Teachers incorporate ballet across the curriculum. Over the years students at both elementary schools have read, learned about and seen performances of "Don Quixote," "Romeo and Juliet," "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Nutcracker."

The past two seasons, nearly 30 of Lloyd's students auditioned for and danced in Ballet Arizona's holiday spectacular with students from the School of Ballet Arizona and professionals.

Paris Wilcox, education-outreach coordinator for Ballet Arizona, said the students' participation in "The Nutcracker" demonstrates that "potential is not limited by any sort of boundaries.

"It goes beyond the pointe shoes and costumes. They're really living in the moment, taking advantage of the moment. The memories last a lifetime. It's a formative experience for kids."

Lloyd said that although many students participate for just one year, they learn responsibility for their actions, their health and an awareness of the world.

"I wanted them to know dancers need to know how to read and think and speak in different languages, they travel the world," said Lloyd, who speaks to the children in French.

"I love that they think ballet is a normal thing in their life. It's something that should be there."