If you ask our students what they love most about ADC, there’s one answer you’ll get over and over, from every program and every age level: “My friends.”
Many of our dancers develop their first real friendships in our primary program. Along with building a strong basis for dance, our youngest students learn vital social skills. ADC faculty work to strengthen children’s awareness of others, build their confidence in approaching peers, and challenge them to see things from another person’s perspective. The combination of an exciting environment, a shared love of dance, and an empathy-based curriculum create a perfect atmosphere for forming long-lasting bonds.
ADC’s focus on retention means that our dancers grow up together from those first primary classes to high school graduation. They share the high of their early performances, navigate spats and disagreements in middle school, and support each other through the struggles of young adulthood. Simply being present in each other’s lives through these major milestones builds closeness between our dancers. The shared goal of pushing themselves as artists to create something beautiful develops those friendships even further.
The relationships between our ADC dancers move and inspire us. They speak to a need so rarely met in this increasingly digital, disconnected age–community. Our ADC community is a place where our students find belonging and where they learn to create belonging for others.
