Angela Wyatt teaches Dance and Drama at Urbana’s Prairie Elementary School. Students in Urbana receive 6 weeks of Drama and 6 weeks of Dance as part of the regular curriculum. During her first year, Prairie principal Yavonnda Smith and she were discussing options for program growth and it was shortly afterward that she located several pairs of tap shoes in storage within the district. At their next meeting Angela suggested that she teach tap dance.
Ms. Smith revealed she had been a dance student for many years, and a tap dancer herself. They both agreed that it teaches self control, discipline, coordination, and is a self esteem building tool. Sadly there were not enough tap shoes in enough different sizes for all of the children. That’s when Ms. Wyatt decided to apply for a Splash Grant; she received enough money to purchase two dozen additional pairs of tap shoes.
“We were so excited to receive the Splash Grant for the tap shoe purchase. Each year we have the need for more shoes. This fall the 1st grade will present a mini-musical and it will feature tap dancing learned during the first 6 weeks of school. We look forward to using our new shoes during this production, and would like to thank all of the sponsors for giving us the opportunity to each have a pair of tap shoes to wear.”
