Dance Workshop at Juvenile Hall Gets Grant to Expand
An innovative dance workshop for youngsters confined to Central Juvenile Hall on Los Angeles’ Eastside has been given a $60,000 federal grant to expand the program at the facility’s school.
The Movement Works Project, headed by the Central Juvenile Hall School’s assistant principal, Gerardo Zalada, and choreographer Kim G., teaches the troubled youths how to express themselves through dance and other artistic means.
The grant will enable Kim G. to offer a series of 10-week sessions with about 25 students in a class. Each session will culminate in a performance.
“We want to provide them with options and outlets that they might not otherwise have,” Kim G. said. “But I’m not trying to change them. I want them to learn the healing power of movement and the educational power of using art in your life.”
Students earn fine arts and physical education credits toward graduation, said Rick de la Torre of the county Office of Education.
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