On Friday, December 4^th at 11am, 1,500 students will enter the Merriam Theater on the Avenue of the Arts to watch possibly their first-ever ballet performance. The majority of these students ranging from age 4-13, are participants in The Rock School’s RockReach community engagement program, teaching dance and its many benefits to underserved children in Philadelphia.

Participating schools include:

-Camden’s Promise Charter School in Camden, NJ
-Russell Byers Charter School in Center City, Phila
-Issac Sheppard School in North Phila
-Penn Alexander Charter School in West Phila
-The Gesu School in Phila
-New Foundations Charter School in Northeast Phila

RockReach offers entertaining and interactive techniques to support integrated educational programs.  RockReach brings dance performances, interactive arts activities, and training opportunities to nearly 10,000 inner-city and suburban youth.  The program is designed to strengthen the academic skills of the participants, develop the children’s social skills, broaden students’ interests, and keep students constructively and actively engaged.  Two programs included in RockReach are:

City Dance: City Dance is a scholarship program for students ages 6 to 11 from throughout the Greater Philadelphia area who, due to financial limitations, are unable to explore and develop their talents.  Over the years several hundred students have benefited from City Dance.

In-School and After School Residency Program: The Residency Programs offer high-quality, weekly instruction in a variety of dance forms. These programs bring the arts into urban neighborhoods and provide a constructive, goal-oriented outlet for youth.  The program engages and stimulates the participants’ academic, compositional, artistic, movement, and athletic skills

According to James Otto, Principal of Isaac Sheppard School, “In a community where there are so many needs, and in a climate where the arts have become a second thought, the RockReach program brings culture and beauty where it might not actually occur. Whatever our children may lack in their experience, they will always have the dignity that they developed during their dance lessons.”

The Rock School for Dance Education presents a family friendly, unique productions of NUTCRACKER 1776. The show features a cast of nearly 200 Rock School students, including the School’s pre-professional students and its award-winning prodigies. Students in the production hail from Philadelphia, across the nation, as well as Colombia, Mexico, Spain, France, Bulgaria, Thailand, Japan, and Canada. This special RockReach performance will take place on Friday, December 4^th at 11am.

NUTCRACKER 1776

Sat, Dec 5 and Sun, Dec 6 @ 2pm
at The Merriam Theater,50 S. Broad Street,
Philadelphia, PA  19102

Sat, Dec 12 @ 11am &  4pm/Sun, Dec 13 @ 1pm & 4pm
at Centennial Hall at The Haverford School, 450 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 19041

Tickets start at $10. Log onto nutcracker1776.com for more info.