JUST DANCE

 

A few days ago, I let the rowdy third grade class into my wildly colorful, somewhat disorganized art classroom at St. Ann School. The assignment was to listen to several different genres of music as they were played, and draw pictures that represented how the music would you make you feel. Louie, who would be taken out of class soon to see the counselor for sever disciplinary and emotional problems seemed particularly restless,  I called him over and told him he didn’t have to draw if he would help me to pick the music. He seemed intrigued, and slid over by my side. He began to pick from the dozens of cd’s,, fast dance music, slow jazz, and whatever else caught his eye. Then he picked up a Mozart CD and I slipped it into the player. The class went quiet, as Louie stood in the center of the room and began to dance beautifully, gracefully, jumping, turning, smilling. His classmates, astounded by what they saw, their rambunctious friend awing them with artistic brilliance right before their eyes. I sat there completely and utterly amazed at how much I was blessed to be in his presence at that moment, how much life had been given to me this year through the eyes, ears, voices, and dances of small Latino children on the south side of Chicago.