American Dance Awards Joins Performing Hearts
Performing Hearts appreciates the wonderful feedback we have received from our friends and many visitors to our web site. One of our primary goals has always been to influence other young people to take the initiative to help others in their communities. Our own inspiration came from ideas that allowed us to do the things we love to do (like dance) as a key part of such initiatives. We recently had an opportunity to share our experiences and ideas with Gloria Jean Cuming and Bobby DiNicola of American Dance Awards. They were so impressed that they asked us to think of ways that they could incorporate Performing Hearts' values into their dance events. As you can imagine, we were very excited about the possibilities. We put our heads together and here is what resulted................

Starting with the 2004/2005 season, American Dance Awards has included Performing Hearts community service recognition events as part of their competitions! They are involved in distributing community service project information to all of the dance studios and dancers who register for their competitions. The studios are encouraged to plan and conduct a community service activity taking advantage of their dance skills and to memorialize the event with an essay, photos and video. All of the community service activities are then be formally recognized at each of the ADA events and are shared within the Performing Hearts community on our web site. At the end of the season, American Dance Awards and Performing Hearts jointly recognize the efforts of the entire dance community with a special presentation at ADA Nationals!

Gloria and Bobby have also decided to feature Performing Hearts on their web site! Please visit ADA's Performing Hearts page for more information.

Wagon Road Camp
Our recent trip to Wagon Road Camp was a great success for all! Wagon Road Camp is operated by The Children’s Aid Society and is located on 52 beautiful wooded acres in Chappaqua, NY. Their Respite Program provides year-round camping experiences for physically and developmentally disabled children whose families would otherwise not be able to afford such specialized programming.

Respite campers are constantly challenging themselves by participating in all kinds of new activities. The Children’s Aid Society and the staff at Wagon Road Camp were very supportive of the team from Performing Hearts. We were able to conduct two one-hour sessions featuring a movement workshop and dance performances. The campers really responded to the upbeat music from “Carwash.” They couldn’t seem to get enough of the dance movements and combinations!

More about the camp… Through a combination of Children's Aid Society scholarships and New York State Funds, children ages 7-17 with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, autism, Down syndrome, mental retardation, and neurological impairments spend their week- and weekend-long breaks at Wagon Road. They offer 40 campers per session the unique opportunity to participate in many of the same camp activities available to their more able-bodied peers.................

One of the things that made our visit so special was the way in which the camp director, Vince Canziani, the program director, James, and all the volunteers worked side-by-side with our team to make the event enjoyable for all the campers. Another special aspect of this event was the collaboration of dancers from different dance studios from New York and New Jersey. Our team for the day included Kristin Lavo from Danek School of Dance, Tiffany Lee from The Performing Arts Academy, JP Ferreri from Dance World Academy, and Jason Luks from For Dancers Only.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Award
Performing Hearts has been recognized in conjunction with the the Spirit of Community Awards Program. The awards program, now in its sixth year, is sponsored by The Prudential Insurance Company of America in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Entries were received from over 23,000 individuals representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Two winners were selected from each state and Performing Hearts was honored as a winner from the State of New Jersey. National and State recognition events included trips to Washington, D.C. and Trenton. Award recipients were addressed by Madeline Albright, former Secretary of State, Miss America, and many others. Senator Corzine also participated in the ceremonies................

The Spirit of Community award celebrates community service at the middle school and high school levels. Performing Hearts representatives were proud to be a part of this incredible program. You can learn more about it at Prudential's web site.

Camp Happy Times
Our trip to Camp Happy Times was great! Camp Happy Times is located on a beautiful lake setting in Tyler Hill, Pensylvania. The Valerie Fund sponsors the camp which hosted 175 young people and 100 volunteers during the last week in August. Our first impressions were wonderful. Although the camp was only in its 3rd day, it seemed like everyone we met felt "at home." We couldn't help but feel that we were becoming part of a larger family. Camp Happy Times is dedicated to providing a true summer camp environment to young people who are battling cancer and blood disorders. The Director, Millie Finkel, keeps the ship on course. She kept us focused on making the experience for the campers one where they participated rather than just observing. Boy did they participate! We conducted three workshops close to 2 hours each. The counselors and the campers learned several jazz routines very quickly. We demonstrated once or twice, practiced 2 or 3 times without music, and then, blasted the music and danced away. The lunch break provided a needed rest...then back to the dance floor. At the end of each session, we performed a few of our tap routines. The kids were incredibly interested and supportive................

At the end of the day, we felt that we had really shared a fun time with the kids, our peers. Millie and her staff made it easy for us. The facilities were great and they encouraged the kids to participate by their example... I think the counselors got a real workout! On our way home, we reflected on how our anxieties regarding how the day would work out had vanished almost instantly upon arriving at Camp Happy Times, replaced by a warm feeling that will never be forgotten. Thank you to all the kids and volunteers who helped us make a little difference. We look forward to visiting again.

YOU can be ... What's New!
You can help grow Performing Hearts. Over the last two years, we have received hundreds of friendly messages -- all encouraging us to continue; many expressing interest in helping. If you review some of these notes in our guestbook, you will notice that they have been sent to us from all over the U.S.A.

Our focus and goal for 2004 will be to encourage you and to support you in taking action in your community, regardless of where in the country (or on the planet) you live. If you are interested, please email us and we will respond -- we will help you develop ideas, help you establish contacts you might need, and help you work through the typical challenges you may encounter along the way................

You can start my reaching out to your friends and to your family -- they will probably be very excited about helping you plan your personalized Performing Hearts and very willing to join you in your efforts. In addition to lending our support, we will also recognize your successes on the Performing Hearts web site as a celebration of your accomplishments and to continue to encourage others to do the same.