MCPS Dance Teacher Awarded $5,000 Wolf Trap Grant

John F. Kennedy High School dance teacher Kendra Smith was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. She was one of 14 public school educators in the Washington, D.C. region to win grants of between $2,500 and $5,000, which are awarded annually to public high school teachers who bring new and exciting performing arts experiences to students.

Smith’s grant-winning arts program at Kennedy—Fostering Relationships Using Intergenerational Techniques (FRUIT)—is a collaboration with the ClancyWorks Dance Company and the Jewish Council for the Aging: InterAges Program. Between 15 to 20 of her students will participate in weekly classes with a mixed group of older adults, using creative movement to share stories from their own lives. This interaction will help students express themselves through dance, more actively participate in the arts and build connections with mentors from a different generation.

Smith has known Dr. Adrienne Clancy, founder of ClancyWorks, since she taught master classes at Towson University, when Smith was an undergraduate student. “Collaborating with Dr. Adrienne Clancy and her talented teaching artists, students and community members have enriched the lives of all participants in ways that can only be witnessed in movement,” she said. “Being a host for a second year in a row has also allowed me to develop as a teacher. This unique project has created a space for people from all walks of life to build lasting relationships and foster a community of artistic and cultural expression, using dance as a vehicle.”

Smith, a former professional ballet and modern dancer who holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Education, and a Master of Arts in Dance Education, is in her 16th year as a Maryland Pre-K-12 teacher, with the last three of those spent at MCPS. Her specialty genres are contemporary ballet, modern, lyrical and concert jazz. She also teaches tap, hip-hop, partnering, yoga and creative movement. At Kennedy, she teaches a variety of dance classes, including dance fine art and dance for physical education, and also sponsors the school’s majorette dance troupe.