Westwood High School Students Turn a Dream of Seeing Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Into Reality
Written by Lauren Wingenroth
When Veneshia Stribling showed her Westwood High School students a video of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performing their signature Revelations earlier this year, they were captivated.
For many students, it was their first exposure to the storied company. Ms. Stribling explained the history of the troupe, and lamented the fact that her students couldn’t see them dance live. “I was like, if I could take you all anywhere, it would be to see Ailey,” she says. “To see it on the screen is not doing it justice.”
From there, an idea was born: What if the class could see Ailey live? Soon, students were researching tour dates and ticket prices, and dreaming about the possibilities of a field trip. The only problem? Westwood High School is located in Blythewood, South Carolina, a four hour drive away from the company’s closest tour dates in Chapel Hill.
But once Ms. Stribling and her students decided they were going to see Ailey, a four hour bus ride wasn’t going to stop them. “How would I be a true educator if I were to rob them of that experience?” Ms. Stribling says. Her classes became hands-on lessons in the logistics of travel planning and arts patronage: Her students researched charter buses, advocated to the school principal to approve the field trip, and even called the Carolina Performing Arts box office to make the ticket reservations themselves.
“My students are very vocal…They utilize their voice, and they use it responsibly, and I love that about them.”
Ms. Stribling
Despite some traffic along the way, Ms. Stribling’s class made it to Memorial Hall for a transformative experience that they describe as once-in-a-lifetime—except for the fact that they want to do it again and again. “If I could redo that day, I would,” says junior Emporess Hailey. “A thousand times over,” agrees sophomore Aalayla Cook.
“I want to be just like them when I grow up,” says sophomore Carmyn Jackson. “I went home and looked them up on Instagram and now I see them on my feed every single day. It’s really motivational, because it’s like, I know what I need to do as a dancer.”
“I feel like anybody can dance,” says Cook. “But it’s about how you dance. Watching them showed me what it really means to dance.” The students shared that their personal highlights were the epic “Sinner Man” section of Revelations, the precision, power, and commitment of the dancers, and the joyful “Rocka My Soul” dance that closes the show.
Ms. Stribling says that this experience also deepened her students’ interest in concert dance amidst an environment that typically prioritizes dance teams and colorguard. “I don’t think they really saw themselves in that space before,” she says.
For those students who hadn’t seen live concert dance before, the theatergoing experience itself was also an education: Students shared that they learned about expectations around phone usage, applause, and more. But more important than those etiquette lessons was the takeaway that they now can confidently go to the theater knowing that they belong, says Ms. Stribling.
“It allowed them to see themselves in those spaces.”
Ms. Stribling
While she acknowledges that many of her students may not dance after high school, she says experiences like this one cemented their interest in continuing to engage with the arts as supporters throughout their lives. “It was really a spark for them,” she says.
After the show, the students ran into Ailey dancer and fellow South Carolinian Ashley Kaylynn Green, who took photos with them. “The fact that she took the time to acknowledge us was amazing,” says Cook.
Now that the spark has been lit, another dance field trip feels inevitable. “They’re ready to book the next one,” says Ms. Stribling. And like those photos and the programs that Ms. Stribling insisted her students keep, the memories and lessons from this experience will likely last a lifetime.
Every Student Deserves a Seat
When Westwood High School students walked through our doors, it was made possible by donors like you. Our $11 Student Tickets exist because generous supporters believe every young person deserves access to live performance.
