Momentum, “excellence at the speed of dance” was founded by dancer, Monica Kridler over fifteen years ago. It now serves over 850 elementary school children in twelve different schools. The method of teaching children this program was originally conceived by world famous dancer Jacques d’Amboise while he was a principal with the New York City Ballet over 40 years ago.Mostly 4th graders are given the opportunity to work with a Momentum teaching artist for 45 minutes during their regular school day for 30 weeks. The Guiding ‘BIG FOUR PRINCIPLES are: To work hard; Do my best; Never give up and; Be Healthy! This program has been so successful that there is a wait list. The great reward to being a participant in this program is that at the end of the school year each classroom of dancers who have learned three dances get to perform at the Capital Theatre in downtown Columbus. The goals of Momentum by helping these students are to provide them with life skills of self-discipline, perserverance, peaceful teamwork, respect and thinking creatively. The children by participating develop self-esteem and healthy basic habits. The extra bonus is that Momentum strengthens core education standards in music, dance and academic subjects. www.momentum-excellence.org
