Project: The Healing Arts
Organization: Boys & Girls Club of San Antonio
San Antonio, TX
Story submitted by David Sapadin, Project Director for The Healing Arts

There's a goal I gotta get to

There are moments when a small action can change the course of a life. It's a great privilege and honor to have that opportunity. Such opportunities, I've found, are usually the result of a caring community working together.

Myra is one of those very special stories.

When Myra came to live at the residential facility where I am Lead Artist for the Healing Arts Project, she was shy and withdrawn. As part of a large family, she tended to defer to her older siblings. At ten, she appeared rudderless, a "follower" who could be taken advantage of or misled. She could easily "slip through the cracks" or be lost in a crowd. At first Myra said little during our arts sessions. She was not disruptive. It just seemed as if she was trying to take up as little space as possible.

Sometimes, as hard as you try, you cannot get through to some children. Myra seemed to be like that. We typically spend about two months out of every year doing dance with the older girls' dorm, whose residents range from age 10 to 15. Dance is a particularly important art medium for adolescent and pre-adolescent girls, as it enables people to feel comfortable moving in their own body. Feeling comfortable with one's body is a major issue for girls, and even more so for girls who may have experienced sexual or other abuse.

During our first series of dance classes, led by a professional dancer who is part of the Healing Arts team at this site, Myra began to come out of her shell. She practiced the steps she learned during the week. She told the other girls she wanted to be a dancer. Other children can sometimes be less than encouraging. One girl said and was echoed by a chorus of cottage-mates: "You ain't no dancer. Is she miss?"

The series of dance classes culminated in a performance at Jump-Start Performance Co. The entire residential facility attended. The performance was recorded on video. We went on to other art projects including "Dreambooks", a multi-disciplinary project that captures children's dreams for their future through photography and, drawing, collages and poetry.

One day, Myra told me that she wanted to be "a choreographer and a dancer" when she grew up.

"A choreographer," I said, "That means you'll have to go to college."

"I know." she replied.

"That means you'll have to get your grades up."

"I know," she said, "I think I can do it."

I spoke with the case manager who is the site contact person for the Healing Arts. We agreed that if Myra would get her grades up, we would get her a scholarship dance class. She did. And we did. The house-parents had to be willing to drive Myra to and from her dance class - not an easy thing to ask when two adults have to manage the schedules of a dozen girls. The house-parents were willing to make it work.

Myra blossomed even more through her scholarship dance class. Her school grades continued to rise. She became more outspoken and assertive. Her older siblings were no longer able to order her about.

At the end of the school year Myra's dance class, with Myra included, was asked to perform as part of a dance event at Jump-Start Performance Co. The site co-ordinator and I went to see her. There was Myra and her group performing at a recital that included professional dance performances. Afterward, Myra's dance class-mates were hugging her, introducing her to their parents, telling her how much they would miss her over the summer.

The director of the dance academy could only praise Myra - both as a dancer and how she relates to the other girls in her class. "Myra is welcome here as long as she wants to come."

There are no better word to describe this girl and her accomplishments than her own. Myra wrote:

There's a goal I gotta get to
Do something I'm meant to do
But there's always something in my way
Doesn't mean I'm gonna change
Obstacles trying to break me
But I'm still standing strong

There's a goal I gotta get to
So I'm taking a stand
Took a hold of my life
With my own 2 hands

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