A little girl, shy at first, stands with her head down and her arms behind her back. As the dance workshop begins, however, she brightens, laughing and skipping. Junior Sophia Bian, who walks around the room giving comments and praise to her students, pauses to smile at the girl enjoying her dance adventures.
Bian is the director of performing arts at BravaArte Foundation, an organization that aims to provide accessible arts education. As director, she recruits students from other school districts, coordinates performer and instructor schedules, and supervises dance lessons.
Bian began volunteering to make arts education more affordable. Music classes are often expensive, and Bian
recalls that her own parents had initially been reluctant about paying for flute lessons. So, when Charlotte Qian 鈥 who is also a news editor on 麻豆放映免费 鈥 mentioned BravaArte, a program she founded in December 2022, Bian asked for information about it.
鈥淚t sounded like a great opportunity to help spread the
arts, and I have been working in BravaArte since,鈥 she said.
Through BravaArte鈥檚 free programs, including private music lessons, Bian hopes to ease the financial pressures of pursuing the arts and encourage creative discovery.
鈥淢aking the arts more accessible in general will get rid of
this barrier and help others discover the joy of art,鈥 she said.
Since May, Bian has helped plan several events and classes, including an 鈥淚ntro to Dance鈥 workshop every Sunday. This workshop, aiming to give young children a broad introduction to dance, provides instruction in ballet, jazz, lyrical, character and other dance styles.
Bian鈥檚 BravaArte participation has improved her coordinating and planning skills.
鈥淚鈥檓 more comfortable with management, and with the
officer team鈥檚 help, I have mustered up the courage to learn how to recruit, cold-call and do other tasks that I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do without them,鈥 she said.
Most recently, Bian and the BravaArte team hosted a
UNICEF Benefit Concert on Nov. 26 at the Mitchell Park
Community Center. With 11 performers 鈥 including Bian herself 鈥 they raised funds for UNICEF and hosted a meet-and-greet with student instructors and performers.
鈥淚t was a ton of planning and took up a lot of the officer team鈥檚 Thanksgiving break, but thinking of where the funds we raised are going to go makes me feel extremely happy,鈥 Bian said.
Bian plans to continue working with BravaArte and will
teach a student privately next semester.
鈥淚t feels so rewarding to participate in community service that speaks to you,鈥 she said. 鈥淔or me, that鈥檚 spreading the love of music.鈥