The National Ballet Dance Champions at P.S. 257 Magnet School of the Performing Arts, in Brooklyn, New York, are changing the face of dance competition culture.

by Denise Henry

Tutus, hats, vests and props hang from clothing racks in a closet. The closet is located next to the gym auditorium stage which converts into a dance studio. What was once a custodial closet, is now home to costumes for the P.S. 257 national champion dance team.

“It was an old closet that the custodial staff said we could use if we needed it,” says dance teacher Julie Miranda. “It is so helpful because the whole school is on board.”

The entire school community of P.S. 257 are captivated audience members when it comes to supporting their dancers who are excelling in a field mostly dominated by private institutions. From the sharing of limited space, to the very active PTA involvement, the show of support overflows at this public school.

“The parents help us out with everything. They’re phenomenal. I’ll buy fabric and I have parents that sew and teachers that sew and they’ll help me put together skirts or tutus or a little vest. They even participate in the shows with the kids,” says Ms. Miranda.

After each performance, the beautiful competition costumes are stored away in the dance closet.

“We preserve everything and take good care of them,” says Ms. Miranda. “The Indian dance costumes for competition are pretty intricate. We have a contact in India so we get some really nice, unique outfits. When they get on the stage with the other competitive dance teams, oftentimes at these competitions, they all look the same. They look like little clones, everybody doing the same things.”

But when the P.S. 257 dancers take the stage, that’s where the similarities end. Their dance teacher is incredibly proud that Black and Latino girls are succeeding at the highest levels of dance competition in spaces where they have historically been underrepresented.

“Our girls look different because they’re Black and Hispanic,” says Ms. Miranda. “They’re wearing different outfits. I make sure that they know they’re different, they stand out. I say, ‘There’s nobody here like you.’ So I make sure that there is no one there that looks like them. I do that with costuming, and they do it themselves because they have such great personalities.”

Ms. Miranda knows exactly what it takes to build a great dance program because she used to own a dance studio in this very neighborhood where she grew up, and where her mother was a P.S. 257 preschool teacher for 32 years. Eventually, the relentless pursuit by Principal Martinez to bring her magic to P.S. 257, led Ms. Miranda to this amazing school community.

“I started off here with a program of 17 little girls in ballet class. Now we service after school, well over 100 children, and we service the whole building with dance classes,” says Ms. Miranda. “I get to do what I love to do.”

The school has enrichment music classes, and they’re also working on acting classes and ballroom dancing. Recently, P.S. 257 was approved for the Disney Grant which offers acting lessons to overcome stage fright and to become a better public speaker. Programs that are designed to give students opportunities to discover their true passions.

“We want to create well-rounded children because they’re the ones that are going to be in charge of the future,” says Ms. Miranda. “How are we supposed to have a well-rounded child if there’s not an equal balance of home life, social life, and school life?”

Many of the dancers are student mentors, members of the student council, and on honor roll.

“They are great students because they know that without an education there’s a wall that you’re going to bump into. But with an education you can achieve anything. We work in close communication with their teachers about their grades because we want to keep them focused on their academic road. Brains, beauty and talent, that sums up all these young girls,” says Ms. Miranda proudly.

And like any talented competitor, these dancers like to win. They practice five days a week to give their all to each competition. But even after all of the hard work, great lessons are always learned from each loss.

“We strive to be the best but sometimes we come in 2nd place or 3rd. But we handle that like champs too,” says Ms. Miranda.

These young dancers also handle real life problems and scary situations with great strength and unconditional love.

“Jenna has diabetes and sometimes the dancing affects her diabetes. When that happens, these girls help each other out,” says Ms. Miranda.

Jenna says, “When I’m dancing too much and I sweat, my sugar goes low. And all of these girls really panic.”

But they all come together to get a snack or some candy to help Jenna. They take care of each other. The theme of unity is something Principal Martinez consciously brought to P.S. 257 as a former party promoter.

“I decided to bring that love of music and getting people together to P.S. 257. The power of music,” says Principal Martinez. “It could make you happy, it could make you sad, help you remember a loved one. We started a marching band, we have a full time music teacher. We have a piano room. Why do we have to wait for the children to get into middle school or high school to enter a school building with a theme of music? We wanted to give them a leg up on the competition. So when we were approved to become Magnet School of the Performing Arts, we were so happy. It doesn’t happen at the elementary school level, and it’s been working.”

The flag flying proudly outside the school announcing their win, the huge trophies celebrating their achievements, and the proud words of the dancers themselves are proof that their hard work is paying off.

“Ms. Miranda taught us different dances and we celebrate different traditions,” says Gabriella. “There are Indian dances, lyrical dances, salsa, and jazz. My favorite is jazz and Indian dances. Indian dances are hard. But we need the hard work, not the easy work.”

As dancers who represent a New York City public school, they know that there’s nothing easy about competing against rich private schools with more funds, and performing on stages against students that are much older than them.

“Whenever they win, I want them to start saying public school because I love the reaction of the audience,” says Principal Martinez. “The audience is like, ‘What, you’re a public school, no way!’ I’m like that’s right, those are my girls! For a public school to win not just one year, but back to back years, at this age group, it is a huge thing.”

The dancers feel the same way. Their public school pride is on full display every time they take the stage.

“It makes me feel happy because normally public schools don’t do this. If I was in a different public school and I saw this school doing competitions, I would be surprised because I never saw a public school go to any competition or have a competitive dance team,” says Gabriella.

Bella agrees. “Being in a school with a dance team that has been to Nationals and has won so many times, is mind blowing to me. I’m so happy my parents brought me to this school because look at me now. I met so many people, and I have great friends now,” she says.

It’s no surprise that when asked if they want to continue dancing in middle and high school, all the dancers excitedly raise their hands high. 

“If we graduate and we’re such great dancers, why would we stop dancing?” says Jenna.

“Ms Miranda saw how great we are and how we dance, so she thought that we would be a perfect fit for this dance team. This dance team means a lot to me,” says Brave.

“I joined dance in Kindergarten because I saw a lot of people joining and I was interested and I was inspired by Ms. Miranda,” adds Bella.

“I’ve been wanting to dance for a long time. I want to continue dancing because it’s my passion. I don’t want my talent to go away,” says Gabriella.

“Ever since I was little I always danced so that’s why I joined. I want to be a professional dancer because it’s my happiness,” says Keyla.

Watching them perform in large auditoriums with hundreds of people watching their every move, is always a proud moment for the P.S. 257 family.

“The audience, the lights. To get on stage and to actually block out the lights and the audience and stay focused on their dance, I’m in complete awe,” says Principal Martinez.

Most adults are terrified of talking or performing in front of large audiences! How do these young dancers handle stage fright?

“I just breathe and I say in my head that everything will be fine and not to be scared because the dances that Ms. Miranda created are nice and beautiful,” says Jenna. “That’s what makes me calm down.”

Sharing these words of wisdom as student dance mentors and helping them with dance practices, is an important job that they do not take lightly.

“The little kids look up to me,” says Bella. “I’m always amazed and shocked that I’m in a public school and I get to represent this school.”

Gabriella agrees. “I feel very happy and grateful that I’m in this school.”

Bella and Gabriella are graduating next year, but they know that they are always welcome to come back to the school to continue their love of dance.

“We open the school to the kids that graduated so they can continue dancing if they go to a school that doesn’t have a dance program,” says Principal Martinez.

Once again, the P.S. 257 theme of bringing people together through the arts, is evident in every interaction they have with past, present, and future students. What shines through each act of kindness and welcoming embrace, is an unwavering love for their public school community.

“We try to keep the environment bright and happy so the kids want to come to school,” says Ms. Miranda. “It’s not this dark, dingy, intimidating place.” Everyday we say over the loudspeaker, ‘It’s Always Sunny at P.S. 257.’”