A senior project at State High is a culminating project done in the form of an essay, a presentation, a product, or anything else students can imagine that will show their skills and how they’ve made an impact on the school, community, or world. Chloe Snellgrove, junior, started thinking of her project early, and is now in the process of completing it.

Ballet is an expensive art. There are many children who want to dance but are not able to because of various reasons, one being the expenses needed in order to participate and achieve their potential. Snellgrove’s idea was to teach a ballet class to children wishing to dance, free of charge, to get kids interested and actively participating in the ballet community. Teaching the classes and putting on a show without setting a fee for parents to pay means that she has to raise the funds herself to cover the expenses of the class. “I’ve raised almost $2,000 to be put towards my students uniforms, costumes, and eventually scholarships,” Snellgrove said. She’s set up a GoFundMe where people can donate and her goal is $2,500.

From the end of September to December, she will be conducting these classes every Friday (excluding holidays) from 4 pm to 5:15 for anyone from ages 3 to 15. At the end of the series of classes, the students will perform a Nutcracker ballet performance. 75% of the funds will go to scholarships for the dancers to attend a local ballet school to further their practice, while the remaining 25% will go to expanding the reach of the program into other cities such as Bellefonte, Altoona, Carlisle, Philadelphia, and more.

Snellgrove has been thinking of starting this project, “since my freshman year, and have been slowly working out a way to get this project into action,” Snellgrove said. She has been eager to get started on something like this, as she’s been a ballet dancer for 13 years. Snellgrove said, “I love dancing, and I felt so bad for all the kids that wanted to do ballet as well, but had some sort of restriction.”

Along with the positive impact her project has had on the community, it’s also been a learning experience for Snellgrove. “I have learned not only how to teach little kids and attempt to engage 3 year olds for an hour and fifteen minutes, but I’ve also learned how to do little projects like this that help people, which I hope to continue in different ways throughout my life,” Snellgrove said. There’s no doubt that it’s hard work coordinating children and spreading the word for her project, but Snellgrove said that although the work is hard, she finds joy in, “seeing the smiles on little girls and boys while learning new ballet combinations.”

For others thinking of ideas for their senior projects, Snellgrove’s advice is to not only create a project to help people, or do something you like, but to produce, “a good and rewarding experience that you and your participants will enjoy.”

For more information, you can visit her GoFundMe page and also donate if you’d like to support the cause. https://www.gofundme.com/free-ballet-classes-for-kids.

If you have any other inquiries, Snellgrove’s email address is [email protected].