Arianna Ruiz hadn't considered ballet a passion worth pursuing until she leaped, feet first, into Dancing in the Streets.
Ruiz, a freshman at the University of Arizona, had only taken dance class at school and didn't really have interest in it, before her mom told her about the South Tucson non-profit, Dancing in the Streets.
"My mom saw them in a newspaper so I called them up," Ruiz said. "Sixth months later I was in the Nutcracker. I just fell in love with it."
This year marks Dancing in the Streets fourth annual production of the Nutcracker and the first year that it will take center stage at the Fox Theater Dec. 18.
"The Nutcracker is a good introduction to a story ballet for children," Lupu said. "Many of the families that we have have never seen the Nutcracker, have never been in a theater, really it's sort of new to them."When Soleste Lupu and her husband Joseph Rodgers, who grew up in South Tucson, moved back years later, they realized that they could introduce the community to something new: classical ballet.
"I was born and raised here," Rodgers said. "I ran around with these knuckleheads."
Rodgers credits ballet for helping him turn his life around, from selling drugs to performing for sold-out audiences.
He prides himself in the fact that no one would recognize him as a ballet dancer. His loud voice and sense of humor make him more likely to be standing in a spotlight at comedy club than instructing a gaggle of first graders at the barre.
Four years ago, Rodgers and Lupu introduced the South Tucson community to classical ballet, when the only ballet that was performed was folklorico. When he investigated opening a ballet studio, he was met with apprehension.
"There was a big split in the middle," Rodgers said. "Even some of the city leaders didn't grasp on it. The more I heard 'no', the more I knew it needed to be down here."
Ballet has a reputation for being a formal, pretentious art, but Dancing in the Streets rejects that stereotype by making ballet approachable to the South Tucson community.
"You see our studio is very colorful, it's not your traditional looking ballet studio," Lupu said. "We want it to be fun but we work hard and there's discipline. We don't want anyone to feel so afraid that they don't come to class, and that's kind of the tradition of the performing arts, it's fear. That kind of style isn't inclusive."
The tuition for the ballet school is relatively low and they have been flexible with payment plans in the past. As long as students and families are determined to attend classes regularly and make the commitment to ballet, Dancing in the Streets will work to meet them halfway.
The inexpensive tuition and opportunities for scholarships helped Ruiz continue her ballet studies at Dancing in the Streets.
"If I went anywhere else I wouldn't have been able to afford it," Ruiz said.
Dancing in the Streets is very accommodating to the students, but does not compromise on technique and dedication.
"Our focus as artistic directors is really about making sure the kids understand the discipline of working hard and achieving and coming to class," Lupu said. "Even if these kids don't become professional dancers, the discipline that ballet gives you goes into other places. It's about knowing that you can achieve things that you didn't know you could."
The proof is in the talent they have turned out.
Ruiz started taking ballet two years ago and is now applying for the dance program at the University of Arizona.
"It's become a passion of mine," said Ruiz, who couldn't name a hobby or interest before she started ballet. "I want to continue it. I want to learn more."
Lupu hopes that Dancing in the Streets will instill its students with a foundation and a passion for ballet.
"This is the first year that the technical ability of one of our students or some of our students to handle some of the lead roles in the Nutcracker," Lupu said. "The goal is that as we build with the technical ability, all of our students should have the ability to handle all of the roles."
Whether their students pursue future careers in dance or not, Lupu trusts that their school is working on a greater level.
"This is really about creating a whole new audience and instilling a love of cultural arts that they wouldn't necessarily think is open to them. "
