Dance teacher Sandra Perez received a grant of $2500 on November 16 from the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts for her longtime commitment to performing arts education.

Says Ms. Perez, “I think we’ve been chosen because of my dedication.” The scholarship will be used for students’ instruction enhancement in areas that parallel Wolf Trap’s performance and education priorities. Some money will be used to buy clothing and other materials related to dance.

With this grant, Ms. Perez has hired choreographer Lucy Bowen McCauley to instruct her students as they are getting ready for dance performances. Says Ms. Perez, “It’s a really unique opportunity that [the students] have to work with a professional artist of [Mrs. McCauley’s] caliber.”

“I immediately thought of Mrs. McCauley,” adds Ms. Perez, “as the person I would like to work with on the grant.” Mrs. McCauley and Ms. Perez have been colleagues for about ten years. Adds Ms. Perez, “I’m really impressed…by her demeanor [and] her ability to take very experienced dancers and not very experienced dancers and make all of them move the same way.”

Mrs. McCauley has her own company: Bowen McCauley Dance but says that she really enjoys working with the students. “They are hard working and [Ms. Perez] has trained them well.” She adds, “It is challenging working with the students, since there are so many of them.”

Mrs. McCauley is famous for her stretch techniques. Her wildly popular stretch classes at Maryland Youth Ballet attracted the attention of Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes. Mrs. McCauley’s success with Dawes resulted in her appointment as a national trainer of stretch in 1998 for Olympic-bound athletes of USA Gymnastics.

“I thought it was really incredible that Ms. Perez got this grant,” says sophomore Pamela Dysland. “She deserves this opportunity.” She also enjoys being taught by Mrs. McCauley because her “style is something new and really innovative. It’s a great experience to work with a professional.”

The students, says Ms. Perez, “are motivated because they’re excited about the dance and the work. They work on trying to improve and want to do well.” The students are getting ready for a performance in April, when they will be performing with Mrs. McCauley’s company and other groups.