Stepping up for arts
Film to air on WGBY showcases effort to rebuild curriculum
Friday, May 16, 20081
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NORTHAMPTON - It starts with little steps. The merengue, that is. In a new documentary film, Alyson Gouzounis is seen teaching the Latin dance's steps to wary fifth-graders in an inner-city school in Springfield. In the months and years to come, these kids and hundreds like them will be learning the mambo, the fox trot and the swing. And learning a lot about themselves.
But the little steps Gouzounis speaks of could be about something larger: the restoration of music and arts to elementary schools. With public schools in financial straits, many districts have gutted arts programs over the past decade.
But Gouzounis and her husband, George, are not fingerpointers. Determined to keep arts in the schools, they have been voluntarily teaching ballroom dance to some 1,000 fifth-graders in Springfield schools since 2005.
They are the subjects of a documentary called "Step by Step: Keeping the Arts Alive" by filmmaker Julie Akeret, of Leeds. The 28-minute film - produced, directed and written by Akeret - will air Wednesday at 8 p.m. on WGBY.
Edited by Tricia Reidy, the documentary spans two years in the life of the Gouzounises and their charges. The couple has brought their program, Over the Top, to seven of the city's 33 elementary schools.
According to its Web site, Akeret's production company, 20 Cents Left Productions, is "dedicated to making documentary films that explore social issues and people whose vision and drive often shape our view of these issues. ... We hope to make their voices heard above the din of popular culture."
As in earlier films like "Someone Sang for Me," about musician and cultural activist Jane Sapp's efforts in Springfield schools, "Step by Step" asserts that the arts are fundamental to developing well-rounded individuals.
Making connections
Akeret was introduced to George and Alyson by Diane Wiley of the Grinspoon Foundation, who thought the couple's work would fit the filmmaker's goals.
"But ballroom dancing for fifth-graders?" asked a skeptical Akeret. Meeting the couple and seeing them in action was all it took. "It was so wonderful just hanging around with them. I was sad when it was all over."
According to the film, Springfield has a 44 percent child poverty rate, with 33 percent of its 26,000 students failing to graduate from high school.
Cutting the arts is seen by some as a contributing factor to Springfield's educational woes. Though school systems as a whole are suffering financially, the film makes the point that many of the arts programs were gutted to beef up MCAS-dictated curriculum, namely programs in math and science, in a move detractors call "teaching to the test."
"I believe we are shortchanging our children," says Springfield Education Association President Timothy Collins in the film. "A child may go through 12 years of school without ever being in front of an art teacher or music teacher. Children need a chance to be successful during their day. Usually, kids who struggle have a tendency to shine when exposed to the arts."
Narration, provided by local actress Lenelle Moise, is used sparingly, allowing the story to tell itself.
Quoting former education czar William Bennett in 1986, Moise says: "An elementary school that treats the arts as a province for the gifted ... is a school in need of an infusion of soul."
Welcome to the infusion. George Gouzounis, an investment banker, and wife Alyson, part-time teacher and social worker, introduce children to a world and its rhythms few had ever heard of.
Their first major obstacle? Convincing fifth-grade boys and girls to hold hands and look into each other's eyes. Some recoil at the very touch of a member of the opposite sex. "I know it's horrible, but you can do it," Alyson tells them.
Much like varsity athletes, children in the program are expected to keep up with their academics and stay out of trouble.
"It changed my life," said one child named William. "I mostly got in trouble before; I had to change that."
"He listened to what I said better," said his mother, Gwendolyn Yates. "I said, 'Are you my child?'"
Ruth Masarino, mother of an expressive dancer named Joel, said the program was a breath of fresh air for her cooped-up son.
"Sitting at a desk all day gets him a little irritated," she said. "This gets him out of the classroom and gives him a chance to use his energy in a positive way."
Teachers, it seems, appreciate a break from the routine, too. Cathy Lolos, a teacher at Brunton Elementary, said she and others have given up lunchtime and prep time to help students with their moves.
Not all principals have been receptive to the program, fearing it takes students away from more "important" things, to which Alyson Gouzounis replies: "We're talking about 20 minutes twice a month. Surely your kids deserve 20 minutes."
Facing judges
The dance program culminates with with a "dance-off," in which numbered couples pair off in front of judges, leading to the finals at Springfield's Symphony Hall.
One of the more talented dancers, Mariah, said she practiced in the playground, in the mall, in the shower and in her sleep.
The day she got her costume boosted her confidence even higher, she said. "I felt myself opening up and doing a lot of community activities that I know I would never have done without the dance program," said the fifth-grader.
One boy said he does most of his practicing in his basement. His father often watched him there, but was looking forward to seeing him on a stage. "He said he was going to come and see how I do not in a basement."
And poise? The winning couple makes the sharpest turns with such elan, all that's missing is the stem of a rose clenched in their teeth.
What Akeret does is more fulfilling than lucrative, she said. By the time she gives free copies of the documentary's DVD to all the children and instructors who participated in it, she'll about break even. Fundraising is a huge part of her job.
A native of New York City, Akeret and her husband, computer analyst John Daniel, moved to the Pioneer Valley 14 years ago to raise a family. Their sons, Will, a junior at Northampton High School, and Sam, a fourth-grader at Leeds School, both plan to pursue acting as a profession.
"Oh, no," said their father, "can't one of you become a dentist or an accountant?"
Akeret said that the whole idea of "Step by Step" is what the arts can do for everyone, not just the gifted few.
"You always hear, 'How many people are going to become artists?' But the arts are about creativity, something we can use in all our subjects, whether it be arts or sciences. It can help us find cures for cancer, paths for peace."
