Sophie Klein ('09) Pays it Forward
Sophie Klein graduated from National Dance Institute’s Celebration Team only two years ago, but the high school junior has already begun raising funds to help more children experience the power of NDI.
For the past two years Klein has volunteered her Saturday mornings, serving as a sighted guide for the students who dance with NDI’s program at the The Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School at Lighthouse International, a school for the blind and visually impaired. Klein attributes much of her personal growth to NDI and was eager to contribute to the growth of other young people. She is particularly struck by how blind students acquire freedom of movement from dance. "They spend much of their lives being cautious," observes Klein. "It is hard for some of the kids to initially trust that they will be safe. Not only do the Lighthouse dancers quickly learn to let it all go, but they are also held to the same standard of excellence that NDI demands of the rest of us dancers.”
Klein currently attends The Heschel School, which donates money each year to a different charitable cause. Students campaign to their peers to vote for the funds to go to a cause they believe in. And Klein campaigned hard for NDI. When NDI advanced as a semifinalist, Klein invited a group of fellow students to visit classes at the Lighthouse. "I felt that it was very important for them to come and experience the Lighthouse for themselves,” says Klein. As she was working with one of the dancers, she realized the students who came to observe had begun dancing with the class. Those students reported back to their peers, the school voted, and two days later NDI was announced the recipient a $2,100 gift.
Master Teacher/Choreographer Dr. Jenny Seham leads the Lighthouse program. “Sophie is a brilliant example of NDI’s continuing contribution to the humanistic development of NDI alumni who are now teens and young adults.” says Dr. Seham. “Sophie recently volunteered to receive supervision while working with a brand new student whose mobility and cognitive challenges are significant. She asks constantly to be challenged. Her dedication is unquestionable. Our alumni continue to pay it forward in remarkable, creative, and astonishing ways.”
“My confidence as a dancer and a human being has grown since starting NDI at the age of 9,” Klein reflects. “I cannot imagine my life without NDI.”
Interview by Wes Webb
February 2011
