TAMPA, Fla. — For professional ballet dancer Hannah Box, Shoe Day is one of the best days of the year.
"It is very powerful to give them something that is theirs and theirs to keep," the star at the Straz Center's Patel Conservatory said.
About 75 children at the Metropolitan Ministries Youth Enrichment Center in Tampa received free ballet shoes recently and will get to use them at free ballet lessons throughout next year.
The children attend the Sullivan Partnership School across the street. Sullivan is one of 47 education partners in the Straz Arts Education Partnership Program, which focuses on schools in underserved areas.
"It's all about empowering them," the Straz's Alice Santana said of the kids enjoying Shoe Day. "The moment we put those shoes in their hands, they gain ownership over their new art form."
The students will perform a big recital next spring.
