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By John Gordon
United Methodist News Service

Something more than dancing is taking place as Barbara Gaskill teaches a ballet lesson at an inner-city elementary school.

In the shadows of the poverty of a largely immigrant neighborhood, Gaskill introduces her students to the dance of kings.

'It just changes their whole self-image. You know, they're doing something special,' says Gaskill, who teaches dance history and appreciation at the University of Maryland-College Park.

Gaskill started The Ballet Studio in 1992 as a ministry of her church, Metropolitan Memorial UMC. She wanted to make it possible for children to learn ballet regardless of their nationalities or their families' financial challenges.

She now offers the classes at Brightwood Elementary in Washington. Many of the families of Brightwood students came to the United States from Ethiopia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and other countries.

'I like ballet because ballet is elegant, and I like ballet because it was invented by a French king,' says Erica Hodge, 7, a second-grader. Ballet's origins actually can be traced back to Italy during the 1400s. Under French leadership, the art form developed and became popular in courts throughout Europe.

Erica's mother, Rosa Santos, is from the Dominican Republic. She describes the free ballet lessons as a 'wonderful opportunity.'

'It helps us a lot,' Santos says, 'because she will have more opportunity in a lot of places since she learned how to dance ballet. And our family is really, really proud.'

Gaskill's nonprofit organization also offers scholarships to children. Some have moved on to prestigious high schools and colleges.

'What they learn really is that it doesn't matter what your heritage is,' she says. 'Yes, you keep that. Yes, you cherish it. Yes, you bring it with you and it enhances what you're doing in the classroom and on the stage, if we ever get there. But it's not something that has to isolate you.'

The lessons they learn in ballet are reflected in the dreams of her students.

'When I grow up, I want to be an ice skater,' says Joselin Flores, 8, who is from El Salvador.

'I think it might help me because it's kind of like ballet, because sometimes you have to jump and curtsy and other things,' she says.

Gaskill started her program long on heart and short on budget.

The Ballet Studio operates with a budget of about $10,000 a year. Donations come from Metropolitan Memorial UMC and the United Methodist Women at her church. She also receives support from the United Way and the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area.

Gaskill donates her time to the program and has no other staff. She has taught dance in the Washington area for three decades and has worked at George Washington University, Wesley Theological Seminary and other schools.

Another goal is to start a summer program this year. Gaskill says the children of immigrant families seldom venture outside their own neighborhoods.

'All summer long, they stay cooped up in their own little apartments,' she says. 'So we're working toward doing a summer program.'

Meanwhile, Erica Hodge has set her sights on becoming a doctor ? and a ballet teacher.

'I can make other children's dreams come true,' she says.

Those kinds of dreams make the effort worthwhile for Gaskill.

'When you walk back into that school in September and you think, 'Oh, I don't have the strength to do this again, I'm too tired,'' she says, 'and one of the little kids sees you walk in and breaks out of her teacher's line and just screams 'Miss Barbara' and just flings herself at you, I mean, it's worth every second.'