Fraternity collaborates to 'Save the Arts'

11/4/09 - Yesterday morning, the University of Rhode Island's Memorial Union Ballroom was filled with Spanish music and smiling, dancing children as a collaboration of groups rallied to raise awareness of the disappearing arts programs in public schools.The event, "Saving the Arts," was created by Lambda Upsilon Lambda, a recently restarted fraternity that focuses on community service.

La Unidad Latina, as the fraternity is also known as, was founded in 1992. Junior Wilthon Madera, the fraternity's president, was on a mission to bring awareness to the increasing number of schools that are dropping its art programs due to low funding. Hoping for support, Madera entered URI's Child Development Center, a pre-school and kindergarten on Lower College Road, and approached the center's director, Sue Warford for partnership.

Madera expressed his idea to Warford to have an event where the children can experience the arts. Together, Madera and Warford discussed ideas and planned the event within a month of their initial meeting.

Madera wanted to incorporate the arts in the event and chose dance because "kids are young with short attention spans."

"Saving the Arts" came together with the help of URI's multicultural dance team, Xposure, who taught dances to the CDC children.

Warford said she was ecstatic to participate in the program.

"This is an opportunity to help them learn about dance that they may not have otherwise been exposed to," she said.

Though the CDC was not one of the schools deprived of the arts, as the cutbacks mainly affect public school children, especially in Providence, R.I., Warford still saw the event as an opportunity to engage her students.

"We incorporate [arts] in our daily life but grab every opportunity for the children that are delightful," she said.

At yesterday's event, members of Xposure taught the children "Bachata," a native Dominican Republican dance.

"[The children were] quicker to pick up on steps than people our age, and they are eager to learn," Nicholas Correa said, a volunteer from Johnson and Wales University.

After the children were taught the dance, they were allowed free dancing time. They danced with each other as well as the teachers and Xposure dancers.

At the end of the hour of fun and dancing, Warford asked the children if they had anything to say. A chorus of 34 little voices yelled "thank you" in unison, then the children filed out of the ballroom in pairs except for one little girl who ran to a member of Xposure yelling "gracias" before hugging her new friend goodbye.

Xposure has been around for two years. The group was originally known as "El Son Sensual." They changed their name this year and have since grown to about 25-30 members. The group dances to anything from Spanish music to hip hop, representative sophomore Claudia Blanco said. Xposure is very community orientated and accustomed to performing shows both on and off campus.

Madera said he hopes "Saving the Arts" will be an annual experience that will be held each fall semester.

"What more fun way to learn than through dance?" Warford said.