Summer at the Studio
Hi friends! It’s been a busy summer at Ballet Adora! At the beginning of June we had the joy of joining Barefoot Republic’s Summer Camp teaching dance classes in Franklin, TN for children from all over the Nashville area. It was an incredible two weeks spent at Amy Grant’s farm and it was such an amazing experience spending time with kids, many of which experienced ballet for the first time!
Barefoot Republic is a non-profit whose mission is to bring kids from all different backgrounds together to share the Gospel through arts and athletics. We were truly blown away by the amazing people that we met! Everyone was so friendly and kind and it was so inspiring to see the way that the kids blossomed over the course of camp!
Each morning began with worship lead by Amy Grant and the band where everyone joined together for praise songs and a message from a local pastor. The staff and volunteers were so full of love, great energy, and love for the kids. Their hearts for God and for all the children was so evidently seen in everything that they did!
We taught our dance classes in Ms Amy’s barn and the sounds of music, kid’s laughter, and the summer sunshine filled the barn and it was such a beautiful experience!
We met new friends like Sarah, the flower farmer from Virginia, and it was inspiring to be surrounded by so many different people who gave of their talent and experience to bless the kids at the camp. There were so many activities to enjoy from horseback riding, archery, football, flower farming, songwriting, vocal performance and so much more!
At the end of each week there was an end of camp performance where kids were able to share what they had learned throughout camp with their parents. During the first week the kids learned choreography to Ben Rector’s “Dream On” and during the second week they danced to “Wide, High, Long, Deep” by Ellie Holcomb. They were incredible!
One of my favorite parts of the experience was getting to hear from the founder of Barefoot Republic, Tommy Rhodes, share about how he had the vision to start the ministry when he was really young and how he wanted it to be a glimpse of how heaven is going to be - full of people of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities joining together to worship Jesus.
It was such a great reminder of knowing the “why” behind what you do. That if you have talents, resources, and time you don’t know what kind of impact that can have in the lives of kids. Because who you tell kids they are when they’re little is often who they visualize growing up to be.
It was such an inspiring experience and one that is truly a highlight of my career. So thankful to Barefoot for the opportunity!
Much love,
Abigail
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