MARTINSVILLE, Va. (May 5, 2025) — More than 120 fourth graders from Albert Harris Elementary and Patrick Henry Elementary took part in Dance Español over the week of April 28. The program culminated on Friday with a special performance for the students’ classmates, teachers and families.
The program was presented in schools by Piedmont Arts and led by Southwest Virginia Ballet Artistic Director Pedro Szalay. The students worked with Szalay to learn Spanish vocabulary and how movement helps to build a healthy relationship with their bodies and minds. Their daily 45-minute sessions were designed to teach discipline, dedication and self-awareness through dance. Excitement and pride were high at the performance, as students sang songs in Spanish and performed the dances that they learned during the workshop.
This marked the final year of Dance Español for Szalay, who has been teaching workshops for 18 years in Martinsville and Henry County. He is retiring from Southwest Virginia Ballet at the end of June and moving to Scotland.
Szalay said that when he started this work it was about teaching and helping dancers to improve. “Now, as all this time has passed, it’s so powerful to think of the impact we’ve made together in people’s lives. Those are the memories I will keep with me forever.”
Piedmont Arts held a special reception for him on Friday to celebrate the impact he has had on the lives of youth and adults in Martinsville and Henry County through programs like Dance Español, Minds in Motion and Dancing for the Arts.
“Pedro has been a part of the Piedmont Arts family since he first taught Minds in Motion workshops in our schools,” said Executive Director Heidi Pinkston. “His positive attitude and dedication to youth have had an immeasurable impact on our community.”
Piedmont Arts’ educational outreach programs are presented free of charge to students and schools. The museum reaches more than 5,000 students per year with its programming. To make a donation to the museum’s Kay Smith Education Fund, click here.
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