DARE STUDENTS DANCE FOR HEALTH

ATASCOSA -- They stumble through a slow one-two-three count dance
routine, their movements not quite in sync and their toes far from
pointed. They can barely keep up, but the fifth-grade students at Elm
Creek Elementary School's DARE program, their bright red "DARE Dancer"
T-shirts knotted tightly behind their backs, are eager and impatient
for more.

"Can we do it faster?" they ask.

Victoria Vela joins other members of the DARE Dance pilot program
during a practice at Elm Creek Elementary School, a Southwest
Independent School District campus, in Atascosa.

Dance instructor Ashley Bell, looking not much older than her
students, walks to the stereo and picks a 1980s tune from The Cars to
set a faster tempo.

The handful of students -- mostly girls except for two boys who take
their place in the back of the group in the cafeteria -- have been
meeting as part of the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Dance
pilot program launched March 1 at the Southwest Independent School
District campus, located at 11535 Pearsall Road.

It's the only school in the San Antonio area and one of about 100
nationwide participating in the program, meant to keep children safe
and drug-free by teaching them to dance. The goal is that, at the end
of 10 weeks, the students will perform for their peers, parents and
teachers.

While other schools operate the program the whole year, Elm Creek got
started late and could only hold one 10-week session, Bell said.

But already, she said, the students have benefited.

"I've noticed their attention spans are a lot more honed," she said.
"I want them to learn about their bodies and how to move them and
function. And with DARE, we look to give them something to do instead
of being out in the streets so they're not tempted to try drugs."

The program also teaches students how to use the right and left sides
of the brain, Bell said.

Victor Lopez, 10, thought DARE would just be talks about staying away
from drugs. So when he heard about the dance program, he was surprised
and curious to see what it was all about.

He signed up thinking he probably wouldn't like it. Now, he dances at
home every chance he gets.

"I like the way it makes you feel good if you're sad or happy or
feeling any kind of emotion," he said. "It makes you want to get up
and do it again."

The program is funded through San Antonio Sam's Clubs and by DARE
America, said Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy Teresa Ochoa, instructor
with the DARE program. She hopes that next year the program will
expand to more area schools if funding is received.

"We will make some changes. It's only our first year, and so it's only
going to get better," she said.

For Amber Salinas, 11, the program is already pretty
good.

Amber has always liked dancing. She began when she was about 4 and
bugged her parents to get her involved in cheerleading. The DARE
program let her do a little extra dancing on the side, she said.

"I just feel excited whenever they tell me something new," she said.
"It makes me feel good."

Dancing is something that Victoria Vela, 10, always has wanted to do.
It's fun learning new tricks, she said. Her favorite thing to do so
far is leaping.

But she's learning more than just dancing, she said.

"I've also learned that even though you can't do a dance routine,
never give up trying to do your best and it will come out good for
you," she said. "Later in life you're going to need to learn that to
achieve success."