Dance checks every box

A select group of West Philadelphia students, had the chance to take part in a daylong dance clinic and perform with the Quaker Girls Dance Team, an audition-only Penn club founded in 2005 that performs at Penn Basketball and Penn Football games during halftime, in addition to an annual performance for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The clinic is just part of the dance team’s engagement with the students, says Lauren Van, a second-year student from Irvine, California, majoring in chemical engineering. In the spring semester, Van took a course on urban university-community relations with Netter Center for Community Partnerships director Ira Harkavy and in a 75-page paper outlined a proposed expansion of the partnership between the Quaker Girls and university-assisted community schools.

As part of the clinic, the Quaker Girls Dance Team worked with 42 students aged 5 to 18 from Henry C. Lea, Benjamin B. Comegys, Andrew Hamilton, and Paul Robeson High School. The dance squad also has an ongoing commitment to mentor the Robeson cheer team on Fridays after school.

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