Charlotte COAA Student Teachers Discover It’s Cool To Grow A Little Community
“The moment when I knew that I was making a difference in a child’s life was when one of my students truly began to show her passion for dance,” says dance major Amaree Ratliff. “She would be the first one to be ready for class; she would ask for solos and tell me that she loves coming to class and wants to continue dancing.”
Ratliff is one of eight UNC Charlotte interns currently employed by Barre Belle, a local nonprofit that provides free dance and yoga classes through partnerships with organizations such as the Salvation Army and Freedom Schools.
Arts education and youth development are key to the missions of many arts organizations in Charlotte. Across the city, specialized arts programs are offered as part of the school day and in after-school and community settings, and students in the College of Arts + Architecture often earn valuable experience and income teaching in these educational programs.
Barre Belle
The extensive collaboration between Barre Belle and UNC Charlotte began in 2019 “with a simple email to the dance department,” says Barre Belle Founder Noel Pipkin. Barre Belle now offers classes to children and adults in six locations across Charlotte. Each intern is assigned to a location.
“I’m so grateful for the UNC Charlotte partnership,” says Pipkin. “Over the years we’ve had such amazing interns, who value the mission.”
Ratliff has been assigned to the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Youth Center, Sedgefield location, for the past two years, says Pipkin. “She knows her students inside and out.”
A junior, Ratliff is pursuing a double major in dance and international studies, with a minor in French.
“As a child growing up, I couldn’t afford dance lessons, so it is a full circle moment being able to share dance with students like myself,” she says. “By immersing students in the world of dance, they are allowed to form a passion for dance, and music, and possibly pursue further training.”
Riley McGowan, who graduates this May with a BA in Dance, an English minor, and a Certificate in Advanced Dance Studies, taught at a youth center last fall (pictured left) and is now teaching a seniors class at the BlueCross BlueShield Community Center on Freedom Drive.
“Teaching for Barre Belle has been an integral part of my growth as a dance teacher,” she says. “I learn new things each class and form bonds with wonderful children and adults. It has given me the opportunity to not only continue my work with teaching different ages and levels of children, but also to continue with the varying adult and senior age levels as well.”
Opera Carolina
Music education student Mckeila Ortiz is in her second year working in educational programs with Opera Carolina, the region’s professional opera company. An accomplished soprano, Ortiz has performed for thousands of children through Opera Xpress, which each year tours an opera production into local schools and community centers to perform for elementary students. This season, she is singing in dozens of performances of “The Busy Bee.”
In January, Ortiz, who hopes to become an elementary school music teacher after graduating next spring, became a teaching artist for Opera Carolina’s seven-week residency with Reid Park Academy. Each Monday morning, she works with third graders to improve their literacy skills and says it has been “a great experience.”
Teil Taleisin, Learning Programs Manager for Opera Carolina, says that Ortiz has done “a phenomenal job.”
“Mckeila is working independently with one class on English Language Arts subjects, including dramatic uses of voice, exploring theme of stories through colors and images, examining point of view and how that changes a story, discussing character traits and motivation through color and design, using context clues in sentence structure, and more! As one of Opera Carolina’s Opera Xpress artists, we knew that Mckeila would thrive in this opportunity to utilize the arts as a vehicle for learning Core Curriculum in the classroom.”
Lorien Arts
Junior art major McKenzie Edmund learned about the Lorien Arts after-school program from fellow art student Je’wel Lucas, who had been mentoring Lorien Arts students for a couple of years.
“Lorien Arts was founded based on research which strongly suggests that a lack of access to art is one of the greatest disadvantages facing youth living in low-income households,” the program explains on its website. “Inequitable access to art is too easily ignored. It’s ignored by most schools. It’s ignored by most of our society. Lorien Arts exists to address this inequity.”
Edmund, who will graduate in Fall 2026 with a BFA in Art, painting concentration, began teaching in the Lorien Arts program at Governors’ Village STEM Academy Upper Campus in January. Part of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the Title I school serves students in fifth through eighth grades.
“When Je’wel told me about the program, I was interested because that’s where my heart lies, in youth and community,” Edmund says.
Edmund meets with students – typically seven or eight kids participate – every Friday afternoon, 4:30 to 6:00 pm, setting up art supplies in the school’s in-school suspension room. While she sometimes finds the students rambunctious on Friday afternoons, she says the job is rewarding.
“It’s cool to grow a little community, to watch our relationship grow and encourage them in their creativity,” she says. “Creation is something we’re meant to do. We all have this innate ability to create. It closes off a lot when we neglect our creative side.”