St. John School of the Arts Offers Free Salsa Dance Classes

The St. John School of the Arts is teaming up with the University of the Virgin Islands to offer a program in dance for middle school students attending the Julius E. Sprauve School and the Gifft Hill School.

Middle school students at the Julius E. Sprauve School pose with instructor Elle Nielson at the St. John School of the Arts. (Photo courtesy St. John School of the Arts)

And as part of the School of the Arts’ community arts program, UVI dance instructor Elle Nielson will also be teaching classes in salsa dance which are free and open to all.

The master class for adults will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The class for youngsters (age six and up) will be held Thursday at 3:30 pm. Both classes will be held at the St. John School of the Arts studio/performance space in Cruz Bay.

Nielson is an instructor in dance at the St. Croix campus of UVI which began offering a fine arts program with a major in dance two years ago. Nielson grew up on St. Croix where she was named Miss St. Croix in 2016-17.

Students at the Gifft Hill School line up with their partners. (Photo courtesy St. John School of the Arts)

Nielson received her BFA in dance and graduated Cum Laude from Jacksonville University; following that, she obtained a master’s degree with a concentration in studio and related studies and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Florida State University. Recently, she received her Ph.D. in the Philosophy of Fine Arts from Kingdom Truth University.

For further information, call SJSA at 340-779-4322 or email info@stjohnschoolofthearts.org.