In S. Tucson, they're Dancing in the Streets

Joseph Rodgers and his wife, Soleste Lupu, watch the girls stretch their calves and work the muscles on their inner legs, coaching them on how to perfect their moves so their bodies get a full workout.

The girls repeatedly bend their knees, point their toes and flex their feet, alternating legs.

"Lift that leg up, Lizzy," Rodgers yells to the 9-year-old, a student at Cavett Elementary School.

Elizabeth "Lizzy" Oquita was working on her moves at the old studio, which was at 2302 S. Fourth Ave. However, starting June 8, the studio will be at 88 W. 38th St., Suite 2, in the new Social Security Administration building in the one-square-mile city of South Tucson.

During a break, Lizzy explains why she loves to come to ballet class.

"I get to dance, and I love to dance," said Lizzy, who proudly rattles off the characters she played in "The Nutcracker" last December at the Berger Performing Arts Center on the campus of the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

"I was a flower, a doll, a mouse and a party girl," Lizzy said.

Vanesa Cardenas, 10, who is home-schooled, likes class because Rodgers is "funner than a lot of other teachers."

"He plays around and makes us laugh," Vanesa said between the warm-up exercises.

Emily Brogdon, 8, a student at Lynn Urquides Elementary School, is coming out of her shell since she began taking ballet classes three months ago, said her aunt, Yvonne Brogdon. "She enjoys ballet and is twirling and dancing a lot more. She is improving her coordination, and when she is home, we have to sit through performances all the time," she said.

"Dancing is good for the 'hood," said Rodgers, 47, explaining that he and Lupu, 44, opened the nonprofit organization last August because they wanted to give back to their community. The couple are the co-founders, artistic directors and instructors at the studio. They met as teens studying at the Tucson Academy of Dance.

Rodgers, who grew up in the South Park neighborhood and attended Catalina High School, earned a scholarship to attend the San Francisco Ballet School but was expelled because he was not following the rules. He returned to Tucson and got tangled up with drugs. He became involved with a cousin who was forging checks and ended up serving six months in prison in 1984.

When he was released, dance saved him. He danced professionally for 25 years, including with Arizona Dance Theatre, Ballet Arizona and Hartford Ballet in Connecticut. He went on tour in China and performed with the Feld Ballet in New York City, Ballet Chicago and the Milwaukee Ballet. He also danced at the Kennedy Center with the Washington National Opera under the direction of Placido Domingo.

Lupu, who plays viola and performed with the University of Arizona Symphony, has training in ballet, jazz and musical theater. She choreographed and performed in Camp Humphreys, South Korea, and also performed with the LaMond Dance Ensemble in Tacoma, Wash.

Rodgers and Lupu, both of whom married others and divorced, reconnected 13 years ago and married one year ago. In 2006, they returned to Tucson to help care for family members, and are now giving children "a chance to taste the success of creative performance," Lupu said.

The students' next performance, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," is June 28 at 2 p.m. at Pima Community College's Center for the Arts Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets cost $10; it's $5 for age 12 and younger. To buy tickets, call 206-6986.

"We want this studio to belong to families, and we don't turn children away," Lupu said, adding that they accept donations for props, costumes and scholarships. "We are changing minds, changing lives one jeté (a ballet leap) at a time," Lupu said.

DANCE THIS SUMMER

Dancing in the Streets Arizona is a nonprofit organization that opened last August and offers ballet classes. Co-founders Joseph Rodgers and his wife, Soleste Lupu, are also artistic directors of the ballet studio in the city of South Tucson.

So if you're wondering how to keep your children active this summer, Dancing in the Streets Arizona is among the South Side dance studios that may offer what your child needs.

• What: Dancing in the Streets Arizona.

• When: Ballet summer session runs from June 8 to Aug. 1.

• Where: Starting June 8, the new location for the studio is 88 W. 38th St., Suite 2, in the Social Security Administration building.

• Information: Go to www.ditsaz.org or call 867-8489 or 298-7738.