Broadway dancer Paige Fraser hosts 5th annual "Dance Is Healing" workshop in the Bronx
NEW YORK -- A Broadway dancer is showing kids in her Bronx community the power of passion and hard work.
Paige Fraser hosted her fifth annual Dance Is Healing workshop this week. She overcame physical challenges and is inspiring others to do the same.
Movement makes up the mission of Dance Is Healing, a program of the Paige Fraser Foundation, which was founded by her aunt Lesmah as a way to use her story to help others.
For the past five years, while achieving her own dreams, Fraser found time to give back to the Bronx neighborhood she grew up in.
"They're in a space where they can move at their own pace, ask questions and have someone in the front of the room that understands them," she said.
An inclusive space was key for Fraser.
At 13 years old, just as she started to get serious about dancing, doctors gave her a diagnosis of severe scoliosis.
"That was really a traumatic experience. You know, you hear this word, and you're like, what is that? You see your x-ray. You're like, what is that?" she said.
Through therapy, she's achieved the role of dance captain in "The Lion King" on Broadway, inspiring students like Omarion Burke, who joined Fraser's first class in 2018. He now attends Julliard with help from scholarship funding.
"It's just really inspiring to be in her presence and to talk to her and everything because she has so much knowledge and so much wisdom," he said.
This is Fraser's first year hosting adult classes, allowing dancers like Burke to keep coming back.
"Whether you are going through personal things or physical things, dance is healing. It's just been beautiful to see the smile on the participants' faces," Fraser said.
The Paige Fraser Foundation recently received two government grants to help the program expand further, ultimately aiming to open her own arts and wellness center for the community.