International Day of Dance

April 29 marked International Day of Dance, but even more exciting for many was April 30, the day that more than 900 students from local elementary schools gathered to celebrate Patti Rutland Simpson’s retirement in their own Day of Dance.

​“We just appreciate Mrs. Patti for everything she’s done,” said Kathryn Dennis, a third-grade teacher at Pike County Elementary School. “She’s exposed our kids to dance, and that’s something our schools didn’t have, and that’s a passion our principal was good enough to open the door for.”

​Months of preparation went into this day.

​“Every day in P.E., they’ve been learning this dance,” said Cassidy Garrett, a fifth-grade teacher at Pike County Elementary School. “Since January, they’ve been working really hard to get it right and get the choreography right.”

​Patti Rutland Simpson is not only a renowned dancer and teacher, but also an advocate for diversity and inclusion. The theme for the Day of Dance was “One Race: Human.”

​“All of us should love each other and be kind to each other regardless,” Dennis said.

​Garrett stressed the importance of teaching inclusivity.

​“It’s really important for them to learn because when they become adults, they’ll be productive adults out in the world and be inclusive and care for equality for everybody,” Garrett said.

​After a warmup from the pre-K group, Simpson’s son gave a speech about the importance of dance.

​“Dance taught me discipline,” he said. “Once I started focusing on dance, I started focusing on positive things.”

​Simpson spoke about her retirement.

​“Today is my official retirement,” Simpson said. “There will still be dance classes, there will still be scholarships and I’m still going to come watch you dance, but, I’m going to go out with the same message I started with.

​“Everything we do in our lives makes a difference. You can do something great everyday, and these students are doing something great today.”

​The students of Patti Rutland Jazz gave a class performance to a jazz/hiphop rendition of “The Magic School Bus” theme song, and then a duet was performed by two of the boys in the class.

​To Simpson, dance is more than just movement.

​“The arts have a huge, important place in elementary school and with children,” Simpson said. “I’ve always said when you invest in the arts with children, you’ll never know the outcome.

“Children dance before they walk, love music before they talk, so it’s conducive for a better learning environment and the children are exercising and learning what the arts are all about.”

​Even though Patti Rutland Simpson is retiring as the Artistic Director of Patti Rutland Jazz, everything will continue as usual, including classes, outreach and scholarships.

Scholarships for Pike County Schools students are available through funding made available by Pike County Schools, the Simpson Charitable Foundation and PRJ Arts and Innovation.