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Last year, Miami Palmetto High School senior Leena Netto started a community service project called Dancing for a Purpose.
“It’s dance classes and lessons for children in lower socio-economic families who don’t have the means to take them,” she says. “I’ve always loved the idea to be able to teach dance. I wanted to do a project to share this knowledge, with kids who don’t have the means to (take dance class).”
The first eight-week program was held in South Miami, at Branches. She worked with children aged six to seven to 12-years-old.
“This year I’m hoping to expand it,” she says. “I taught them jazz, dance, hip hop, acrobatic and technic dances to develop those skills.”
She has two more organizations that she wants to work with and add an end-of-the-year showcase as well as raising money for the necessary costumes.
“Hopefully I can implement this in those places as well,” she says. “I’m hoping to start it as soon as September or October.”
Netto says she realized that the program at Branches was meaningful when four-year-olds were begging to join the class.
“The girls wanted the opportunity to take the classes I was offering,” she says.
Netto has been dancing since she was three. She’s been on the Palmetto dance team, Variations, since sophomore year. This year she’s the senior officer for Variations.
“I help the captain lead the stretches and warmups,” she says. “I am kind of a mentor figure for the under classmen.”
Variations performs at football games and pep rallies. They also compete at regional and state competitions.
Outside of school she dances at True Movement Dance Studio. She dances all styles of dances including contemporary, jazz, ballet and competes at various competitions.
Her volunteer work at Kendall United Methodist Church is important to her. She teaches Vacation Bible School each summer and Bible study at Camp Mustard Seed.
“I’ve had the opportunity to teach Bible studies and worship songs,” she says. “I was able to teach kids from 18-months to 8-years-old. I’ve taught abstract and difficult concepts from the Bible in a way the children could apply to their own lives.”
She’s taught Sunday School and the past two summers she’s taught Bible Studies. She believes she’s helping the children understand the concepts she’s teaching. In fact, she learned one of the four-year-olds she taught told his mom the story she had taught.
“He was able to recite the whole thing to his mom that night,” Netto says.
Netto attended pre-school at the church and went to Vacation Bible School and summer camp there as well.
Since freshman year, she has been volunteering at different dance studios teaching youngsters and choreographing dances. She also taught acrobatic classes and technique classes.
At Palmetto, Netto is a member of the National Honor Society, the English National Honor Society, the Spanish National Honor Society and Psi Alpha, the psychology honor society.
She’s also in the Senior Class Cabinet.
She was in DECA sophomore year when she took the business class where she received certification in small business and entrepreneurship.
This year she’s in the Dual Enrollment Criminal Law Class where they learn about criminal law and participate in Mock Trials. She plans to join the Mock Trial Club.
In college she plans to take pre-law classes so she can go on to law school.
“I’ve always been interested in criminal law and I’ve also been interested in family law,” she says.
Her college applications include the University of Florida, Florida State, Nova Southeastern and the University of Miami.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
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