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Each year, our studio chooses a cause to support and hosts a benefit concert to raise funds for our chosen focus. This year, we selected the Esther House – a home for children in Cambodia. This cause was an incredible opportunity for our dancers to be reminded of how fortunate they truly are. Without focusing on the horrors that happen to children throughout the world, and certainly in Cambodia, suffice to say that our dancers have no concept of that level of need.
Throughout the process of creating a concert, we discussed themes of poverty, need, neglect – and also hope, love, inclusion, and compassion. We presented our dancers with a breath-taking hip hop piece that had been performed by another group as a social commentary on orphans. It began with the astounding statistic that every day 5,760 more children become orphans. This reality is heart-wrenching.
In a few hours of rehearsal, these dancers created a moving piece of art to present in their benefit concert. The results of the concert and their hard work was a record-breaking $ 3,000 raised for the Esther House.
Most dances performed in our benefit concert never see the light of day again, but our girls connected to this particular piece and asked if they could perform it again at a local dance competition.
We agreed. A few days ago, we received the devastating news that the husband of the husband/wife missionary team who runs the Esther House died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Stefan was not only an amazing man, who did incredible work, he was also the best friend of one of our studio families. One of our dance moms, Lara, immediately booked a flight to Cambodia to provide comfort and mourn her friend. She took along with her our thoughts and prayers, and unexpectedly was able to hand deliver our donation to the home.
She wanted the girls who were in the home to feel the time, love, and artistry that was created in their honor. At the same time, back in Eugene, our dancers took the stage to dance the piece “Putting Down Roots” one more time.
This twist of fate joined these two groups of young women in a way that I hope each will remember far beyond this weekend. Our dancers danced a piece that was never intended to be performed again, as the Esther House buried their leader and mentor. Feet on the stage in Oregon and hearts half a world away in Cambodia.
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Sarah Beth Byrum received her Bachelor’s Degree in Dance from the University of Oregon and founded All That! Dance Company that same year. Sarah Beth began dancing at the age of three, training in all styles. Sarah Beth was published in Spotlight on Dance and featured in Family Fun Magazine. She was the recipient of prestigious Gerald E. Bruce Award by the Ford Family Foundation. She has also been awarded by the National Dance Educators Association, Oregon Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, the Junior Miss Scholarship Program, and Phi Beta Fraternity for the Arts. Sarah Beth was recently honored by the University of Oregon's Dance Department with their prestigious Community Partnership Award. Her expertise has been published in Dance Studio Life magazine and she is a member of the worldwide Dance Studio Owners Association. Her passion for dance has led her to produce over fifty full length concert events, as well as being the founder and creative director for the annual production of the Nutcracker Remixed. She has received countless awards for her choreography and the technical proficiency of her students at both regional and national competitions. Sarah Beth shares her love for dance with students of all ages from toddlers through adults.
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