Off the rocky dirt road stood a disheveled, broken down building in the shadow of a few sparse trees. This was the notorious orphanage I had heard so much about in the rural countryside of the country of Georgia. Crammed in the backseat of a tiny, stifling-hot vehicle I could see several children walking up the dirt road. Beyond the children donkeys dragged carts with piles of hay balanced on the top. The children were dressed well—in fairly modern clothing (see picture to the left. These are some of the youths in the new village Youth Center sponsored by World Vision). They looked clean and their hair was done, though later I would discover that they smelled like the foul orphanage from which they came.

This orphanage smelled like urine, my professor had said, and lacked the heat and amenities children need to survive in a place that freezes over in the winter. The pictures I had seen were atrocious. The outside looked no better. Children die there every winter.

I was on my way to teach the older ones who had survived.

As a policy intern I didn’t expect to teach ballet halfway across the world, but I was glad to do it. Over the years I’ve taught ballet to students of all ages and backgrounds. During college I was fortunate to be employed at the studio where I grew up and where my first ballet lessons were given: Civic Dance Center.

Though at the age of 11 I began leaving Civic for training on the east coast under full scholarship and housing, Civic was where I received my first tuition scholarship. Cindy and Kevin, the owners who have known me since I was five years old, have thrived in the small town and given back to it in a variety of ways. Many students have studied there under scholarship. They provided a place for wealthy and poor students alike to grow in the art that they love. Their staff generally consisted of dancers who had graduated from their school and remained in the area to teach. It was always a trusted circle of individuals.

Just recently that trust was broken.

I heard about the news scandal in my hometown via web news. Two of the dance teachers at the studio, (a married couple) who had not grown up there but began teaching a few years ago after moving to Bakersfield, were accused of child molestation, among other things. A month later the couple, though they pled not guilty, were declared guilty of crimes against a 14 year old girl.

Kevin made statements to the press that the teachers had been fired as soon as the girl’s mother brought the information to their attention. This occured months before the police investigation was completed.

When I saw the picture of the 34 year old male teacher, Anthony Corriea, online, I winced. I taught him and his wife--when I was still teaching occasionally at the studio. Now they were in jail.

Immediately upon hearing about the story I felt sick. Would the community perceive the studio and those who worked there differently? Who was the victim and how had it affected her and her family? What was it doing to Cindy and Kevin and the other teachers?

I do not know whether or not the accusations against the dance teachers are completely true. I do not know what the situation did to Cindy and Kevin. I don't know who the victim is and what it did to her. I do, however, know what the situation did to me.

It made me remember all the years of training and enjoyment I received at that small studio. It made me remember how much like a family it often was—complete with occasional dysfunction. It made me remember Cindy’s classes when I was very young—and how much she made me love ballet. It made me remember how fortunate I was to learn an art that I could passionately pass on to others. It made me remember how my training there opened up doors for me all over and led me to the best ballet schools and teachers the world has to offer.

I've had the fortune of dancing at School of American Ballet--the first ballet school ever opened in the United States and arguably the best. It was founded by George Balanchine who was, funny enough, from the country of Georgia where I taught the orphans.

I’ve had the fortune of training at Pennsylvania Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Westside Academy, among others. I’ve trained under famous and inspiring ballet dancers. I’ve been given opportunities to teach in many locations for a variety of different reasons because I've had such diverse training. But every time I trained somewhere, the first question I received was: "what school are you from?" My answer, no matter where I was training, was always "Civic Dance Center." No matter how great the teacher, they were always impressed by my training at that school. And I have yet to find a teacher who inspires her students as much as Cindy always inspired us.

It made me want to inspire others to love ballet similarly. Bringing ballet to the orphans of Georgia was the greatest ballet-teaching opportunity I’ve ever had. These kids grew up against enormous odds without anyone to love them except each other.

In the newly-built World Vision Youth Center I taught them ballet and art on an unfinished wooden floor. They didn’t have dance clothes. They have nothing, really. But some of them had innate talent. Some of them loved what I taught them. Some of them danced their little hearts out that day.

My hope is that the mess Civic is going through now will not impede further generations from bringing ballet to those who otherwise would not have had the chance to experience it. I hope it does not keep students from teaching at-risk kids in urban areas like my sisters and I have done in the past. I hope it will not prevent new generations of dancers from discovering how much they love their art. I hope it will not keep Cindy and Kevin from knowing that though recent staff members of theirs have harmed one of their students, most of their staff have always done more good than harm. And they themselves have done the most good of all, for kids who otherwise would never have had a chance to dance.