By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— Local dance academy Grebel Dance has partnered with Pelham City Schools by providing dance programs to its students and by serving as members of its Collegiate Advisory Board.

Debbie Grebel visits Valley Elementary School each Wednesday at 3 p.m. to work with some of the afterschool kids. There are four children enrolled in the program currently, and she’ll continue accepting new additions through the rest of the school year.

“I enjoy the little ones a lot,” Grebel said. “They are full of ideas too and they just have so much ambition for what they are doing right now. It’s a lot of fun.”

The program works to develop motor skills in the young students, according to Grebel. They will practice running, jumping, leaping and hopping along with some rhythm and movement with music and basic ballet principles.

As of Sept. 4, Grebel had already worked with the elementary school kids, and she said they have been receptive of the program. To show off their skills, the students also have the option to sign up to be part of Grebel Dance’s spring recital.

“They seemed to I enjoy it immensely,” she said. “They leave with smiles, so that’s good.”

Each Sunday, Grebel’s husband, Stevan Grebel, works with the Pelham High School dance team. They mainly work on choreography for the team, along with some jumps, leaps and turns.

This is Grebel Dance’s first year serving the dance team, and Grebel said it’s fun working with all the students. With academies at the high school becoming so popular, Grebel said they hope to get a dance academy in the future.

Serving on the advisory board at the high school level gives the Grebels more time to work with those students as they prepare for college.

The afterschool dance program at Valley Elementary will have open enrollment until they have a class of 10 students, and enrollment is also open for a Valley Intermediate program. Next year, Grebel said they will have an additional program at Riverchase Middle School as well.

Grebel Dance is hosting auditions for The Nutcracker Sept. 12. Auditions start at 9 a.m. and are determined by age group. For more information or to register for an afterschool program, visit Grebeldance.com.