Check It Out.

Young dancers are getting involved with giving back to the community and with doing volunteer work. On June 24, at City Center in New York, Selfhelp Community Services presented In Homage: A Tribute to Families with AIDS. All proceed from the evening went to help clients continue to live at home and keep their families together. The evening's artistic director was seventeen-year-old Rasta Thomas, who also performed solo and with partner Adrienne Canterna. Other performers included DanceBrazil, tap dancers of Newly Released Sound, and Joffrey Ballet principal Jodie Gates. Future plans for Rasta include a feature film with Patrick Swayze, one of Homage's presenters.

Kerri Edge, the artistic director of Kerri Edge Children's Dance Ensemble (KECDE!), and her dancers have worked together with the community in a year-long project called "Take Back the Park"--cleaning up Brookville Park in Queens, New York. "KEDCE! is not just a dance company, but a community-service organization," says Kerri. "We use dance as a vehicle to bring service to the community and to bring opportunities to the youth."

Last year, the students of the Milford Performing Arts Center in Milford, Connecticut, raised more money than any other studio in the country to become the first Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA) Studio of the Year. The dancers received an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City, including classes, performances, and the opportunity to perform at Lincoln Center Plaza alongside dancers from Momix, the cast of Footloose, and the Radio City Rockettes (among others)in the Kick Off for National Dance Week. "Not only was it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it is also a great way to help the community," says Milford student Stefanie Hennes. For more information about participating in this year's Studio of the Year Competition, contact: DRA/Studio of the Year, 165 West 46th Street, Suite 1300, New York, NY 10036 or fax to [phone].

LEARN MORE ABOUT SCOTTISH HIGHLAND DANCING

You don't need to be a Scot to be a Highland dancer--it's something everyone can do! You can get more information about Scottish Highland dancing in your area by contacting your local Scottish association, listed in your phone book. On-line, check out the Federation of United States Teachers and Adjudicators (FUSTA) or ScotDance Web pages for your regional representatives, and they can put you in contact with a teacher in your area, or write to FUSTA at the address below. Some ballet schools, such as Peninsula School of Performing Arts in Palos Verdes, California, offer summer programs in Scottish Highland dancing.

Places to start:

* Federation of United States Teachers and Adjudicators. www.geocities.com/Colosseum/ Slope/6108. Or write to Nancy Strolle, Senior Executive, FUSTA, 7205 Exner Road, Darien, IL 60561

* ScotDance Canada: www.cyberus.ca/scotdance99

* Highland Dancing, The Textbook of the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing; Lindsay Publications, Glasgow, Scotland; Sixth Edition, 1993.