Dancing feat; Woodstock teen named Presidential Scholar in the Arts.

Byline: Sarah L. Hamby

WOODSTOCK - Dancing on tables is not something that is usually encouraged, but Woodstock Academy senior and Presidential Scholar in the Arts Daniel Mitra not only gets away with it, he does it with style.

In June, the 17-year-old will perform for President Barack Obama as one of 20 National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts youngARTS finalists.

YoungARTS is a core program of the NFAA that provides, according to nfaa.org, "recognition and awards to young artists across the country." The program recognizes artistic excellence in the areas of cinematic arts, dance, jazz, music/instrumental, voice, photography, theater, visual arts and writing. There are 141 high school seniors who have been chosen by the U.S. Department of Education and The Commission on Presidential Scholars as the 2009 Presidential Scholars. Only 20 of the students were designated as Presidential Scholars in the Arts after participating in a weeklong residency in Florida known as youngARTS week earlier this year. Daniel received a Silver Award for his efforts as a semifinalist in Miami, an accomplishment that he is so proud of he forgets to mention that the award comes with a $5,000 cash prize.

Daniel is a tap dancer at heart but has hip-hop moves that put to shame contestants on "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing With The Stars." He watches both with his mother, Woodstock Academy Special Education Director Ann Mitra.

He began his training at age 3 at Putnam Dance Center. He studied there until he was 10 and moved on to more difficult training that required the young man's parents to drive him to classes more than an hour away at The Dance Inn in Lexington, Mass., where he worked with his most influential teacher, Josh Hilberman.

Having such a dedicated family has been a key element in his success.

"We always exposed them (Danial and his 19-year-old brother) to the arts," Mrs. Mitra said.

Daniel noted that while some parents might not encourage a son to become a dancer, he was not denied. "We didn't just hand them a soccer ball and say `that's all you're getting,'" agreed his mother, who has an interest in aerobics and ballroom dancing.

"They were OK at it," he said while laughing about his parent's abilities.

Now Daniel combines his classical education with an innate ability to pull from dance videos, absorbing steps from MTV, BET, movies such as "You Got Served" and a musical he mentions repeatedly and with reverence: "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk." He has moved beyond the abilities of the Quiet Corner. He travels to New York City every Sunday to train and assist at The Tap City Youth Ensemble. He has a practice room at home where, his mother says, he spends from one to three hours a day. The sound of his tap shoes echo off the hardwood floors, sometimes late into the night.

And if you're ever at a school dance, he has a rule: "I solo one time per dance per social event."

Citing inspiration from tap greats such as Jimmy Slyde, thanking the vaudeville performers who paved the way, many of whom he has met, and mentioning that Michael Jackson "was the greatest entertainer of all time," he tapped, shuffled and hip-hopped across a tabletop at the school as he gave an impromptu performance.

In June he will slide all the way to Washington, D.C., as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, where he will dance for the first family at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts - an opportunity for which he is willing to miss his high school graduation ceremony.

When he returns from Washington, he plans to attend residencies at Jacobs Pillow in the Berkshires and multiple dance festivals this summer. He has been accepted to City College of New York, but said he hopes to attend Columbia University School of General Studies. He said he intends to "move to New York and pursue dance as a profession."

"Music and dance are two universal languages: Those who can't comprehend either are ignorant to culture," he said.

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Seventeen-year-old Daniel Mitra will perform for President Barack Obama at the Kennedy Center in June.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/RICK CINCLAIR