Well, I told you he could DANCE!

Russell in his junior year at BAA

The entire Boston Arts Academy community is bursting with pride for our 2007 graduate, Russell Ferguson! We had the most amazing rally at Berklee Performance Center yesterday, to kick off the BAA Winterfest Jazz Concert! Krumpers danced to live beats, drummed by BAA students while a photo montage of Russell was projected onto a giant screen. Kids went wild, waving handmade posters celebrating their dance hero.

And the press FINALLY took notice of us. FINALLY acknowledged that this young man didn’t spring from the ground, fully formed as a professional dancer (which the show would have had you believe). FINALLY mentioned a school that taught him not only the technical aspects of dance, but the importance of academics, and the larger concepts of community and civic responsibility.

Here are a couple of nice pieces of press from this morning’s local newspapers.

Boston Globe, Names and Faces Section, December 18, 2009

Boston Herald, Page 3, December 18, 2009