Twenty years ago, Laura Fremont opened Pacific Studio for Dance (PSD). With its home base only two blocks from the school, the studio has been like a second home for students aspiring to be dancers.

“PSD has a really loving and family-orientated atmosphere,” Isabel Hodgson (’13) said. “I learned a lot about the art as well as the sport of dance during the eight years I spent there.”

From this small studio a new non-profit organization is being born that will offer free dance workshops on campus.

“This is a deeper form of dance education,” Fremont said. “It’s for students wanting serious dance training or understanding of dance, discipline, and technique.”

She is currently in the process of consulting with school and district officials to figure out how best the workshops would suit each school. Fremont says that “ultimately” it is up to the school and how they choose to “incorporate the organization on their campus.”

The workshops assimilate three “synergistic programs.” The first, “heart & sole,” would offer an opportunity for dancers to work as youth mentors.

The “step-up” workshops would strive to bring experienced dancers such as Joelle Martinec and Sole Vita Dance Company to school.

The last program is a “side-by-side” showcase which would allow students from the first two workshops to choreograph and perform along with industry professionals.

Fremont, whose resume ranges from choreographing for independent film projects to performing for different stage productions such as Disney’s “The Muppets,” is currently consulting with different schools across the district to incorporate her workshops into their curriculum.

“Dance is a challenge that stirs your creativity,” Fremont said. “It is a personal and community expression like none other.”