How Cora Dance Alleghany is Making an Impact at Boys Home
Why Dance Matters for Young Men
When people think about programs that shape young men at Boys Home of Virginia, the Trades Program, the Farm, and athletics tend to come to mind first. But on Tuesday mornings, something a little different is happening on campus, and it’s making a real difference.
For the past few years, Boys Home has partnered with Cora Dance, a professional dance company with an education hub based out of the Historic Masonic Theatre in Clifton Forge, Virginia. What started as a community connection has grown into one of the more unexpected and meaningful parts of student life on The Hill.
Two Ways to Participate
Cora Dance operates two types of programs in partnership with Boys Home. Through their enrichment program, artists and teachers from Cora Dance travel to the Boys Home campus on Tuesday mornings to work directly with students. This setup is designed specifically for students who might have sports schedules or other commitments that make off-campus classes hard to fit in. Students who want more can also take training programs at the Masonic Theatre, using Boys Home transportation to get there and back.
The training emphasizes modern dance technique, exposure to the choreographic process, and something Cora Dance takes seriously across all of their work: student autonomy. At their annual showcase, the dancers run the entire show themselves. No adults directing them to the right spots or cueing the right moments. The students know their work, and they lead.
Cora Dance operates on a “pay what you can” model — no family or child is turned away based on ability to pay — which has made participation possible for Boys Home students in a way that might not otherwise exist.
Meet Auggie
Two years ago, a Boys Home student named Auggie showed up to his first Cora Dance class. He kept coming back.
Over the past two years, Auggie has participated in everything Cora Dance offers, including on-campus enrichment sessions, off-site training programs at the theatre, and, eventually, the Cora Youth Company, a more advanced, rehearsal-based group with additional performance opportunities. That last invitation doesn’t go to everyone, but it went to Auggie because of how he showed up, consistently and with real dedication, from the beginning.
Ammara Shafqat, Director of Cora Dance Alleghany, describes him simply: “He’s before his time. He is mature, capable, and grounded.”
This spring, Auggie performed in the 2026 CDA Showcase — Cora Dance Alleghany’s culminating showcase for all of their Virginia education programs. Last year, he was featured in one piece. This year, he performed in two pieces and also took on leadership roles to guide younger students through them.
“He’s a great role model,” Ammara Shafqat says.
Why Dance Matters for Our Young Men
It’s worth saying out loud: dance can feel like an intimidating space for young men. Research backs that up; the social stigma, fear of being judged, and narrow ideas about masculinity are real barriers that keep a lot of young men from ever trying. Cora Dance works deliberately against that, creating an environment where any student who’s interested is genuinely welcome.
And when young men do participate, the benefits are wide-ranging. Studies show that dance improves mood, builds self-esteem, and strengthens social connections in young people. These effects are comparable to those of other youth sports and sometimes offer uniquely expressive benefits that other activities don’t.
For students at Boys Home, many of whom are still learning to trust new environments and new people, those outcomes aren’t small.
Auggie’s impact on his peers shows what’s possible. Ammara has noticed younger boys in the community signing up for Cora Dance programs because they’ve seen Auggie dance, in person, in photos, in the way he carries himself. That kind of visible role modeling is hard to manufacture and impossible to overstate.
What's Next
At this spring’s showcase, Cora Dance made a public announcement: they’re expanding to a full year of programming at Boys Home for the upcoming year. Previously, the partnership only covered the fall semester. Starting next year, students will have year-round access to Cora Dance’s enrichment programming.
Boys Home has always believed that the whole person matters, not just what a student learns in a classroom, but what he discovers about himself through every experience the campus can offer.
We are always exploring partnerships like these that complement what we do here at Boys Home. Interested in partnering with us? We’d love to hear from you!
For some students, that discovery happens on a farm or in a workshop. For Auggie, it happened in a dance rehearsal.
Want to learn more about the programs and partnerships shaping student life at Boys Home? Contact us today and see what The Hill has to offer.