CityStep Readies For Ball

The 11th annual CityStep Benefit Ball will be held in the Children's Museum in Boston tonight beginning at 9:30 p.m.

The theme of this year's ball is "I Don't Want to Grow Up."

Proceeds from the dance will support the CityStep community-service program which sends Harvard students to teach dance to fifth and sixth graders in Cambridge.

Executive Producer Melanie Q. Kausil '97 said CityStep uses "dance as a forum to foster self-esteem and teamwork in children."

The program culminates in a performance of the elementary-school students in April.

Event organizers originally planned to sell no more than 1,200 tickets to tonight's formal. But after all 1,200 were sold three days ago, they decided to sell 200 additional tickets, said Claudia Y. Sanchez '97, one of the executive directors.

The maximum capacity of the Children's Museum is 1,500 people.

CityStep organizers have also coordinated with the Bach Society Orchestra and the Callbacks, an a cappella group, to offer discounted tickets to those groups' performances, which will also be held tonight.

Tickets sell out every year, said the organizers, who attribute the exceptional popularity of this year's dance to the timing of the dance and the appeal of the Children's Museum.

"I'm looking forward to going because it's at the Children's Museum, and I'm pretty juvenile, and my date is pretty juvenile as well," said Richard S. Chang '98. "So we're both going to enjoy everything on the same level."

Due to the high demand of tickets, some students were unable to purchase them. Hui K. Kuok '00 went to the Holyoke Ticket Center Office yesterday at 4:15 p.m. but was told that all tickets were sold out. "I was very disappointed," she said.

In keeping with the theme of the ball, yellow school buses will be provided to take students from the MAC parking lot to the Museum, and one bus will pick up concertgoers at 10:30 p.m. at the Science Center.

Organizers say they hope those who attend the dance will remember CityStep's goals.

"I hope that everyone who comes to the dance comes to the show in April--which is what we're really all about," said Vivek Maru '97, a teacher in the program.   --Theresa J. Chung

In keeping with the theme of the ball, yellow school buses will be provided to take students from the MAC parking lot to the Museum, and one bus will pick up concertgoers at 10:30 p.m. at the Science Center.

Organizers say they hope those who attend the dance will remember CityStep's goals.

"I hope that everyone who comes to the dance comes to the show in April--which is what we're really all about," said Vivek Maru '97, a teacher in the program.   --Theresa J. Chung