Photos courtesy of Charity Jones.
2025-2026 Impulse Dance company students teaching at the Vestavia Hills freshman campus.
Charity Jones graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in dance education and completed her student teaching at Vestavia Hills High School that year, returning the following spring as a maternity leave substitute. She began her teaching career as dance director and varsity dance team coach at Hoover High School in 2007 before returning to VHHS in 2017 to teach Introduction to Dance 1 and coach the JV Rebelette Dance Team. She has since taken on the varsity Rebelette coaching role and now teaches full time on the VHHS main campus. Jones is beginning her 20th year of teaching dance in the public school system.
Q: What first inspired your love of dance? What led you to become the head of the dance department at Vestavia Hills High School?
A: Of all the options available to children at a young age, dance was the one thing that I felt that I excelled at. My mother was also a dancer and began an after-school dance program at the Catholic School in my hometown. I began assisting her with dance classes there at the age of 11, and that really helped to lead me into the direction of becoming a teacher. As I entered high school, I mainly focused on ballet, attending classes at Mobile Ballet and Dance Theatre of Daphne. The Dance Department at Birmingham Southern College was a ballet-based program, and it was also the only school in the state that provided a Dance Education degree. Upon graduating from BSC and completing my student teaching at VHHS, I always knew that it was a school system that I wanted to be a part of! Faith Lenhart, the VHHS Dance Department Director from 2000-2022, presented me with the opportunity to come back to Vestavia in the fall of 2016, and when she moved to the BOE in the fall of 2022, I moved into the Dance Department director position. Coming back to Vestavia was really a full circle moment for me. As I said, upon completing my student teaching in the fall of 2004, I knew I wanted to teach again in Vestavia but just never imagined I would have the chance. I am very grateful for all the opportunities that have presented themselves to me over the years.
Q: How would you describe the dance program at Vestavia Hills High School to someone who's never seen it? What makes this program unique compared to other high school dance programs?
Photos courtesy of Charity Jones.
The 2026-2027 Varsity Rebelettes at NDA Camp in June.
A: The Dance Department at VHHS consists of several different levels of classes. The Freshman Campus Dance Classes, taught by Lindsay Troha, are all Introduction to Dance classes. These students learn about the history of dance, famous performers and performances, dance vocabulary, as well as learning to move. In the Intro level classes, an overview of all styles of dance are discussed. Students will experience ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop and cultural dance. As students move into the dance classes at the main campus, they take Dance Composition, which is more of an application based class. They are essentially taking what they learned in Intro to Dance and applying it into composition, i.e., choreography. Dance Composition is for second- and third-year dance students. They will spend the year using the elements of dance and choreographic structures and devices to create their own dance pieces and will perform those pieces at Celebrate the Season (performing arts department holiday program) and the Spring Dance Showcase. The VHHS Dance Department is also home to the Impulse Dance Company. This dance company is made up of mainly third- and fourth-year dance students that have applied and been accepted into the company. This group spends more time on technique as well as choreography and requires the student to participate in more performances.
We also have the Varsity and Junior Varsity Rebelette Dance Teams that are audition-based groups that perform for pep rallies, basketball games and dance competitions locally as well as nationally. If students participate in the dance program for two years or more, they have the opportunity to be inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. Students must take two years of dance, earn 30 points through VHHS Dance Department-specific activities, as well as maintain a B average in their dance classes.
One thing I think is unique about our program is that regardless of what level you are at as a dancer, there is a place for you to participate in dance at VHHS.
Q: Beyond technique, what life lessons do you hope your students take with them after graduation?
A: A lot of what takes place in dance class is group work, so students are learning daily about conflict resolution, how to effectively communicate their ideas with their peers, as well as learning about inclusion and empathy through working with others that are not in their social friend groups. My classroom becomes a whole new friend group for many students where they have learned to respect each other for their ability and what they can provide to the group. My hope as a teacher is that they are able to take those qualities with them into college and adulthood.
Q: What qualities do you hope to instill in your dancers as performers, teammates and young adults?
A: Determination, grit, strong work ethic, time management, passion and collaboration are qualities I hope I am instilling in all my students.
Q: What have your students taught you over the years?
A: Something I have learned from students is that they just want someone to listen to them. They love to talk, and if you will listen and not judge, they will seek your advice and maybe actually take it at times.
Q: What role do you believe dance plays in the overall educational experience for high school students?
A: All arts education programs are beneficial to students regardless of their future paths of study. It promotes creativity, builds critical thinking skills, as well as supports students' mental well being. Specifically for dance, students are allowed the opportunity to be active during their school day as well as giving them an outlet for self expression. In a dance classroom, students learn that it is OK to fail, and they also learn how to recover from that failure and make themselves or their creation stronger on the other side.
Q: What goals do you have for the future of the dance department?
A: I hope the Dance Department at VHHS continues to flourish and grow. For the 25-26 school year, there were over 150 dance students between the Freshman Campus and the Main Campus. There were 45 members inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts, bringing our total membership to 120 participants. I hope to see these numbers continue to grow and our program get even stronger.
