Leap of Faith Arts Ministries in Plainfield is more than dance and music

PLAINFIELD – Tasha Smith of Naperville was looking for the right dance studio for her daughter Simone.

Smith wanted a place where Simone wouldn’t have to start with the younger students. Leap of Faith Arts Ministries had that program. But it also featured a strong faith foundation, a double blessing since Smith’s children attend a classical Christian school.

Eighteen months later, Smith knows she made the right decision for Simone, now 13, and a student of jazz, tap and ballet. Instead of an emphasis on “me,” looks and glamour, Smith found a refreshing focus on “you” and the celebration of talents God has bestowed on one’s peers.

“It’s sometimes difficult, especially in the teenage years, to see girls actually come alongside each other and really uplift each other,” Smith said. “They [the teachers at Leap of Faith] do a really good job focusing on that.”

Leap of Faith Arts Ministries is "a Christian organization dedicated to spreading the good news about Christ through performance-based art," according to its website.

Executive Director Becca Heye said the Plainfield-based Leap of Faith Arts Ministries was part of Community Christian Church’s School for the Arts until 2011. That’s when the school closed and the dance program became its own ministry.

At one time, Heye had been the assistant director for the School for the Arts, and later a parent volunteer when she was busy raising her own four children. When the opportunity opened to begin Leap of Faith, Heye felt God calling her to do it, for his glory.

A Christian arts ministry makes sense, as Heye said the Bible offers many examples of people using their creativity to worship and honor God.

“Each of us has different gifts,” Heye said. “As we delve into those gifts and talents, we use them to serve others.”

The dance team

Heye said Leap of Faith began with about 30 dance students and renting space in various local businesses until the ministry started renting its own space in 2012. In 2014, Leap of Faith moved to its current location at 14210 S. Route 30, Unit 124, in Plainfield.

Today Leap of Faith has more than 100 students – girls and boys, ages 2 through adult – taking a variety of classes: ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary and hip-hop, Heye said.

Of those students, 25 of the girls form the Shining Lights Dance Team, which performs once a month at different venues, such as Brookfield Zoo and Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Heye said.

But the dance part of the ministry is more than classes. It’s spiritual formation and a witnessing tool.

“We include prayer time and Bible study time and service projects,” Heye said. “We want to be sure we’re giving back to the community. We want the kids to learn, starting from the time they are very young, that serving others is a way of worship. It should be part of their culture as Christ followers.”

The dance students perform two recitals a year. The upcoming June 4 spring recital is the largest one, complete with costumes, lighting and sound. The winter recital is more subdued, Heye added, but fun since it comes without the pressure and stress of a major performance.

The theater team

The two-year-old theater team has 10 members, ages 10 to 18. It rehearses weekly, learns two plays a year and performs four times a year at underserved areas in the community where art is not easily accessed, Heye added.

“Because we go into schools, our plays have Christian values in them, but we don’t talk directly about Christian Bible stories,” Heye said.

Lisa Matich of Plainfield feels the theater group allows her son Ian, 11, to express his creative and spiritual sides. He started with the group two years ago and never minded he was the only boy at the time, Matich added.

Matich said Ian’s participation with Leap of Faith has benefited him outside the group, too. With each 30-second book commercial Ian is required to present as a student at Heritage Grove Middle School, Ian grows more creative and less dependent on note cards, she said.

Ian also is one of three boys in Leap of Faith’s hip-hop classes.

“It made him more confident going to school dances,” Matich said, “because he can do moves the other boys can’t.”

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: “He Knows My Name” dance recital

WHEN: 6 to 8:30 p.m. June 4

WHERE: Community Christian Church Naperville Yellow Box, 1635 Emerson Lane, Naperville

TICKETS: Buy at www.tututix.com/client/leapoffaithartsministries.

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KNOW MORE

Leap of Faith is now accepting enrollment in its summer programs. Registration for fall programs will begin later in June. A new program, Kindermusik, for children newborn through age 4, also begins this summer. To register for programs or book a performance, visit www.leapoffaithartsministries.org