BALTIMORE — The Baltimore School for the Arts has an after-school program called TWIGSwhich has been helping students get a head start in perfecting their craft for 40 years and counting.

The free program is for young students in elementary and middle school and is open to students from all Baltimore City Schools.

Samantha Christiansen is a dance coordinator for TWIGS but also a teacher at BSA.

“So, I see some of the students come to us in second grade and leave as seniors,” she says.

She says the program has a huge benefit to students who are into the arts.

It allows them to get professional training long before they even enter a performing arts school.

Candace Dickens is a product of the TWIGS program.

She joined the program when she was nine, she then graduated from BSA and is now the director of the TWIGS program.

“It really was my home, it’s where I found my voice, my village, it was really the building blocks for me to establish who I was as a person and as an artist,” says Dickens.

The school recently launched its Giving Tuesday Campaign hoping to raise $15,000 for the TWIGS program to continue supporting the students.

“They take it seriously, it’s important they care about the level of their work and they are really learning good foundational skills within their art,” says Samantha Christensen.

Right now, those same students are preparing for their final performance of the year, The Nutcracker.

“35 of the roles in this particular production include our TWIGS dance babies. Many of them, who are current 8th graders, have been with us training, growing, and evolving as young artists and human beings since the second grade,” says Dickens.

The students involved in the upcoming show are just a fraction of the program.

The TWIGS program serves over 500 Baltimore City youth each year.

“Programs like this in Baltimore City are what really change the face of our city and the arts are what change the culture and the safety and the well-being of our communities,” says Christensen.

The school is hoping to raise the money by December 3rd since nearly all of the funding from the program and supplies for the students comes from donations.

Click hereto donate to BSA’s TWIGS program, or via Venmo (@baltschoolarts) or PayPal (nsteiner@bfsa).

BSA is also looking for TWIGS volunteers.

The Nutcracker performance is December 6th to the 14th, tickets and showtimes can be found here.