"We want to put together a whole new group of people," Berkman says. He says he will also be stepping down after one year as executive producer.

Even without Peck as director, the Cambridge school system's coordinator of dramatic arts Judith Contreucci, who organizes the schools' end of the program, says she is hopeful about Citystep's future.

"All programs tend to assume the personality of the leading person, so Citystep will be a different program without Sabrina's spirit and energy," she says. But I am optimistic that the program's quality will be the same."

"The structure is going to change to accomodate the new leadership," Peck says. "But the focus and the drive won't."

No matter what Citystep does in the future, Contreucci praises the program's current efforts to enhancing Cambridge students' education. "It's a very popular program which has made a tremendous impact."

Playing Roles in Students' Lives

During the school year, the 18 undergraduate Citystep teachers divide up into four groups, and each team is assigned to a class of 25 fifth graders in a different Cambridge school. The classes have been rehearsing for two periods a week since October. Some of the especially motivated students attend special Saturday classes as well.

The Citystep teachers often play an important part in the lives of their students.

"Teaching them is letting them know that someone is there that cares about them," says teacher Celia M. Savitz '89.

"A lot of these kids have hard home lives. Their parents don't speak English, and they have so many problems at home. Citystep brings them out and makes them feel more confident. It helps them take pride in what they are doing," says Clarissa C. Kripke '89, another teacher.

"The Citystep teachers become role models for their students. They aren't as imposing to the kids as regular teachers so a rapport can be built up," Berkman says.

Although classes don't always go all that well, the teachers say they think Citystep does help the students who participate.

"Sometimes you leave [the class] really discouraged that you're not getting through to them," Savitz says. "But in the long run it has really affected them."

"At the beginning the kids are very shy and have low self-esteem, and now they're out there happy and dancing," says Kripke.

The Citystep dancers and teachers aren't the only Harvard students involved in the program. A Graduate School of Design student, Paul Mehlman designed and built all of the sets, and Harvard undergraduates and graduates composed and recorded all of the music especially for Citystep.