30
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APR. 8-14, 2022 BXR
The Paige Fraser Foundation provides performing
arts, wellness classes that embody its namesake
BY RACHAEL ROBERTSON
Paige Fraser-Hoffman knows
how important health and wellness
are to the creative arts. As
a professional dancer, currently
working as a dance captain and
swing for “The Lion King” on
Broadway, warming up is a vital
part of her day. It’s even more important
for Fraser-Hoffman because
she has scoliosis – a curvature
of the spine.
“My body is my instrument
and on top of that I have scoliosis.
I have to take a heightened sense
of ownership over my body,” said
Fraser-Hoffman.
Making a career as a professional
dancer is notoriously
hard, but Fraser-Hoffman is not
one to let challenges get in her
way. At age 13, right after deciding
to pursue a dance career, she
received the life-altering diagnosis
of scoliosis.
“It was a huge shock because
up until that point nothing was
wrong with me,” she told the
Bronx Times.
Her doctor cautioned that the
curvature could worsen over
time, and that Fraser-Hoffman
and her family had to choose
quickly between treating her scoliosis
with a back brace or spinal
surgery.
Fraser-Hoffman’s world was
shattered.
How could she continue her
dreams of dancing with a condition
that threatened her ability
to perform? She felt alone. It was
2004, and years before online support
groups gained mainstream
popularity. Fraser-Hoffman and
her family chose the back brace,
a decision that paid off. But it was
a difficult adjustment, at first.
“For several hours a day I’m
sitting in a rigid confined thing,
then when it was time to dance I
was stiff because you’re sitting
in a restricted position, but then
in dance you’re expected to be
free,” said Fraser-Hoffman.
Through telling her teachers
about her new reality, Fraser-
Hoffman learned one of them
also had scoliosis, which made
her feel less alone. She also experienced
modern dance for the
first time in high school and saw
other Black dancers performing
modern dance, which opened up
her eyes to the possibilities of
movement.
It was her perseverance that
carried her forward.
Fraser-Hoffman graduated
from Professional Performing
Arts High School in Hell’s
Kitchen, then Fordham University’s
partner BFA with The Ailey
School. She danced around
the world with Ailey II, then was
a founding dancer of Visceral
Dance in Chicago. She became
the only Black woman to play a
Jet in the Lyric Opera’s production
of “West Side Story” in Chicago.
This was a full circle moment
for Fraser-Hoffman, who
also made history in her firstever
role – she played the first
Black Clara in the Tarrytown
Music Hall’s production of “The
Nutcracker.” Fraser-Hoffman
also traveled with “The Lion
King” national tour, which was
cut short during 2020, when the
pandemic shut down much of the
economy.
Then last fall, she received
an offer to join “The Lion King”
on Broadway – a huge milestone
in her career. But equally importantly,
it brought her back
home to New York where she provides
free health and performing
arts and wellness programs
for Bronxites through The Paige
Fraser Foundation.
“I can be closer to the communities
I want to help, especially
the Bronx, because our
foundation is Bronx-based,” says
Fraser-Hoffman. “I’m from the
Bronx and it’s really beautiful
that I’m back here, and that I can
connect closer with my community.”
Lesmah Fraser, Fraser-Hoffman’s
aunt, is inspired by her
niece’s tenacity. In 2017, she
formed the wellness and creative
arts foundation she named after
her niece.
“Paige is a living example of
what you can achieve even if you
have been given a daunting diagnosis,”
Fraser said.
The Bronx-based Paige Fraser
Foundation offers creative
arts programs taught through a
wellness approach to people with
or without physical challenges.
Fraser is the president and CEO,
and Fraser-Hoffman is the chief
artistic officer and program director.
The programs range from
dance classes with themes like
“Dance Strong” and “Dance is
Healing,” to a series of fitness
classes for people with spinal
conditions.
Vivian Doan, creator of SCOLIOFITNESS,
teaches her class
virtually for the foundation’s
yearly Spine Series program.
“What I really love about
working with Paige is her focus
on bringing programs to the
community, those with and without
disabilities, of all ages,” said
Doan. “A lot of dancers look up to
her because of her journey, but
also because of what she does for
everybody.”
Fraser also gives credit to
Fraser-Hoffman’s parents.
“They were really instrumental
in having her take dance
classes while she was young and
through high school, and providing
resources to help her,” she
said.
Fraser-Hoffman’s childhood
home in Pelham Parkway was
filled with music and entertainment.
Her parents both immigrated
to the Bronx from Jamaica
and are both artists of
sorts; Fraser-Hoffman’s mom,
Alexia, is a playwright and author,
and her father, Edward,
loves playing music. As a young
girl, Fraser-Hoffman sang and
danced so much her parents put
her in ballet classes where she
found her own inner artist.
The foundation aims to bring
similar opportunities to fellow
Bronxites to cultivate their own
love for the arts, no matter what
challenges in life they may face,
Fraser-Hoffman said.
Omarion Burke is a dance student
from Williamsbridge and a
senior at Professional Performing
Arts High School – the same
school Fraser-Hoffman went to
years ago. He heard about the
foundation through his dance
teacher, who encouraged him to
attend a program.
“The Paige Fraser Foundation,
ever since I started with
them, they’ve always shown
me so much love and support,”
Burke said. “They knew I would
make it. They saw so much in
me.”
Burke was one of the inaugural
Dance is Healing Spotlight
Award recipients of the Paige
Fraser Foundation. The $250 stipend
Burke received, recognizes
promising young dancers for
their perseverance and dedication.
Burke has big dreams to
travel the world dancing for major
artists, companies like Alvin
Ailey, and continue exploring his
love of dance.
“The Paige Fraser Foundation
has given me a sense of healing,”
he told us.
Burke says the foundation’s
programming draws dancers
with different kinds of physical
situations and lets them know
that everyone can share their
art. He’s now a teacher’s assistant
for the “Dance Strong”
program. The foundation also
partners with Mind-Builders
Creative Arts Center along Olinville
Avenue, where most of their
in-person programming is held.
“One of our major goals is to
establish a performing arts center
in the Northeast Bronx,” said
Fraser, Fraser-Hoffman’s aunt.
“It’s a (little) pie in the sky, but
it’s a major aim to establish that.”
Paige Fraser-Hoffman has performed with “The Lion King” on Broadway, but her greatest feat may be the Paige Fraser
Foundation where she offers creative arts through a wellness approach in the Bronx. Photo | Adrian Childress