Julianne DeLessio has been dancing for most of her life. Ever since the age of 3 she has had a passion for dance and for the past 4 years she has been dancing as a member of the elite competitive team at Above the Barre Dance Academy.

While dance is her first love, she’s also heavily involved in philanthropy as a board member of Teens For Tomorrow, a youth group that reviews and gives out grants to non-profit organizations, and serves on the Youth Advisory Council for Do Something, a national organization that empowers young people to take action and make a difference in their community.

Combining two of her passions dance and philanthropy she started the non-profit Dance For Me to bring joy and health through dance. Her organization offers free dance workshops to those who, due to their circumstances, do not get the chance to dance. Dance For Me reaches out to people of all ages who have been affected by circumstances such as cancer, domestic violence, and poverty.  Julianne creates dance workshops based on specific needs to help people get exercise, express themselves, and, most importantly, have fun!

“Over the years I have seen people’s self-confidence, attitude, and physical health improve through dancing. At times I have felt my life has become overwhelmingly hectic with school, family, and extra-curriculars. Yet I realized that whenever I was dancing, I would instantly feel better and have a much more positive outlook. Thinking about this made me realize that many other people may feel overwhelmed by their problems as well, but most of them don’t have an amazing way to relieve their stress like I do through dance. My vision for Dance For Me is to provide dance workshops so that those in need will have a fun and creative outlet to express themselves as I do!”- Julianne