Between 8-11 years old, girls become less confident and are more likely to say they are feeling depressed.
During the pandemic, 65% of parents were concerned that girls have missed out on developing a sense of belonging with peers.
54.6 % of girls are concerned about their mental health and are feeling lost and unmotivated.
WORK IT Girl understands these challenges and is on a mission to change this reality.
At WORK IT Girl, our mission is to help girls become more confident through leadership, empowerment and dance.
We envision a world where every girl is PROUD of who they are, they fearlessly follow their PASSIONS, and they take pride in LIFTING others up instead of tearing them down.
We provide positive and creative spaces for young girls to be themselves – brave, confident, silly and kind – while advancing their leadership and dance skills. Our space encourages friendship, fun and self-expression so every girl has the opportunity to shine and become the leader of their own life.
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We believe that building confidence in girls is the key to their happiness and success in life. The more confidence they have in themselves, the more likely they will go after their passions in life, develop healthy relationships, and excel at school and within their communities.
Every girl has the ability to become a leader no matter what their background is. We teach them to take responsibility for their actions, remind them that their voice matters, and give them room to practice becoming captains of their own ship.
We use our deep passion for dance & creative expression to help girls build up their self-esteem. By learning new dances, having fun, and exploring movement, students learn how to connect and engage with themselves and the world around them.
Our magic lies in delivering leadership programming that uses the power of dance to develop healthy and positive mindsets.
Our empowering and one-of-a-kind programming provides what all girls need in their young life: confidence, strength, and passion to follow their dreams and make a positive impact in the world.
In the WORK IT Girl 8-WEEK program for ages 6-8 years old, students learn a choreographed routine while building foundational self-leadership and mindset skills which includes:
Students learn mindset skills through stories and group discussion. Following that, students bring the mindset skill to life through dance and creative movement and begin to develop basic dance vocabulary and understanding.
In the WORK IT Girl 8-WEEK program for ages 9-11 years old, students learn a choreographed routine while also focusing on some similar mindset and leadership skills from the 6-8 years old program with a greater focus on:
Increased dance vocabulary and understanding is taught and customized to meet each group’s needs. We aim to challenge these girls to continue to participate in group discussions, collaborate with others, and have their voices and ideas heard.
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WORK IT Girl is a fantastic program that I highly recommend!! My daughter made really great friends and the coaches helped everyone boost their self-esteem. And the dance moves!! They were also so amazing 🙂
- Denise, mother
The program really helped my daughter become aware of her self-esteem and confidence. She learned how to journal her feelings and turn mistakes into learning opportunities. It’s rare to find a dance program that uniquely combines mindset…Read More coaching and dance, and WORK IT Girl combined these two aspects flawlessly. I think all of the kids – and their parents! – learned that self-worth and movement are important for all ages! WORK IT Girl will always have a special place in my daughter’s heart.
- Nikki, mother
Through the WORK IT Girl program, our daughter reinforced the fundamental concepts of leadership and self-assurance, which allowed her to confidently interact with the whole group by expressing her thoughts and…Read More listening to each other. Our daughter really enjoyed preparing their performance with her classmates, based on an inspiring song which encourages girls to believe in themselves and dance!
- Memo, father
Founder and Head Dance & Leadership Coach
WORK IT Girl was founded by the spirited, innovative Filipina-Canadian creative leader Janet Castillo. With over 2 decades of professional dance, choreography and performance experience, Janet has worked on various stages, tv shows, and tours and has been trained by top instructors in dance & the performing arts.
Janet created WORK IT Girl after coaching women for several years in dance and mindset techniques and soon realized there was a need for girls to learn these skills at a younger age. Both her growing daughter and her mom who immigrated to a new country from the Philippines as a young adult are her inspirations for building confidence-boosting programs to bring girls together.
A Certified Wisdom Kids Coach, Powerful Dancing Queen, and Women in Leadership Advocate, Janet is devoted to building the next generation of female leaders and inspiring every young girl to become all they dream of.
Dance Assistant Lead
Sarah Tumaliuan has performed with leading dance companies such as the Dora Award winning Holla Jazz and Mix Mix Dance Collective, and danced alongside Canada’s breakthrough artist, Kiesza, at the 2015 Juno Awards.
Exploring dance through many styles, she has a varied arsenal of movement language with a particular fondness for House.
She is the co-founder of Parks N’ Wreck, a streetdance organization dedicated to getting people outside to celebrate music and dance. A limitless dancer who works at the nexus of public health and the arts, Sarah constantly expands her purpose as a dancer, advocating for the ways in which the arts, specifically dance, benefits individuals and contributes to healthy communities.
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