It’s not that Adrienne Pritchett-Dames lives in a fantasy world. The guidance counselor at Passages Academy on Staten Island knows the girls who attend the school come from juvenile detention centers, where they were serving time for their crimes. “These are my girls!” says Pritchett-Dames of the students, ages 13 to 17, who study, eat, sleep and live together, generally for an academic year, before returning to the community. “They are much, much more than their mistakes. I’m proud of my girls.” Her latest reason, among dozens she will happily list, is the holiday extravaganza. The current population of nine girls — and devoted faculty and staff — propelled the 50 audience members off their chairs and onto their feet during the Dec. 23 event. Joining the usual dignitaries were parents, grandmothers, siblings and others. Like all valuable lessons, learning and perfecting a praise dance — on deadline — wasn’t easy.

First off, the girls preferred hip-hop to a religiously inspired modern dance. What’s more, cooperation and collaboration were not their strong suits. “It was hard and it was frustrating,” says Netsanet Boston, 16. “Before this experience I wasn’t too crazy about working with girls ’cause they nagging, nagging, nagging. I don’t feel like that anymore.” Shilah Carter agrees. “The biggest surprise was that in less than six weeks, I learned the praise dance,” says Shilah, 14. “We had issues. Some got frustrated and wanted to quit. But we all stuck it out and came together!” For Netsanet, success came with an unexpected reward: “My mom told me I did a good job,” she says. “I don’t hear that a lot. It felt good.”