A Peek Into Funtastic!

A joyful, playful vibe greets you as soon as you walk into Funtastic, Raizy Pavlov’s talent school for girls and boys. Gymnastics, Ballet, Art, Voice, and Drama are only a few of the many skills explored in this happy place.  

Raizy’s passion for what she does with the children is strong. She is determined to give all kids and teens the opportunity to find their voice and express their creativity.

Today, Raizy insightfully answers some questions presented to her.

What does a day in Funtastic look like?

Raizy:  The atmosphere is filled with lots of laughter, music, excitement, and fun! You can tell that all the children are in their creative space and focused on achieving their goals. It's a remarkable sight to watch!

How big are the groups in your program?

Raizy: The goal of my program is to make every child feel noticed. When the groups are very large and the children feel overlooked it defeats the purpose. Therefore, we make sure there’s enough staff to keep the groups small.

How do you build confidence in the children?

Raizy: One way we do that is by training our staff never to say anything negative. When a kid doesn’t do something right we never say ‘that wasn’t good.’ Instead, we say ‘good try, let's do it again.’ Our teachers only use positive affirmations in the program.

Can you share an inspiring story you witnessed?

Raizy: When I first started, we had a girl with implants. She was hard of hearing and in school, the girls looked at her differently since she couldn’t hear well. She wasn’t fully accepted. But for gymnastics, you don’t need to know how to hear! She went from being disregarded in school to becoming the most popular girl in the class because she knew how to flip backward. It gave her the confidence she needed so badly.

What message do you have for parents?

Raizy: There are many children who don’t do well academically or socially. And in school, what else is there for them? Unfortunately, these children tend to fall between the cracks. But in such a program these children are given another chance to feel successful. When a girl becomes an artist, a good dancer, it almost negates the fact that she struggles in other areas.  In fact, parents have told me that what a $200 therapy session couldn’t do for their child, these classes did.

Thank you Raizy for providing this important outlet for our community!!

For further inquiries please reach out to 234-fun-fun4 (234-386-3864) or email Funtasticbp@gmail.com