An alternative dance program and youth lead performance group for 10 – 12 year olds
September 9th – June 11th
Fall Schedule:
Tuesdays, 3:45 – 6:00 (required)
Thursdays, 5:00 – 6:00 (recommended)
Winter/Spring schedule:
Tuesdays, 3:45 – 6:30 (required)
Thursdays, 5:00 – 6:30 (recommended)
In addition to these weekly classes, students will participate in monthly gatherings on Saturday afternoons with all three of the classes that make up Awesome Art in Motion (AAIM) as well as several extra Saturday rehearsals.
Monthly AAIM gatherings will take place on the following dates:
Sept 27, 12 – 2pm: Guiding Star Grange
Oct 25, 1 – 3pm: Outdoors (Northfield Mountain Recreation Area. Parents are invited to participated if they are interested!)
Nov 15, 12 – 2pm: Guiding Star Grange
Dec 6th, 1 – 3pm: Performance for Parents at the Guiding Star Grange at 2pm
January 10th: Family Dance Party! 3:00 – 5:00 at the Guiding Star Grange. Family and Friends invited!
Feb 28th, 1 – 4pm: Guiding Star Grange
March 28th, 1 – 4pm: Guiding Star Grange
May 9th, 1 – 4pm: Guiding Star Grange
May 30th, 1 – 4pm: Guiding Star Grange
Tentative dates for performances at the Shea Theater!
Friday June 5th, 3:45 rehearsal, 7pm performance
Sunday June 7th, rehearsal at 9:30am, Performance at 2:30
There will be no classes during school vacations
Who is this program for?
This is a great program for 5th – 6th grade students (or equivalent) who love to dance and create in community and are looking for a creative home outside of the traditional studio dance context. No previous dance studio experience is required to participate in this program. What is required is a love of dance and a willingness to show up each week as you are and take it from there.
Class description
Awesome Art in Motion is a place for kids to come together to be themselves and to learn to love and care for themselves and each other; with dance and the body as central to what we do together. This year the program includes three different classes for students ages 6 – 12. In addition to meeting weekly in their individual classes, students in Awesome Art in Motion come together as a full group once a month, building a very sweet, mixed-age creative community.
The Awesome Art in Motion curriculum weaves together improvisational dance, concert dance techniques, social dance, somatic movement, mindfulness, and student-led art making.
The curriculum is divided into the following units:
- How do YOU dance? What is Dance and Where do we Locate Ourselves?
- Dancing from the Inside Out: Mindful Movement and Somatic Body Education
- Dancing in Community, Dancing Together: Social Dance Practices
- Concert Dance Techniques and Dance Making
Each unit includes a creative project (often student choreography), and an opportunity to share that project with the wider community. Some highlights this year will include, a full group outdoor movement exploration (which parents are invited to participate in) at Northfield Mountain during our mindful movement unit in October, an informal performance for families in early December, our annual family dance party to conclude our social dance unit in early January, and of course, our annual student-made performance at the Shea Theater in June. As always, for this final performance, students will work alone or in small groups to dream up and direct their own dance for the stage; designing everything from the movement to the costumes, lighting and music.
Dancing Potatoes participating in the Thursday class will also have the opportunity to study with a variety of guest teachers in dance and movement forms such as yoga, contact improvisation, hip hop, Latin dance and contemporary dance technique. In the winter and spring, students in the Thursday class will have the opportunity to learn a dance choreographed by an AAIM alumni.
Payment
(please select the option that best fits your family)
Tuesdays and Thursdays:
$2600 ($260/month): employed/financially stable
$2000 ($200/month): unemployed/financially tight
Just Tuesdays:
$2200 ($220/month): employed/financially stable
$1700 ($170/month): unemployed/financially tight
1 full Scholarship spot is reserved for this class. If you are interested in a scholarship, please proceed with the registration process and indicate you would like a scholarship on the registration form. Barter options may also be available. No one turned away for lack of funds.
