An alternative dance program and youth lead performance group for 4th – 6th graders
September 9th – June 10th
Fall Schedule:
Thursdays, 3:45 – 6:00 (required)
Wednesdays, 5:00 – 6:00 (recommended for all 5th/6th graders)
Winter/Spring schedule:
Thursdays, 3:45 – 6:30 (required)
Wednesdays, 5:10 – 6:40 (recommended for all 5th/6th graders)
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).
Saturday gatherings are as follows:
Sept 26: 1 – 3pm, Guiding Star Grange
October 24th, 1 – 3pm: outdoor location TBA (rain date Oct 25th)
November 21st, 1 – 3pm: Guiding Star Grange
December 12th, 1 – 3pm: Guiding Star Grange. Parents are invited to an informal sharing from 2:15 – 3:00.
Sunday January 9th, 3:30 – 5:30pm FAMILY DANCE PARTY at the Guiding Star Grange
Feb 6th, 1 – 4pm (5pm for those in the Wed. class): Guiding Star Grange
March 13th, 1 – 4pm (5pm for those in the Wed. class): Guiding Star Grange
April 10th, 1 – 4pm (5pm for those in the Wed. class): Guiding Star Grange
May 8th, 1 – 4pm (5pm for those in the Wed. class): Guiding Star Grange
Performance at the Shea Theater
Friday June 4th, 7pm
Sunday June 6th, 2:30pm
Dress rehearsals: Thursday June 3rd, 3:30 – 7:00pm, Sunday June 6th, 9:30am (students should plan to be at the theater all day on June 6th)
There will be no classes during school vacations. During February and April vacations each student will sign up for a 1 hr private coaching session with Anna to work on their dance.
Students signed up for both Wednesdays and Thursdays will have 2 additional Saturday rehearsals; March 27th some time between 1 – 5pm and May 15th some time between 1 – 5pm. They will also have the option to use the studio to work independently on their choreography on ½ days and school vacation days.
Who is this program for?
Historically the Dancing Potatoes class has been a program for any student in 4th – 6th graders, no matter their level of experience with dance. This year, because of the large number of students in the company in this age range, I have divided the group into two; Dancing Potatoes 1 and Dancing Potatoes 2. Dancing Potatoes 2 will be a more advanced class, primarily for 6th graders (5th graders by permission), who have been part of AAIM for many years or have equivalent dance and dance-making experience. Dancing Potatoes 1 is a good fit all 4th and 5th graders as well as 6th graders that are new to dance and dance-making. 5th graders who have been part of the program in the past are encouraged to sign up for 2 classes/week in order to over-lap with the Dancing Potatoes 2 group.
Program 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 include, a full group outdoor movement exploration 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 Wednesday 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, West African, ballet and contemporary dance technique to name just a few! In the winter, students in the Wednesday class will have the opportunity to learn a dance choreographed by an AAIM alumni and in general, students participating 2x/week will have more performance and choreographic opportunities; the change to be in more dances, choreograph for a larger group and or/choreograph longer dances.
Each class will include:
- An Opening and Closing Circle: in which each student is acknowledged, welcomed, oriented to the class and appreciated.
- A Warm Up: a vigorous set up movements to wake up the brain and increase range of motion in the body.
- Content sharing: a time for Anna to share new content based on the unit we are in and the focus of the day. Content will be shared through picture books, conversation, collage or video.
- Dance Explorations: exercises in which students are asked to improvise or freestyle based on the content shared.
- Skills Building: learning and practicing new skills related to content.
- Dance Creation: students share dance movements generated from dance explorations and skills building.
Payment
(please select the option that best fits your family)
Tuesdays and Wednesdays (open to 5th grader and up):
$2950 ($295/month): employed/financially stable
$2400 ($240/month): unemployed/financially tight
Just Tuesdays:
$2150 ($215/month): employed/financially stable
$1800 ($180/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 will be turned away for lack of funds.
