A year-long holistic dance program for 3rd – 4th graders
Wednesdays, 3:45 – 5:15pm
Sept 10th – June 10th
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). From January – May, students will have small group rehearsals from 5:15 – 6:15 (students will have some choice about how often they stay for these rehearsals), as well as several extra Saturday rehearsals. The week of our spring performance, students should plan to participate in several extra afternoon rehearsals, along with a Sunday afternoon performance.
New this year, fourth graders will have the option of joining the Dancing Potatoes (5th/6th grade class) for a second weekly class on Thursdays from 5:00 – 6:00 in the fall and 5:00 – 6:30 in the winter and spring. In the fall this class will be guest taught by a series of different teachers specializing in movement forms such as yoga, contact improvisation, West African dance and contemporary dance. In the winter and spring the class will be a rehearsal for several large group dances choreographed by AAIM alumni and Dancing Potatoes. Students who participate in this 2nd day of classes will be invited to perform in our Friday evening show at the Shea as well as the Sunday afternoon performance.
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, 12 – 3pm: Guiding Star Grange
March 28th, 12 – 3pm: Guiding Star Grange
May 9th, 12 – 3pm: Guiding Star Grange
May 30th, 12 – 3pm: Guiding Star Grange
Tentative date for performance at the Shea Theater!
Friday June 5th, 3:45 rehearsal, 7pm performance (only for 4th graders participated in the extra Thursday rehearsals)
Sunday June 7th, rehearsal at 9:30am, Performance at 2:30
extra rehearsal, Thursday June 4th, 4:45 – 6:00pm
There will be no classes November 26th, December 24th, December 31st, February 18th and April 22nd.
Who is this class for?
This is a great program for 3rd and 4th graders (roughly ages 8 – 10) 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.
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 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.
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)
$1400- employed/financially stable ($140/month). + Thursday class $2200 ($220/month)
$1000- low income/financially tight ($100/month) + Thursday class $1500 ($150/month)
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.
