Teaching kids to dance
During the year, PDP offers a variety of programs and workshops that help to stimulate audiences as well as the dance community, whether they are dance performances, Master Classes, educational opportunities, or artist forums.
As part of the Education Project Series, PDP is presenting a free artist forum on April 22, 2012 to discuss the difficult realities that dance teachers may face when working in educational settings. Along with insufficient space and not enough time to disseminate information, teachers often encounter indifference as well as negative or even hostile attitudes from students, especially in communities where the population has had little exposure to the art form.
In this engaging and elucidating seminar, three experienced teaching artists share their thoughts on providing viable dance education to students in a wide array of settings, such as shelters, after-school programs, and public and charter schools. With their fingers in a variety of dance genres, these artists will discuss how to manage varying attitudes while finding techniques for creating a constructive atmosphere for reaching students through dance.
Artist Panel:
Nia Eubanks-Dixon is a dancer, choreographer, actress, educator, and ordained minister who performed with Urban Bush Women, Chuck Davis African American Dance Ensemble, and Philadanco II. She has taught in a wide range of environments and currently directs the GED to college program for the 199C Training and Upgrading Fund while studying for her Masters degree in Urban Studies at Eastern University, with a concentration on Youth Leadership.
Magira Ross is a dancer, dance educator, and Community Programs coordinator at BuildaBridge, a non profit organization proving arts oriented education to underserved children and families. Before coming to Philadelphia, Ms. Ross taught in the Baltimore area for 28 years in a studios, schools, and community centers, and founded both The Moving Spirit Dance Collective and My Sister’s Keeper Dance Collective. She holds a Masters degree in Dance Education from Temple University and currently teaches at Muhlenberg College and Temple University.
Bess Witcosky has a Masters degree in Dance Education from Temple University and spent most of her professional career teaching in challenging environments where residents had little or no opportunity to study movement. She is the Artistic and Education Director for Dancing Classrooms Philly, a program that “delivers life lessons wrapped in ballroom dancing.”
The workshop will be held on April 22, 2012 at 1:00
Free admission
The Performance Garage
1515 Brandywine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
