Janet:
Guelph Dance’s Workshops In Schools series lies close to my heart. As the main
facilitator of this series, I’m privileged to be on the front line with the
kids who attend these workshops.
It is Guelph Dance’s
passion and commitment to foster and encourage artistic and self-growth in our
youth. Guelph Dance’s commitment and inclusion of youth is a rare and vital component
of our organization. We provide performance, training, camps and in-school
dance education to the population of Guelph.
We work closely with
at-risk or marginalized schools in the Guelph area. To continue this
work, we would like to bring a dance artist for a week’s residency at these
schools to develop dance awareness and skills, but also to encourage the growth
of self-identity and discovery through movement. This week-long residency allows
for a relationship to develop between the facilitator and students, as well as
providing time for a more meaningful and effective experience for the learners.
Guelph Dance has
longstanding relationships with many schools throughout Guelph and a clear,
strong rapport with many principals and staff, creating a vital pathway for the
growth and inclusion of their students. The Guelph Dance artists intended for
this project are highly accomplished choreographers and performers, as well as
experienced and passionate teachers. Offering these affordable workshops helps
to create a stronger sense of community in Guelph, as well as offering an arts
education experience.
Having facilitated
many workshops-in-schools, I have witnessed profound physical and emotional
development in the learners. I watch the non-verbal become verbal, the
challenged become able, the dynamic of a classroom become celebratory, almost
victorious. It is here, in this arena, that I frequently hear teachers declare
in astonishment that they never knew the drive, interest, and/or skill a
particular student had for dance/movement.
In the wake of the
recent cuts to extracurricular activities in the public school system, we
believe it is all the more important and necessary to develop and fund
activities that promote physical and artistic enrichment for students. With
a non-successful grant application from the Ontario Arts Council in hand,
Guelph Dance has chosen to avoid defeat, but has chosen instead to raise money
within the community to be able to offer a few day-long workshops for schools
to at-risk students. I am immensely moved by and grateful to our community for
their help so far, and hope we can offer these workshops to more schools with
your help.
Please
visit our indiegogo page to donate to this year’s Workshops In Schools program.
Any amount helps! Thank you.
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Dance outside the box here!