Paul Sutherland, a Joffrey Ballet dancer who I knew as a student of the Grand Rapids Ballet School, was a tender man who sprinkled on baby powder and entered the studio every morning to perform hand-stand pushups against the wall. In class, he always addressed us as “dancers,” usually twice in a row, in his…
When I was growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, dance programs in the public schools did not exist. Luckily, I had ample art and music experiences at school, and the natural world to spur connection and introspection in my soul. Another twist of good fortune was the arrival of two principal dancers from the Joffrey…
Dear Principal Lautner, I would like to help you find a dance teacher to continue the program at Orson Middle School. Please let me know whether I can assist you. I would be very disappointed to see the program I began 5 years ago disappear into the mist. The issue of certification is a dilemma. …
A diverse crowd attends the West African and Brazilian dance classes in downtown Tucson, men and women of all ages and backgrounds. Witnessing bold action has a generous effect. It gives us all permission to be so bold. It encourages us to detach from the judgment of our egos. The drummers sense our vibration and…
I just slid out of bounds like I’m a softball player
couldn’t catch a ball without a somber prayer
that used to be my vehicle of self esteem
hardly put a put-put in the sputnik of my dreams
Life would be black and white with no designs.When you’re cleaning, music lightens the load.It’s something my brothers and I like. We relax with music.Moving helps me express myself.What if I couldn’t draw? I would explode! I have so many ideas! Quotations by Amphitheater Middle School students in Tucson, Arizona Students are asking for it,…
Magic in plastic
we toss and we spoof like it
won’t come around in groundwaters,
pots and crops,
sons and our daughters’ stools,
spools of thread
Know anyone with kids? Do them a favor and don’t block out the light of the sun. If you live in Arizona, please vote to pass the sales tax increase on May 18: Proposition 100, which will benefit K-12 schools, state colleges, and universities. If our schools were single family households, the options we are…
Tap Dance and Reading Fluency Lesson Plan for Grades 6-12 Objectives Students will compare the rhythms in conversational speech to the rhythms in tap dance. They will also relate reading fluency to movement fluency. Arizona Dance Standards Strand 1: Create Concept 3: Elements of Dance Identify, demonstrate, and analyze the elements of dance (time, space,…
Dance Composition – Backwards Lesson Plan for grades 6-12 Beginning and Intermediate Dance Learning Objectives: In the language domains of listening and speaking, students will be able to communicate effectively with team members and make fair spoken contributions to the team’s creative tasks. In the language domain of reading, students will be able to utilize…
The young man bagging up the groceries in the lane next to me was wearing a newly-fashioned plastic bag. He explained to his coworker that someone’s milk had broken through the bag, so he had just tried it on for size. He shifted it off-center and voila. Whatever the corporate office would say about his…
“How do we know what we know?” Artists answer, “We feel it, we sense it.” The naysayers try us, “How can artists know what they know? There is no hard evidence. Besides that, art programs in our schools bring no direct benefit. All kids do is play. Why would we guide our students to waste…