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Creating a Multicultural Arts-Rich Classroom

In this workshop the art forms of storytelling, dance, poetry, and music will help educators to bring the culture and language of students into the curriculum. By altering classroom artifacts, daily rituals, and frequently used stories to reflect the first language(s) and culture(s) of students, educators design classroom environments that more intentionally reflect and affirm […]

Speak Up! Assembly

Speak Up! uses the percussive dance styles of tap dance, stepping, and body percussion to narrate iconic moments of John Lewis’ legacy. The program highlights the life of John Lewis, the 1960 Lunch Counter Sit-ins, the 1961 Freedom Riders, and the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March. This educational performance assists in preserving Black History and […]

Speak Up Residency

This residency uses percussive dance to explore the significant contributions of John Lewis. Through this residency, participants dive into themes of justice and civil rights while embodying collaboration, teamwork and learning the importance of Lewis’ “Good Trouble.” Each session expands on the previous day with participants learning to embody the essence of John Lewis using […]

American Dance: From Africa to Broadway

Two versatile dancers the OKRA Dance Company take you on a cultural tour through three centuries of American history to explore how the combination of migration, culture and communication created the popular American theater and stage dances we know today. From European classical court and folk dances and African plantation narratives, to vaudeville, tap, the […]

Afro-Puerto Rican Folkloric Music: la Bomba y la Plena

Segunda Quimbamba is a cultural gem based in Jersey City. Led by Master Drummer Juan Cartagena and Master Dancer Nanette Hernández, the band performs and teaches Afro-Puerto Rican folkloric music La Bomba and La Plena, honoring their ancestors and heritage through practicing this preservation. The call-and-response music creates a collaborative artistic space in Bomba for […]

Rock Out with The AL’s

Jump, clap, play air guitar and sing along to super fun songs from Baby Shark to The Jackson 5 to Happy by Pharrell. Students will be treated to drums, bass, acoustic guitar, ukulele and a big double bass performed by Award winning singer songwriter Alice Leon and music educator and Broadway musician Al Greene. They […]

Patterns in Nature: From Science to Art

This workshop (or series of) will focus on the beauty, design and function of patterns, forms and structures found in the natural world. Topics including branching, the spiral/Fibonacci, star/radial, retiform/mesh, hyperbolic geometry, symmetry, etc. will be explored. Students will observe and draw from natural specimens and images, define and study, then create 2D and 3D […]