Register

AFRO-CONTEMPORARY DANCE: Afro Contemporary is a dance style that combines traditional African dance with Western contemporary techniques found in modern dance. It bridges the gap between African dance, rooted in cultural rituals and meaning, and the dance techniques of Western culture. This dance style blends techniques from multiple genres, including classical ballet, jazz, modern dance, and lyrical dance. Founded in 2014, Black Girl Spectrum (BGS) aims to nurture and bring awareness to Black girl brilliance. BGS explores the spectrum of identities among Black girls and women while working to create safe spaces for them to live as creative citizens. The initiative seeks to amplify the cultural and creative empowerment of Black girls and women through dance, dialogue, and popular education tools. *Offered in partnership with Camille A. Brown & Dancers.

ACTING/DEVISED THEATER: In acting class, students will cultivate technical and expressive skills of the acting process. They will learn to tell their own stories and create characters from published works relevant to the Diaspora while developing their stage presence, expressive voice, and at all levels learn to identify basic stage and performance terminology. They will develop the ability to engage active listening while cultivating authentic responses. Devised theater will allow them to become co-creators and writers of their own works which will culminate in public presentations. Other areas covered in the course include performance poetry. Students interested in theater, spoken word, public speaking, debate & recitation, and vocal music are highly encouraged to take acting/devised theater.

AFRICAN DANCE: In African Dance classes, students gain a basic understanding and appreciation of African tradition and its cultural significance. At each level, students learn common West African movement vocabulary specifically within Djembe, Sabar, Kutiro, and Ivoirian (Cote d’Ivoire) dances while also learning to isolate specific body parts in polyrhythmic musical patterns as they interact with live drumming accompaniment. All students practice applying African percussive elements such as call-and-response and the break as they enjoy the process of learning movement combinations and choreography.

AFRICAN DRUM: Students in Djembe Orchestra learn to identify the cultural relevance of the traditional and internationally recognized West African djembe drum orchestra and all of its components. By tuning their ears to the role of each drum in the orchestra (i.e djembe, songba, kinkini, and dundun), students begin to identify regional rhythms & songs as they consistently practice African percussive elements such as call-and-response and the break. With directed interaction, developed hand placement skills, and a command of complex timing patterns, advanced students enjoy the developing skills to accompany dance classes and interact with student dancers during the choreographic process.

BALLET: In Ballet classes, students learn all basic ballet positions while synchronizing and interpreting ballet movement vocabulary and combinations. Students become more spatially aware of their individual placement in relation to other dancers in ensemble work, at the barre. and/or with floor-barre techniques while simultaneously learning to strengthen their own core. All students gain a better sense of ballet’s cultural relevancy through the use of common ballet vocabulary terms. within the general field of dance.

CAPOEIRA: Capoeira is the Brazilian martial art that teaches students to resist, defend, dance, and play all at the same time. Students learn commands and songs in Brazilian Portuguese and become comfortable with the instruments and visual culture of rotating between watching, singing, and playing. They also develop confidence, agility, and skill as they do acrobatics at varying speeds while interacting with classmates. Toddlers and beginner-level students become more spatially aware of their surroundings while more advanced students accomplish more physically challenging maneuvers within smaller spaces while learning about Capoeira’s rich history of Afro-Brazilian culture.

CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS: Students in the Toddlers Creative Expressions class learn to use songs, movement, poetry, storytelling, and visual arts to express themselves young artists. By exposing students to multiple arts disciplines, they build confidence, improve coordination and speech through repetition of songs and poems, and develop motor skills with hands-on art projects. Through the artistic process, students develop friendships and learn to work together in ways that reaffirm their sense of self and belonging to a family, community, and the world at large.

HIP HOP: In Hip Hop Dance, students learn to identify, understand, and appreciate the cultural significance of the dance genre as well as Hip Hop culture. Through muscle isolations, flexibility, and fluidity, students gain knowledge of the techniques of a Hip Hop dancer by building their own skills of self-expression, spatial awareness, musicality, and stage presence. Students also build their own style of uniqueness and finesse as they exhibit an understanding of Hip Hop’s technical vocabulary including Boogaloo, Funk, Breaking, Popping, Locking, Krumping, Turfing, House and Freestyle, thus developing increased self-confidence as performers.

PAINTING, SKETCHING & DRAWING: Students in Painting, Sketching, and Drawing are drawn into the world of visual expression and introduced to a myriad of ways to use their eyes to interpret what they see around them on a blank canvas. Students will learn principles of both traditional and contemporary African art as they analyze the work of famous artists of African descent and their contribution to the world of visual art as a whole. The student artists will explore visual elements (patterns & texture, color, line, shape, space) to create their own works as they make expressive connections between self, nature, and creativity.

VOICE: In Fundamentals of Voice, students are introduced to methods that strengthen, preserve, and improve the first instrument: the human voice. Students develop ear training, practice breath control, and learn exercises such as scales, tongue twisters, harmonization, and warm-up songs to prepare to use their voice in choral, small ensemble, and solo performance scenarios. Students also begin to build their vocal repertoire by researching legendary vocalists and recording artists of African descent throughout the diaspora and by analyzing their vocal techniques and performance. All students interested in theater, public speaking, debate & recitation, and vocal music are highly encouraged to take vocal class.