PS 90 Holiday Preparations

23 Dec 2011, 12:26 AM by kaya, Elementary School

At PS 90 in Coney Island, dance students are busily preparing for their winter dance concert today! Over 40 1st and 2nd graders, working with teaching artist Kathy Fleurissaint, have been honing their dance moves.

Here’s what they had to say:

Analia,6 – I like the songs we have for freestyle  

Eman, 7- In dance we practice our dance a lot and have fun.

Michael, 7 - we are practicing for a Christmas show, where we’ll be dancing for the parents and the rest of the school!

Ariel, 6- my favorite part is the freestyle dance because you freeze and then you dance and even when you are disqualified you’re not out, because you can help Ms. Kathy with the pausing and calling out numbers.

Bruce, 7- the most exciting part of dance when we dance and play games because dance shows you how to move your body.

(Also in the class interview, Mark wanted to share was 7)

PS 277 Kindergarten Dance

14 Dec 2011, 4:50 PM by kaya, Elementary School

PS 277's Kindergarten and 2nd grade students have begun learning tap this year! The kindergartners are exploring how dance class rules, such as following directions, practicing, discipline, and respecting each other's personal space, help them learn better, both in dance class and in their regular class. It even helps them learn some things that seem pretty challenging at first!

Both kindergarten afterschool classes have been working on their warmup dance. It's a work in progress that they will practice the entire year! Below you can see the videos of each class, Ms. Angela's class and Ms. Emily's class. They have made HUGE progress from the beginning of the year, when many of them had never heard of tap dance. Especially impressive are some of the students who have been diagnosed with developmental delays but have proven that when you focus and work hard, anyone can learn to dance! Great job, 277 kindergartners!

And stay tuned for the 2nd grade warmup dance, coming in a few weeks...

PS 20 Share at Dixon Place Theater

30 Nov 2011, 1:30 PM by kaya, Elementary School

A few weeks ago students from PS 20’s 3rd grade Urban Arts Dance integration shared the work they’ve done in dance and social studies at Dixon Place Theater. The students had the opportunity to visit a ballet the week before, this time they were onstage in a professional theater!

A few weeks ago students from PS 20’s 3rd grade Urban Arts Dance integration shared the work they’ve done in dance and social studies at Dixon Place Theater. The students had the opportunity to visit a ballet the week before, this time they were onstage in a professional theater!

Students warm up for the performance with Ms. Seabreeze:

This was their project description: We will explore their place in the world through dance and its many significant uses in cultures around the world. Our class will understand and become aware of their bodies, how to explore various types of movements, and how to use this information to tell a story of the culture and/or location being explored.

3rd graders watch a movie of their rehearsals and interviews:

Here’s what teaching artist Michelle Seabreeze had to say: “It was an amazing experience, for myself, as well as the students. The students had a wonderfully professional experience performing in the space, as a result of the use of the entire space as well as a special treat watching themselves projected on the large screen. The teachers and parents were extremely impressed!”

Thanks to Fabian for the photos... and to Dixon Place for letting us use your space!

PS 20 Dance Integration

09 Nov 2011, 11:13 AM by kaya, Elementary School

At PS 20, teaching artist Michelle Seabreeze has been working with 3rd grade students and teachers to bring dance into social studies. In their geography unit, students choreographed dances using the compass rose, the map key, continents and oceans. Each of the 4 classes has built a dance they'll be sharing next week at the Dixon Place Theater for classmates and parents.

Here students play a vocabulary game.

Here students make fans for their fan dance from South Korea, which is a country in Asia.

Students practice ballet, which they learned came from the courts of France 500 years ago in the continent of Europe. One student made a great connection; this was the same time Columbus came to North America, another continent on our list!

A class practices their dance about the continents.

PS 40 K-2 Monster Mash

31 Oct 2011, 11:39 AM by kaya, Elementary School

                          Students act like monsters waking up to a slow count

The K-2 students in Urban Arts' Music, Arts, Dance & Drama class at PS 40 are celebrating their favorite reason to dress up with their version of the Monster Mash. Students took a break from their usualy busy schedule to share these photos. They've been learning the music scale, choreographing songs, and are planning to create a puppet show based off of their retelling of a famous story. Keep checking the post to hear more!

                                 The MADD class works on their choreography

Bashan: I'm 6. I like the music the most that is fast. I think the Moonlight Sonata is good because of the music it has. It's by Beethoven. Dancing in the monster mash song, the beginning is the easiest. I am going to be Spiderman for Halloween.

Jaelen: I am 8 years old. My favorite part of class is the end when we play game. My favorite game is statue. I like to be the guard. The fun part is when we get to dance. I think the Moonlight Sonata is awesome because I hear the "one two three" swing beat. One thing I'd like to make in class is paper airplanes for the puppet show. I'd put my puppet it in the airplane and fly it.

Sabrina: I'm 7, but my birthday is tomorrow so I'm 8! My favorite part of class is when we write stories and maps. I like to dance and play statues. The hardest part of class is remembering what we did in last class and doing it right today. But it can be fun, too. I am excited to make the puppet story.

  Students try different monster poses with Ms. Cristina