Urban Arts Master Classes

During the fall semester, students in this class focused on the 5 elements of Hip Hop dance: Popping, B-Boy/B-Girl (Breakdance), Locking, House, and mainstream Hip Hop. Students studied the origin of each style from across the country, how the character of each community contributed to the creation of the five main styles, and the crews that made each style more mainstream.

 
Here is a clip of their December performance:

 

This semester students are exploring stereotypes surrounding Hip Hop and Hip Hop dance.  Students are discussing ways they can present Hip Hop that could alter negative misconceptions. The class is exploring positive ways to impact the community using Hip Hop dance.  Students are continuing to ask and answer various guiding questions, including:  How does Hip Hop dance define my community?  How does Hip Hop and Hip Hop dance affect my life? How can a community affect the way you express yourself?  What defines culture?  What defines a community?  How is Hip Hop a culture?  How am I a part of it?

 

In the Master Class on Tuesday March 9th, Adesola Osakalumi will give students feedback on their work so far and add to existing choreography. Students will get the chance to ask for specific feedback on their pieces.



Adesola Osakalumi is an award-winning dancer, choreographer and member of the GhettOriginal Productions Dance Company (f/k/a Rhythm Technicians). He helped create Jam on the Groove which premiered Off-Broadway, toured around the world and won a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Choreography. Adesola has choreographed for and/or been a featured dancer with Mariah Carey, Sean "P Diddy" Combs, N'Sync, Joe, Dru Hill, and Amber. His credits also include: ABC Television's Double Platinum (with Brandy and Diana Ross); choreography for the 2002 MTV Video Awards segment with Ja Rule, the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards segment with Jamie Foxx,  the Nike segment of BET's Rip the Runway Fashion Show, commercials for PBS Kids, as well as Old Navy, Intel, and Levis. For film, he has choreographed for School of Rock, Marci X, and he is a principal dancer in Enchanted, Across the Universe and Idlewild. He has created dance for Eyewitness Blues and Mister at the New York Theatre Workshop, Hip Hop Wonderland at the New Victory Theater, Mo Moves at the Serious Fun Festival at Lincoln Center, Echo Park: The Hip Hop Musical at the Apollo Theater, and with the Doug Elkins Dance Company at the Joyce Theater. When not on stage or in front of the camera, Adesola is teaching or giving lecture/demonstrations about his craft. He has also taught Master Classes around the world and with Darrin Henson's Dance Grooves - Part II.

  

Multimedia Master Class at the Heritage School

05 Mar 2010, 2:26 PM by Lisa LH

At the Heritage School next week, students in the Multimedia class will have a Master Class with David Weiner, the New York Editor for the Huffington Post.  Students in this class spent their first semester learning the basics of graphic design and journalism, including: conducting online research; taking digital photographs; writing and conducting interviews from a journalistic perspective; creating digital media using InDesign and uploading that media to blog sites. This semester, students are taking on various roles-- creating, designing and producing the school’s yearbook and on-line magazine. The focus will be on identifying and reporting on issues of importance to their community and peers; and how to use technology to enhance their own media literacy as well as make them more effective communicators.

 

Check out their online magazine:

 

In preparation of the Master Class, students have read a selection of articles David has written.  During the class, David will discuss these articles and how they affected change.  He will also discuss some tips for researching, interviewing and writing for on-line media sources, as well as ways to engage readers around an issue.

 

 David Weiner is the New York Editor of The Huffington Post and an accomplished writer. The Huffington Post launched in 2005 as an American news website and aggregated blog, featuring various news sources and columnists. The site offers progressive coverage of politics, media, business, entertainment, living, style, the green movement, world news, and comedy, and is a top destination for news, blogs, and original content.

The Heritage School - Latin Dance Master Class

04 Mar 2010, 1:33 PM by Lisa LH

This year, students in the Latin Dance class at the Heritage School are studying the way salsa music and dance emerged in the 1970s in the Bronx, and comparing and contrasting its emergence to the popularity of Bachata music and dancing today.   They are researching what conditions existed in the Bronx in the 1970s and how different cultures influenced the dance and music at that time.  Through deconstructing and comparing dance styles used in both salsa and hip hop, students are answering the questions, ‘How did culture, environment and history influence salsa and hip hop in the 1970’s?’ and ‘How do those same influences affect Bachata in NYC today?’

 

In this clip from their December performance, students showcase the 1970s-style salsa dance they learned.

In the Master Class on Monday, March 8th, students will get a chance to work with Rodney Lopez.  This is the second year Rodney has worked with this class.  He will review steps he taught to these students last year, as well as incorporate new movements into this historical conversation about salsa in the 1970s and today’s Bachata.

 

Rodney López is an accomplished Latin dance instructor and choreographer in the New York Salsa scene. He is Director of the Salsa Program at Dance Manhattan, teaches Latin music history and dance for the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in East Harlem and has led workshops and performed around the world. He has appeared on Good Morning America’s “Dancing With The Moms” Competition, the WB11 Morning News, Fox’s Good Day New York, The Queen Latifah Show and the Maury Povich Show and in the Off-Broadway smash, Latin Madness. In addition to serving as a Team Captain of the Addie-Tude Dance Company, he competes with New York-area West Coast Swing and Carolina Shag teams. Rodney's work has been featured in documentaries, news articles and other media including “Mad Hot Ballroom.”

 

 

 

Day 3 :: Feb 4th, 2PM...SHOWTIME!

After a couple glitches during our final tech run, its Showtime at Black Box 416.  Thanks to the support of HBO, New Design High School, and Urban Arts Partnership, the students are ready to rock the house.  24 Hour Plays Intersession 2010 rocks my world! 

Check out the program for this phenomenal show: 

The theater is packed to the brim. Sit back and relax and get ready for the magic...

New Design Principal, Scott Conti welcomes the audience and guests.

The singing and songwriting intersession group warms up the house.  Amazing all the talent in this school!

It's SHOWTIME!  Watch our actors in action.

 

The full cast and writers of the 2010 24 Hour Plays Intersession takes questions from the audience. 

Post show joy as teachers and director, Michael Kenneth Williams, congratulate writer, Maynor Alas, on his work and brilliance. 

Congrats to all who made this 3 day intersession a success!!! So proud to have been a part of it.

Stay tuned for the Life Stories 24 Hour Plays in July 2010!

 

Day 3 :: February 4th

Its the final day of rehearsal before the big show at 2pm.  That means there are only 4 hours of rehearsal till our tech run through at 2pm!  Avi and I have spent the last 2 days converting room 416 into a black box theater, complete with lights donated from ABT to a school downstairs.  Seems like everything is working in our favor to make this culminating event a success!  Check out the photos to watch the casts prepare for show time.
 

Its rehearsal time for Michael Kenneth Williams and the cast of "She Can't Eat Cheese if She is Lactose Intolerant," written by Maynor Alas. 


Gabby Hoffman shows the cast of Sydney White's "Flight to the Future" how its done.  
 

Rosie Perez and the cast of Maxine Batchler's "The Interview" take advantage of their last hour of rehearsal in Black Box 416, our brand new black box theater!

Taylor Morrison, our wonderful tech student, prepares the lights before the big show.

 

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