PS 46 Dance Classes Collaborate

10 Nov 2011, 1:55 PM by kaya, Elementary School

At PS 46, Urban Arts afterschool has two dance classes- Step and Modern. For their first unit, students from both classes have been working together to learn dances they'll combine to make one performance when they work together again later in the semester.

Here are some highlights!

Students practice a step routine.

Teaching artist Janille Hill leads students in a chassé, a dance move taught by teaching artist Kimani Fowlin's students.

Students travelling across the floor in a chassé- they are going really fast so they are fuzzy!

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.

UAI Students Design and Construct Geometric Kites

06 Nov 2011, 12:55 AM by keith, High School

Students from The Urban Assembly Institute of Math & Science for Young Women (UAI) recently designed and flew their own kites!  This year, teaching artist Laurie Krupp is collaborating with 10th grade Geometry teacher Mr. Adrian to integrate design and visual arts into the Geometry curriculum. 

Classes designed kites using parallel and perpendicular structures and experimented with various materials to construct their kites so that they would fly as successfully as possible.  To test their finished kites, students recently visited a nearby park to fly them, making adjustments to improve them along the way.  Afterwards, students reflected on how they could improve their kites so that they could fly higher and for longer periods of time.  

'We made kites.  It was a pretty good experience for me to learn how to build it and what materials to use.  The kite helped me with measuring and using a protractor and ruler.  it was helpful.  I didn't imagine that it would fly, but I was running and it flew!  The weather was beautiful for flying.  Thanks to Ms. Laurie for coming to do this with us.  I never did a project like this. I really liked it." - Jannat, 10th grade

"My kite is a basic kite, sort of like an irregular diamond.  It's disappointing that it didn't fly more, but I had fun making it.  I think if there was more wind it would have been better.  I want to make another kite that maybe could fly better next time." - Taenisha-Imani, 10th grade

Protest Posters by UAI Students

04 Nov 2011, 5:21 PM by keith, High School

Teaching Artist Caits Meissner has been collaborating with U.S. History teacher Brodie Crawford at The Urban Assembly Institute of Math & Science for Young Women (UAI) to help bring history alive through they arts.  Throughout the year, students will be creating projects in a variety of media that are designed to deepen their understanding of our country's past and connect to relevant events and themes of today.

For their first project, students created original protest posters to communicate specific messages related to their study of The Bill of Rights.  Students also took a field trip to Zucotti Park to interview and photograph the protesters of Occupy Wall Street to find out firsthand about what they were protesting and why.  Each student wrote an essay on their own unique viewpoint on The Bill of Rights, and then looked at examples of propaganda and protest art as inspiration for their own posters directly related to the main arguments of their essays.  For the final step in the project, students took digital photo portraits of one another holding their posters, and then reflected on their work and gave one another feedback.

"I think the project is awesome.  We connect art to current events and the essays we wrote.  I hope that people can see our posters and understand our point of view.  Usually our voices aren't heard." - Merlissa, 11th grade

"I found it very interesting to connect our history work with our art work.  It's a good way to express our ideas about what's going on in the world today.  I hope that people see our posters and recognize, and then things change." - Regine, 11th grade

"Basically, we had to make a thesis statement about how we felt about the governmentand make a poster to help people see our ideas.  Mine is about how the Bill of Rights protects us.  The Bill of Rights promises protection from the government." - Nicole, 11th grade

"My poster says 'Stop the Abuse of Power'."  We went to Occupy Wall Street and saw the protesters, and I've seen it on the news too.  I hope people see what kind of power they have and how they could use it in a good way to prevent bad things from happening." - Camiel, 11th grade

"I think it's a really good project.  It's about our rights.  We interviewed protesters to find out what they were really protesting.  My poster is about how our rights can be violated sometimes, especially if you don't know them." - Lucey, 11th grade

"My poster is about the First Amendment and how we should be able to speak out.  My poster has a person speaking out with handcuffs on their hands.  I was trying to communicate that even though we have freedom of speech, we're not so free sometimes." - Issis, 11th grade 

Visual Arts Students from IS 528 Celebrate El Dia De Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead)

03 Nov 2011, 4:32 PM by keith, Middle School

Students in the after school Visual Arts program at IS 528 in Washington Heights have been working with teaching artist Katherine Toukhy to create work inspired by traditions related to El Dia De Los Muertos. 

The group recently took a field trip to Azucarera, a gallery in West Harlem run by artist and NYC public school science teacher Nova Gutierrez.  The students experienced the work of two local Latino artists, Andrea Arroyo and Felipe Galindo, whose work highlights very different aspects of Mexican life and culture. 

Our group made connections between the work we are doing in class, learning about Dia de los Muertos and drawing skulls and dancing skeletons, with these artists' visions. Students were also excited to decorate their own sugar skulls and make tissue paper flowers, objects that are both traditionally part of the Dia de los Muertos alters.  Special thanks to Alyssa Gutierrez, who hosted our group in the gallery.