Dance eXchange - Bringing Dance "Full Circle" in Philadelphia
Dancing, moving, shouting, laughing, and live music!
It's not a night out at a rock concert - It's dance class at Andrew Jackson School in South Philly. Artistic expression exudes; the drummer jams, the children spin, jump, wiggle and step as they follow their dance teachers from the BalletX outreach program, Dance eXchange.
Photo by Bill Hebert
Though Dance eXchange is a fairly new program, having launched in 2014, it's quickly growing. Starting in Andrew Jackson School, it now also serves third and fourth graders in Chester A. Arthur School and Albert M. Greenfield Elementary School as well. Altogether, the program reaches nearly 200 students each year.
After an intense 13-week program in each school, Dance eXchange provides the students with the extraordinary opportunity to perform at Philadelphia's own Prince Theater. Students get to experience the thrill of dancing on a professional stage in a beautiful venue, something that most aspiring dancers only dream of.
The current program for the 2015-2016 year is wrapping up. In just a few short weeks, the students will be showcasing their choreography, and you (yes, you!) are invited along with the rest of the Philadelphia community to experience these special performances. The Dance eXchange Final Showcases will take place at 6:30 on January 26th and January 27th at the Prince Theater on Chestnut Street. Community members are welcome to see the performance for FREE, simply RSVP here.
Andrew Jackson School & Chester A. Arthur School will perform on January 26th, 6:30 PM
Albert M. Greenfield Elementary School will perform on January 27th, 6:30 PM
This will be so much more than just a school production or dance recital. As Christine Cox, BalletX’s Executive and Artistic Director, puts it, these performances represent the program in "full circle." BalletX, a world-renowned dance company with strong Philly roots, gets involved with the youth in our community's public schools, professional dancers from Philly instruct, local musicians are brought in, the school teachers collaborate, and the product of all these efforts is put on stage in one of our city's finest theaters. The community is welcomed in again at this point to share in a celebration of Philadelphia youth and the power of the arts, and it is the community support in its various forms that in turn allows the program to continue to grow.
The theme for the upcoming performance has local roots as well. An unlikely candidate for dance inspiration, the students have explored movement through a focus on Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin this year. Light. Energy. Electricity. Time. Students played with various aspects of choreography through the lens of these concepts. Classroom teachers got involved, linking classroom lessons to the insight students gained through their Dance eXchange classes. Ask any teacher; making interdisciplinary connections like these form the core of a solid education. Parents have praised the program for the rewards it brings their children.
Clearly, the teaching techniques used in Dance eXchange, based on the award-winning methodology of the National Dance Institute (NDI) of New York City, provide the students with so much more than awesome new dance moves. In addition to expanding on their academic classroom lessons, the dance program helps students develop themselves as young people. They get hands-on, dive-in experience with goal setting, body awareness, self-confidence, self-discipline, and collaboration. The live-music aspect of the program, which makes it unique among Philly's dance outreach programs, provides students with a musical playground in which they experiment with rhythm, coordination, musicality and timing. At an age where many students find it hard to sit at a desk and learn in the traditional manner, their Dance eXchange class is another avenue to learning, another avenue to school success, another avenue to expanding their thinking and creativity.
The teaching artists, Cox explains, gain so much from this program as well. Aside from getting the opportunity to expand their careers as professional dancers, they learn about dance through the process of teaching. They are, of course, also inspired by the children they see grow. "Our students have blossomed during our time with them this fall," says Belle Alvarez, the lead teaching artist for Dance eXchange. "They have a newfound love for dance. It's so exciting to see dancers problem solve in the moment, hone their focus, and work to their potential. It's a treat to follow their growth and see how proud they are of their achievements!"
Just a few years ago Dance eXchange was simply an idea - a way to teach children how to dance, and dancers how to teach. Cox submitted a proposal for the program to the Knight Arts Challenge of 2013, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in turn provided the initial funding for the inception of Dance eXchange. Now, Dance eXchange relies on donors to sustain and grow the program. Generous contributors such as PECO, the Leo Model Foundation, the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, the Martin Zeldin& Karen Rosner, Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, the Virginia & Harvey Kimmel Arts Education Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, and the University of the Arts have helped the program flourish.
Individuals within the community support the program as well. This January is the perfect time to show your love for the Philly dance community; treat yourself to the students' showcase, and while you're there, consider a donation to support Dance eXchange. Donations help ensure that the program can send top dancers into the Dance eXchange classrooms at little or no cost to the school, that professional space can be secured at the Prince Theater for the performances, and that the program can continue to expand in order to touch the lives of as many students as possible. A donation is a celebration of the arts, a celebration of Philadelphia, and a celebration of our youth. So, celebrate!
Photo by Bill Hebert
TOP 4 WAYS TO SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR DANCE EXCHANGE:
1. Attend the Dance eXchange Final Showcase on January 26th & 27th. Enjoy. Smile. Applaud like crazy.
2. Make a donation to Dance eXchange to help the program reach even more Philly children.
3. Spread the good word! Share information about the Dance eXchange program with your Philly friends and neighbors through social media and good-ol'-fashioned word of mouth.
4. If you're part of a public school community in Philadelphia and are interested in learning more about how to bring Dance eXchange to your school, Contact Outreach Coordinator Belle Alvarez at balvarez@balletx.org for more details.
