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This is a 10-week
multicultural dance residency program funded, in part by the Valley
Foundation and Cisco Foundation as well as Arts Council Silicon Valley, in
partnership with the County of Santa Clara and the California Arts
Council.
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For ten weeks students
in six San Jose elementary schools were instructed in a variety of
ethnic dances. The schools came together for a culminating event on
November 18, 2004 at Montgomery Theater in downtown San Jose. This
year’s participants include Anne Darling Elementary (Chinese Dance),
Windmill Springs (Aztec Dance), Olinder School (Bhangra Dance), Escuela Popular (Folklorico
Dance), Sherman Oaks (African Dance) and McKinley Elementary (Greek
Dance). |
The goal of the program
is to teach youngsters about diverse cultures through the universal
languages of the arts. The dance artists teach the students about the
history, music and traditions of their ethnicity through dance. Native
musicians accompany the students in their performances and authentic
costumes add to the experience. The schools are selected based on a needs
assessment which determines which schools are underserved in the area of
dance, which have an ethnic diversity which would benefit from this
program and which schools have the physical facility to support the
program. The schools may choose the ethnicity they wish to study. It is
recommended that they select an ethnicity other than the predominant one
of the student body. Lessons are based on the California State Framework
for the Visual and Performing Arts and assessed in accordance with the
State Standards for Arts Education.
What a wonderful night
of cultural dance! The performance at Montgomery Theater went extremely
well and the kids really enjoyed performing for their family members and
teachers. It is hard to believe that over 150 students took part in this
great program and were exposed to such wonderful instructors, musicians,
culture and history. The students learned so much about the culture they
were studying and were able to understand even more why they were doing
certain movements because of the history behind them. Many of our
students were able to bring some of this information back to the classroom
and apply to different subjects such as history, social studies and even
geography!
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The staff of Tapestry
Arts would like to thank everyone involved who gave their time to help out
at this wonderful event. Our instructors went above and beyond what they
were asked to help make this event great. Thanks so much and we’ll see
everyone in Spring 2006!
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