Programs
For Young Minds and Movers
Children are naturally inquisitive and creative. Young adults are inherently questioning, seeking to create themselves and connect to the world they live in. Both children and young adults must progress through critical stages of physical coordination and development that impact their ability to grow emotionally and intellectually. The Company's focus on collaborative, idea-driven dance is rich with potential for students at any stage of development. Our Young Minds and Movers program puts equal emphasis on learning, creating, and investigating dance as a meaningful form of personal and group expression. Classes and programs are available for students with no prior movement experience or those already pursuing training in dance.
We look forward to developing new partnerships with NYC schools, Community Organizations, and Performance Venues. Please contact us if you are interested in exploring a partnership opportunity.
Partnerships and Residencies
While on tour, we offer master classes, lecture/demonstrations, and open rehearsals for K-12 audiences. Contact us for more information.
Outreach Activity in Florida
We made the news in Tampa Bay, FL! Watch the video to learn about the class we offered through the Tampa Bay Performing Art Center's Patel Conservatory for a group of students from Metropolitan Ministries, an organization which serves poor and homeless men, women, and children in the Tampa Bay region. The class was taught by Leah Cox on February 19th, connected to a performance of Serenade/The Proposition at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
NYC Schools and Community Organizations
Current Programs
The Brearley School
Working with City Center Connections, the Company will be leading a 10 week residency at The Brearley School in Manhattan in January and February 2010. This residency will introduce students to the technique and repertory of the company. The students will work with our teaching artist to create an original work inspired by the company's aesthetic.
City Center Connections offers high-school, college and university students a glimpse into the professional dance world by engaging them with the work of professional dance companies. The two aspects of the program - workshops and residencies - allow companies to share their unique aesthetic with students. City Center identifies the Company as important in the dance world, and thus essential to a well-rounded, city-based dance education.
Past Programs
Gotham Professional Arts Academy and BTJ/AZ
The company is teaching a modern dance course for students at Gotham Professional Arts Academy for the Fall 2009 semester. Taught by Maria Bauman, the teaching artist who spearheaded the company's Kids in Motion program, classes meet three times a week and culminate in a performance. Following company working methods, the creation will be a collaborative, issue-driven work that represents both their individuality and their collective identity as dancers and thinkers. We are proud to be continuing our educational mission for young adults and can't wait to see what they create!
Click Here to learn more about Gotham PAA.
Kids in Motion
From 2007-2009, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company partnered with Randall's Island Sports Foundation (RISF) to offer Kids in Motion, a program designed to give East Harlem 5th graders fundamental dance education. Students learned the fundamentals of Modern dance, developed their own creative skills, and shared their experience through an end of semester performance for their school.
What Fall 2007 students had to say about Kids in Motion:
"... it has made a lot of shy kids come out of their shells. Also, it makes you more comfortable sharing things with your classmates."
-P.S. 83 5th grade student, Harlem, NY
"It makes me feel free when I dance and I don't feel shy."
-P.S. 83 5th grade student, Harlem, NY
"[My favorite part about having dance class] was when I had to work with two partners to make up our own dance. We could create anything based on a movement."
-P.S. 83 5th grade student, Harlem, NY
How principals responded to the program:
"I was so pleased that one of our fifth grade classes was able to participate in the Kids in Motion pilot program this Fall, a joint project of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Randall's Island Sports Foundation (RISF). The quality and scope of this school-day dance program was impressive, combining valuable instruction in modern dance fundamentals with creative dance-making activities and journal writing.... The instructors and visiting company members from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company were highly professional and made a wonderful impression on our students."
- Frances Castillo, Principal, Public School 83, Harlem, NY
"I was very impressed by the quality and scope of this program, and feel that it would be a wonderful opportunity for my students to not only exercise their bodies, but also their creativity... This program represents a new and exciting opportunity for my students to broaden their horizons while getting much needed exercise and exposure to the arts. "
- Janette Cesar, Principal, Talented & Gifted School for Young Scholars, Harlem, NY
–– Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Monday, July 27, 2009
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