Speaking Through Dance
A Standards Based, Vibrant and Visceral Introduction to Dance as an Expressive and Communicative Artform, and Metaphor for Life!
Carolyn Dorfman
Master Teaching Artist and Artistic Director of Carolyn Dorfman Dance
“We move, we speak. From the beginning of time individuals and communities have defined themselves and their worlds through movement and Dance. From the stage to the street, we observe and come to understand others. In doing and creating, we come to understand and shape ourselves. ...Dance and the ensemble become a powerful visual metaphor for life and community.”
As Dancers We Train in 3 Ways
1. The Mind - the living, creative Artist inside.
2. The Body - our instrument on and off stage.
3. As a Community - existing in relation and in harmony with one another.
Our Purpose and Goals
To broaden the students’ knowledge and appreciation of Dance through developmentally and age appropriate standards based dance education
To develop physical skills
To develop cognitive and perceptual skills
To foster growth in emotional skills
To provide equitable access to the art of Dance to students in historically underserved populations
To use the art of Dance and culture to strengthen Community Unity
To demonstrate the positive economic impact of Dance and culture, and it’s place in today’s entrepreneurial world
To cultivate, support, and train a team of professional teaching artists; resulting in a Dance Community Mentoring Program
Dance is a diverse and uniquely human and expressive artform. Dance and creative thinking fundamentally celebrate individual expression, movement, and form.
Dance fosters an increased sense of body awareness, a concern for correct body alignment and posture, and an awareness of personal and general space. It makes us conscious of self-presentation, and the self in relation to one-self, others, and the space around us. Classes will introduce Ballet, Jazz Dance, Modern Dance, Hip Hop Dance, and Creative Movement Exercises as a means to gain greater flexibility, control, coordination, strength, and balance, and, thus, for students to expand their “movement language” and ability to purposely communicate through movement.
Through set movements, exercises, improvisation, and choreography, students experience seeing, discerning, interpreting, problem solving, and evaluating and making creative and artistic choices and critiques.
Dance is a meaningful and open artform. Through this work, students experience and develop the power of movement to “speak” and the joy of expressing a full range of feelings and ideas in constructive and effective ways. They also learn to appreciate expressions of others, and function as unique and strong individuals that exist in relation to and in harmony with the community.
Developmentally appropriate Dance education generates strong bodies with strong brains. This curriculum promotes individual physical, cognitive, perceptual, and emotional skills; anchored with the hallmark of a harmonious community and a greater sense of belonging.
National studies conducted by the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) show that students exposed to the Art of Dance develop stronger mental focus, self-esteem, awareness of the physical self, and academic skills.
The connection between movement and cognitive, perceptual, and emotional intelligence is vital to the growth of the “whole” child. And, in cases where there are behavior and learning issues, Dance Expression and Education can be a powerful instrument.
