The students involved in "The House That Crack Built" have been receiving instruction in Dance Education from the Arts Mentor, Ms. Dollie Rivas for eight years. Dance Education is used as a tool to encourage and enhance the students' responsibility for the care and health of their bodies, minds and improved self-discipline.
The students are first introduced to focus, direction, levels, spatial awareness and how to concentrate and respect each other's personal space. The elements of dance, locomotor & non-locomotor movement, qualities of movement, body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" isolations, body design in space, levels and directions are introduced at the entry level.
Each student is required to keep a Dance Journal. They enlarge their dance vocabulary list after each class as well as give personal impressions of their progress. Students are encouraged to write stories, poems or poetry with the curriculum connection being Language Arts.
The students are taught and perform Ballet, Jazz, Creative Movement, as well as dances from different cultures (Ethnic). The viewing of videos is utilized as an aid in the introduction to different dance forms and dances from different cultures. A variety of music is used in the class while rhythmic sounds are explored by using rhythm sticks, and body slapping and the voice.
A performance-based assessment is one of the primary instruments for measurement of accomplishments. At the end of each semester the dancers present their work both to the school and community at an evening event and in several showcases throughout the city.
The Creative Movers was formed approximately six years ago, as an outbreak of the Audubon Montessori Creative Dance Program which has been in existence for 8 years. The company has had several names and compositions, producing original choreography (by Ms. Rivas and the Students together). Among them was the Arts Connection Dancers which was composed of six students from Audubon Montessori and six students from Guste Elementary in the Guste Housing Project. These students were honored by being invited
as guest performers at the Gala Performance of the Dance and The Child International Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 1991.
Ms. Rivas, using dancers from diverse economic, social and cultural backgrounds, decided to start a dance company to meet the needs of students with demonstrated performance ability. Ms. Rivas often choreographs pieces that combine dance with the curriculum studied. The goal is to elaborate and enhance the curriculum through dance by having the Creative Movers perform pieces that assist students in internalizing information already presented to them in other classes .
The fact that these students excel academically, as documented on standardized tests, is directly related to the artistic focus provided by a well-integrated curriculum. Critical thinking, decision making and creativity are emphasized as students examine real-life problems and work together to find solutions. Many of these students have won awards for writing, excel in math and chess, and perform exceptionally in academic games. These students are exemplary academic models for their peers.
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The House That Crack Built {1.2 MB Quicktime}, created and choreographed by Dollie Rivas inspired by the Book "The House That Crack Built" by Clark Taylor, is a dance performance piece enhanced by the utilization of visual arts and drama, teaching the dangers of the drug, crack cocaine.
Background Information on "The House That Crack Built":
The House That Crack Built was created as an outcome of a P.E. unit, which the majority of Dancers were participating in, on the Dangers of Drugs, specifically crack/ cocaine. When the dancers came to company class with lots of questions, Ms. Rivas remembered she had a copy of the book "The House That Crack Built" by Clark Taylor, a local author now residing in California. The book had also been purchased by the school library with a study guide.
To assist the students in internalizing the information already presented to them in P.E. class, Ms. Rivas decided to choreograph a piece based on the book. The piece was built on and re-choreographed over a period of three years until it reached it's present multi-disciplinary form, utilizing visual arts, theater and dance. Since the performance opens with a narration of the House That Crack Built, the dancers were required to be able to speak with articulation and projection. Their movements were to b
e executed while speaking and also being spatial aware since there were 24 dancers on stage at a given time. Dancers were required to execute complex steps and patterns, work with a partner, demonstrate artistic expression, reliability, flexibility, sustain movement, floor patterns, and rhythmic activity.
The dancers were required to be at rehearsal for two hours, three times a week for a period of three weeks, before the piece was in its final stage.
- "Butterfly", created and choreographed by Dollie Revas is a dance performance piece teaching the metamorphosis of the butterfly, inspired by a fifth grade Science Unit.
Background Information on Butterflies:
Butterflies started off as a science and movement project on the Metamorphosis. Since I was combining dance with the curriculum studied, I wanted to elaborate and enhance the curriculum through dance by having the Creative Movers perform this particular Dance piece and present it to the classes that were studying this particular science unit.
The Dancers were required to be able to execute grand jetes, percussive and sustained movement, and have spatial awareness because of some structured improvisation in the piece. They were also required to demonstrate articulation of isolated body parts, memorization of movement sequences, coordination, flexibility, and the ability to remember extended movement sequences.
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