Baltimore County Public Schools Student Choreography Showcase
More than 100 dance students from five schools participated in the daylong Annual Baltimore County Public Schools’ Student Choreography Showcase. During the day, members of the ClancyWorks Dance Company taught master classes in composition, improvisation, and partnering. Dance company members adjudicated the rehearsal and provide feedback to support student choreographers in refining their works. The showcase day concluded with an evening performance of twenty one student-created pieces. Participating students will represent George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Hereford High School, New Town High School, Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, and Sudbrook Magnet Middle School.
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All-County Honors Dance Ensemble helps Shady Spring Elementary School celebrate achievement.
The All-County Honors Dance Ensemble was invited to perform in the Achievement Awards Assembly at Shady Spring Elementary School on February 6, 2012. The ensemble comprised of twenty dancers from six high schools represent a high level and standard of artistic and academic achievement in fine arts dance in the county. The dancers performed New Dawn, with choreography by Artistic Director, Stephanie Powell, three solos choreographed by dancers Antonio Wright, Taylor Lewis, and Michael West, Jr titled Dreamer, Mary comes to Jesus, and The Chairman’s Waltz respectively. Ms. Powell and the dancers conducted a flash mob dance with the entire student body, teachers, administrators, and parents to emphasize the power and fun of dancing.
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Maryland Public High School Dance Showcase 2012
Six high schools have been selected to perform in the 23rd Annual Maryland Public High School Dance Showcase on Friday, January 6, 2012 at Goucher College. The formal concert at 7:30 p.m. will include dancers from Hereford HS, New Town HS, and George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology performing “When Women Gather”, “Just at the Edge”, and “Odyssey” respectively. The informal concert at 5:00 p.m. will include dancers from Lansdowne HS, Dulaney HS, and Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts performing “Castoff”, “Last Wishes”, and “Deep Fear” respectively.
Congratulations dance teachers and students. Tickets are available at the door for the 7:30 concert in Kruashaar auditorium. No tickets needed for the 5:30 concert in the Athenaeum.
All-County Honors Dance Ensemble auditions were held this fall at George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Technology. Ms. Stephanie Powell, artistic director, and Mrs. Suzanne Henneman, managing director, along with a panel of distinguished judges representing dance in higher education and the private dance sector, selected twenty dancers representing six high schools fine arts dance programs for this year’s honors ensemble. The ensemble will represent Baltimore County Public Schools at the MSDE Fine Arts Briefing in April, at area elementary school assemblies, be featured in the BCPS Countywide Dance Festival, and hold their 6th Annual Concert in June of 2012.
Congratulations to all of the nominated students on a fine audition and to the twenty dancers representing Dulaney, George Washington Carver Center, Hereford, New Town, Parkville, and Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts. << County Honors Dance Ensemble list >>Maryland Public High School Dance Showcase 2012
Six Baltimore County Fine Arts Dance Programs were selected for the 23rd Annual Maryland Public High School Dance Showcase. The Showcase will be held at Goucher College on Friday, January 6, 2012. Performing in the 7:30 evening concert, George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Technology, Hereford HS, and New Town HS. The informal 5 p.m. concert will include Dulaney HS, Lansdowne HS, and Patapsco HS and Center for the Arts. Congratulations to the dancers, teachers, and choreographers. The concerts are open to the public. The formal showcase at 7 p.m. is $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. For further information contact Suzie Henneman at 410-887-4014.
Mrs. Erin Norton, dance teacher at Hereford High School was named the 2011 Dance Teacher of the Year for the state of Maryland. Ms. Norton received the award at the Maryland Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance’s (MAHPERD’s) annual awards banquet on Friday, October 21, 2011 at the Marriott in Hunt Valley. Ms. Norton’s was presented the award based on her dedication to the field of dance education, professional growth as a teacher and dancer, and commitment to nurturing and developing young dancers and building exemplary programs at both New Town High School and now Hereford High School .
On Saturday, November 12th, the Hereford Theatre and Dance Programs took their annual fall trip to New York City. Theatre students toured NBC Studios while the dancers took a precision class from the Rockettes at Broadway Dance Center. Then, the groups met at the Imperial Theatre to see Billy Elliott on Broadway. After dinner in Times Square, and lots of sightseeing and pictures, the group headed back, inspired for Performance Season.
Baltimore County dance students to attend Ailey II performance
Baltimore County fine arts dance programs have been invited to a special matinee of the Ailey II Dance Company on Friday, September 16th hosted by Towson University Dance Department. Three hundred and forty (340) BCPS dance students from eight fine arts dance schools will be in the audience for this exciting opportunity.
Ailey II is universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. Under the artistic direction of Sylvia Waters, Ailey II has flourished into one of the most popular dance companies in the country, combining a rigorous touring schedule with extensive community outreach programs. These extraordinary artists have earned the title “Cultural Ambassadors of the World.” Towson University has been gracious and generous in offering BCPS students free seating for the matinee performance.
The company will be performing excerpts from their evening program which will include:
Echoes - Choreographer - Thang Dao
Splendid Isolation - Choreographer - Jessica Lang
The Hunt - Choreographer - Robert Battle
Revelations - Choreographer - Alvin Ailey
Baltimore County is proud to announce:
Elizabeth Washington, George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Technology class of 2008, and a former member of the All-County Honors Ensemble will be peforming as a member of the Ailey II Company in New York City.
To see Elizabeth's announcement click on the link below.
http://www.alvinailey.org/elizabeth-washington
Baltimore County dance teachers to present at national dance educators conference
Two Baltimore County dance teachers will represent the school system’s fine arts dance programs at the National Dance Education Organization’s (NDEO) annual conference in Minneapolis this October. Ms. Claire Sweet, Dance Department Chair, for Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, and Mrs. Suzanne Henneman, Dance Resource Teacher will present Creating the Path: Models for Collaborative and Creative Pathways for Mutual Success in collaboration with ClancyWorks Dance Company. ClancyWorks Dance Company and the Office of Dance and Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts have been working in partnership for several years on the Student Choreography Showcase, the Dance Educator’s Training Institute and the DARE Dance program, and the ClancyWorks Aspire program that places guest artists and choreographers in schools.
Mrs. Henneman will also be co-presenting with Rima Faber, former NDEO Educational Director and founder of Primary Movers, on the K-8 Science with Dance in Mind professional development training model. This program was funded by a grant from Hands on Science. The two year program included a professional training for classroom and fine arts dance teachers in arts integration lesson and unit planning. A fine arts dance teacher and a classroom teacher were paired to create integrated lessons that taught both the science and the dance curriculum in the elementary school. The lessons were then delivered to students at Ft. Garrison Elementary and Chatsworth Elementary Schools. Ms. Faber an Mrs. Henneman will present Science With Dance in Mind: A Project with Baltimore County Public Schools as a model for professional development in developing units and lessons using arts integration strategies for teaching curriculum in engaging and exciting ways.
Congratulations!
On Sunday, July 24th Jessica Pinkett won the bronze medal at the NAACP ACT-SO Competition in Los Angeles. She was a featured dancer in the awards program at the Los Angelos Convention Center. Jessica received a laptop computer and $2000.00.
Jessica is a dance prime student at George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Technology.
Sudbrook Magnet Middle School receives national award!
The fine and performing arts programs at Sudbrook Magnet Middle School was named one of five schools in the nation for the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education’s Schools of Distinction Award. Sudbrook was presented their award at the June 10, 2011 Arts Education in Maryland Schools’ annual CAFÉ conference, held at Towson University. Awardees are invited to perform for the CAFÉ participants and this year’s 400+ audience witnessed the magnificent talents, passion, and an ensemble presentation of excerpts from One on this Island. 6th,7th, and 8th grade students transformed the stage with their professionalism, artistic talent, and performance of dance, music, vocals, and acting.
Ms. Maria Royals, dance teacher and choreographer of the musical is commended for her undying dedication to the dance program and the community of Sudbrook Magnet Middle School.
Bravo Sudbrook!
George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology dancers receive scholarship offers during the Regional High School Dance Festival held in Norfolk, VA this past March
Terrell Spence: University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne, Cornish College, VCU, University of Hartford-Hartt School, Long Island University, University of Minnesota, Point Park College , Nashville Ballet, Brenau University, Concord Academy
Courtney Lewis: University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne, University of Hartford-Hartt School, Brenau University, University of Minnesota, Point Park College, Long Island University, Summer Fellowship Alvin Ailey
Jessica Pinkett: Bates College Summer Intensive, University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne, University of Hartford-Hartt School, Johnson C. Smith University, University of Minnesota, Brenau University, VCU, Long Island University
Michael West: Concord Academy Summer Dance Program
Alyssa Bass: Concord Academy Summer Dance Program
Brynna Shank: Concord Academy Summer Dance Program
Gabriela Santos: Bates College Summer Intensive, Concord Academy
Rosemary Prendergast: Cornish College
Tyesha Nance: Bates College Summer Dance Program, University of Richmond
Taylor Lewis: University of Richmond, Cornish College, Summer Fellowship Alvin Ailey
The British are Here! - Windsor High School from Birmingham, England is visiting four BCPS fine arts dance programs and performing in the 14th Annual Baltimore County Public School Dance Festival during the week of April 4 -8, 2011. Twelve students and three teachers arrived in Baltimore April 2nd for a week long tour of schools and dance programs, sharing dance works and performances with BCPS dance students. The group took classes with GW Carver Center’s dance teachers, the Honors Ensemble, shared dance works at Sudbrook and Dulaney, and set a combined piece with Patapsco High School dancers for the April 8th festival. To experience a typical American school day, they shadowed penpals at both Dulaney and Patapsco through their school day. The artistic collaboration between BCPS dance programs and Windsor High School began in 2005 with their first visit.
They will be performing In an English Country Garden as the kick off to the dance festival on the 8th as well as two pieces in the evening concert and a combined piece with Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts Dance Company.
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Dance Teachers Keep in Step - The Hippodrome Foundation sponsored a master class with Sean McKnight, lead dancer with Shrek the Musical cast for BCPS dance teachers on March 24, 2011. The dance teachers learned three combinations from Sean’s choreography as well as had a master class in Conditioning for Dance with Wyndee Hughes McGovern from Spotlight Dance Studio and a lecture from Gabbi Berkow on Wellness for Dancers.
EDSteps – Online opportunity to share creative student work
The EdSteps Creativity project is on line and ready for work samples. EdSteps is one of four projects being funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - people from industry, education and research were charged with defining creativity and coming up with a model that is on line and viral. Teachers are encouraged to submit samples of students’ creative work. Examples could include poems, choreography, studies, research, etc.
Can you ballroom dance better than a fifth grader?
Baltimore County Public Schools students in grade 5 physical education classes are dancing up a storm each winter – learning the merengue, tango, swing, and cha-cha.
This year, students from eight elementary schools had the exciting opportunity to take five ballroom dance lessons from Christine Cox, a professional dancer and teacher from New York City. Cox is originally from Baltimore. Ms. Cox is a graduate of Franklin High School graduate who studied dance education at Towson University and was mentored as an undergraduate by Suzanne Henneman, resource teacher in the BCPS Office of Dance Education.
Approximately 700 fifth-grade students at Shady Spring, Sandy Plains, Norwood, Pleasant Plains, Johnnycake, Mars Estates, Charlesmont, and Featherbed Elementary Schools were part of the third year of the 5th grade program, which has doubled in the number of schools served each year. Their classes took place from January 11 -15, January 25-28, and February 22-26.
On the last day, parents are invited to see the students demonstrate their dance moves and then to dance with them.
The 5th-grade ballroom program is part of a larger initiative from the Offices of Dance and Physical Education addressing the need for students in grades 5, 8, and 9 to develop respectful behaviors as well as knowledge and skill on the dance floor. Resource teacher Suzanne Henneman leads the lessons for 600-700 students at seven or eight middle and high schools each year.
“The kids love it,” says Henneman. “They are so in tune with it now through the media. Because of shows like ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ ballroom dance doesn’t have the stigma that it used to. The boys love it as much as the girls.”
Henneman also notes that “We are really teaching many things through dance – all about respect, self-esteem, howto carry yourself…There is a lot more to it than just learning the steps.”
Dance is a lifetime activity and falls under the Rhythms and Dance Unit in the Physical Education curriculum. The program is funded through the Fine Arts Initiative Grant from the Maryland State Department of Education and facilitated by the Office of Dance.
Story by Suzanne Henneman, resource teacher, Office of Dance Education, and Diana L. Spencer, communications officer, Office of Communications. Photos courtesy of the Office of Dance Education.
BCPS teachers and students present Red Hot Swing!
Mrs. Suzanne Henneman, dance resource teacher, and Mr. Bob Russell, physical education teacher from Cockeysville Middle School, presented Red Hot Swing to middle school students at Gilman and Roland Park Country School on Tuesday, November 8, 20122. Mr. Russell’s 68 members of the Swing Dance Club at Cockeysville Middle School assisted in demonstrating swing steps and combinations to over 200 students from both schools in as a way to promote healthy and appropriate partner dancing.
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Kennedy Center awards BCPS Magnet High Schools with top arts award
George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts were both awarded the Kennedy Center’s highest award for arts schools as National Schools of Distinction and Excellence in a recognition ceremony at the CAFÉ’ Conference hosted by Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS) in May of 2010. Two BCPS schools out of five nationwide are being recognized in a special awards ceremony where the students from the schools will be invited to perform at the Kennedy Center. Sudbrook Magnet Middle School was named a Kennedy Center School of Distinction in the fall of 2010 and will receive their award in the spring of 2011. Congratulations to three schools of distinction and excellence in Baltimore County! All three schools have a dance program as part of the overall fine arts program.
All-County Honors Dance Ensemble 2009-10
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By Jameliah Cunningham, dance student, New Town High School, member of All-County Honors Dance Ensemble.
Quorum
Congratulations to Jessica Pinkett, dance prime student at GW Carver Center for the Arts and Technology. Jessica was one of 24 students in the county selected as a Gold Medalist in the ACT-SO competition. She will be representing BCPS at the national ACT-SO finals this summer.