One hundred fifty 3rd graders from Pell Elementary School recently presented concluding performances from their weeklong Multicultural Movement residency with Newport Contemporary Ballet (NCB).
NCB provides arts-integrated learning curricula to schools across Newport County. Six NCB dancers collaborated with Pell students to create original movement works inspired by the art and music of six different countries, which were the focus of the residency work. The performances for the school community highlight the students’ learning, which took place after the weeklong lessons.
NCB Artistic Director Danielle Genest said, “These culturally responsive educational experiences help to build students’ self-confidence and social and emotional awareness and tie to 3rd-grade geography and historical perspectives standards.” Pell students studied the countries of Ecuador, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, and Spain. The selected countries reflected the schools’ and communities’ cultural makeup and interests.
Two performances occurred in the school gym at 10:00 am and 11:00 am. Approximately 70 family members attended each performance, which ran 45 minutes long. School Principal Traci Westman welcomed the crowd and thanked the teachers and students for all their hard work that accommodated the residency. Ms. Westman thanked the Newport Contemporary Ballet teaching artists: NCB In-School Education Coordinator Brooke DiFrancesco, Grace Byars, Lauren Difede, Raum Gens-Ostrowski, Timur Kan, Katie Moorhead, and Jenna Torgeson.
Each third-grade class was dressed in colors distinctive to their group and presented short facts they learned about their specific country as part of the pre-lesson prompts. The paintings used for each country were projected on a large monitor in the auditorium for audience members and parents to see during each classroom’s performance. The artworks were another element used to inspire the student’s choreography.
Following the students’ presentations, NCB Artistic Director Danielle Genest led the whole audience in a seated movement exercise inspired by an original poem encouraging empathy, caring, listening, and collaboration. Multicultural Movement is one of four arts-integrated learning curricula offered through NCB’s comprehensive education program entitled Dancing Through Boundaries.
