From July 21st-26th, Battery Dance Company teaching artists Carmen Nicole and Mira Cook lead Dancing to Connect workshops in Staten Island for teens. This free program was in partnership with the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy and was held outside at beautiful Fort Wadsworth. Youth, ages 14-18, created their own choreography during the week and presented their original creations in a final performance on Saturday July 26. The Dancing to Connect workshops examined the relationship of the students to their surrounding environment and waterways. This was an opportunity for teens to collectively create choreography, be immersed in the natural beauty of Fort Wadsworth, camp, and to perform on an outdoor stage for family and friends.

Sean Scantlebury reflects on his time in Curacao...

For the six days that I was in Curacao, I had a jam-packed schedule that included modern dance workshops, dialogues and coachings with local dancers, workshops with community groups and, most surprisingly, full press coverage from the moment I arrived until I departed. The short six-day program ended with a performance in which the local dancers brought out their best works and I also performed. It was a true sharing experience and very warm relationships were engendered.

I taught modern dance workshops at 3 different schools: Fina Dance School, Turning Point, and Ecole de Danse; and engaged in dialogues and workshops with 2 community-based dance groups. All of the workshops were held on the premises of the different schools. Each group had about 15-20 talented students who were eager to learn something new. Problems were nowhere to be found. Everything was great with the transportation getting to and from the schools. I had a lot of fun. Although it was tiring, I would do it all over again without hesitation. I credit Jim Moore with the idea of bringing me here; and for creating a wonderful program and seeing to it personally that I was taken care of throughout.

At the final performance I think there were about 100 audience members consisting of friends, family members, faculty and students. It was a very nice show combining different schools who are always fighting and competing with each other under one roof for dance. This is why this program is so successful all over the world. It brings people who would never dream about dancing together in one place.

My goal for the future is to bring Battery Dance Company to the Dutch Caribbean and to branch off to the other surrounding islands in 2016.

Workshops

Over the course of 5 days, 105 students and adult community members came together in the workshops for approximately 4 hours each day. In each workshop group, 1 translator, 1 teacher trainee, and 1 group coordinator ensured that activities ran seamlessly. The highly organized program was matched by highly focused and dedicated participants. Many of the workshop host institutions taped the workshop activities, with the Lie De Community Center recording the entire process from start to finish. A common perspective among workshop participants was that the workshops made them feel “free”.

All of the workshops, workshop venues, transportation, student snacks, and translation needs were arranged by a local organizer. Performance venues, technical equipment, and technical staff were provided by the Guangdong Dance Festival. The program was planned in detail and was implemented meticulously, with little facilitative support required from the U.S. Consulate or the U.S. Embassy. By relying on local partners for coordination, Battery Dance Company was able to achieve every element in its goals and objectives, plus additional activities that were previously unplanned, without impediments or interference from local authorities.

Performances

Battery Dance Company first performed outdoors on Wednesday, November 12th, at the Xhinghai Garden to an enthusiastic audience of 150. Local festival organizers provided a backdrop and high quality projector specifically for Battery Dance Company’s performance. The company performed a number of pieces from its repertoire, including one that included socio-political imagery, and one that included the use of traditional Chinese incense. The performance was well received with the highest approval given to a work that incorporated live music (performed by the dancers and composed by the dancer/choreographer.) After the performance a number of audience members asked how they could purchase CD’s of the music. Local festival organizers indicated that this was the first time an American dance company had performed outdoors in Guangzhou.

The Dancing to Connect final performance took place on November 14th at the Guangdong Song and Dance Theatre to an eager audience of 650 that filled the auditorium to capacity. Community members, family, friends and a large contingent from the U.S. Consulate came to support the 95 Dancing to Connect participants as they showcased their original creations. After the performance, participants hugged and kissed the Battery Teaching Artists and posed for group pictures for an extensive amount of time. Audience members also took part, taking group pictures of the dancers with their participants.

On November 15th, Battery Dancer Clement Mensah conducted a site specific performance, in collaboration with Xhinghai Conservatory dancers, at the EMG Arts Gallery before an audience of 100. The artwork displayed in the gallery, by a Chinese artist who lived in Brooklyn, examined the intersections of New York and China, and provided for wonderful interaction with the dancers.

Supplemental Activities

Throughout the workshop week, BDC members interacted with other visiting dance companies and dance professionals from Asia, Europe, and Australia via Festival networking sessions, social events, and the DanceX Symposium. That interaction has led to possible future collaborations for Battery Dance Company’s Downtown Dance Festival and future program partners in a number of countries.

BDC dancer Clement Mensah, taught a master-class for 15 adult dancers. They have indicated their desire to have Clement come back to teach a series of intense classes next time the Company is in China.

BDC dancer Robin Cantrell and Vice President Emad Salem visited the Guangzhou Children’s Hospital and interacted with young terminally ill cancer patients. Meeting with children’s’ parents and volunteers, the pair discussed life in New York City. Afterwards, Emad Salem was asked to speak to hospital volunteers on the values of volunteerism, the culture of volunteering in the United States, and to encourage them to continue with their work.

A contingent of Battery Dance Company members participated in Tai Chi exercises in a local park, practicing the ancient Chinese art form alongside Chinese locals. After initially being guided to the location by Janice Englehart, the dancers led a contingent of Festival participants later in the week.

In November 2014, DtC held creative and dance workshops for a total of 150 participants in Accra, Ghana. The 150 participants were divided into 6 different groups with 25 students per group. The participants were performing arts students from the University of Ghana and National Dance Company.

Clement Mensah, one of Battery Dance Company’s Teaching Artists, reflects on his experience in Accra, Ghana:

Mensah reports that “The workshops took place in school dance studios with wooden dance floors.” When it came to the students’ concentration and participation, the students were “eager to learn and very creative.”

In addition to dancing, Mensah gave a lecture about his journey as a professional dancer. He also says that they would have mini performances at the end of the program as well as a meet-and-greet with the Dean of the School of Performing Arts within the University.

As for the final performance, it was “inspirational to the rest of the school.”

Three members of Battery Dance Company conducted a Dancing to Connect program in Bucharest, Romania, as a collaboration with Tangaj Dance and Policy Center for Roma and Minorities. This program built on the partnerships that have been established with these two Romanian institutions and included both workshops and performance elements.

Two workshops of 20+ hours each were conducted with students from School 136, School 148 and Trouble Crew that resulted in the creation of two original pieces of choreography that were performed at the WASP space.

The teaching artists of Battery Dance Company, Mira Cook and Clement Mensah, worked with a split groups of youth. One half were ages 11-17. Many had some experience with hip hop and some had none; none of the students had taken part in contemporary dance training and/or creative dance. Several of the participants identified themselves as "Roma". The younger students were joined by older members of the Trouble Crew, a hip hop team, mostly in their early 20s. The situation was ideal because the older students were willing and able to mentor the younger ones.

Tangaj member Razvan Stoian partnered with Mira Cook, assisting her with translation and running the workshops, and learning the techniques and strategies of the Dancing to Connect methodology which Battery Dance Company has implemented in over 40 countries to date.

Mira Cook reports: ‘When I asked some of my young students why they chose to dance, one 12-year-old boy said that he had seen Mati (one of the Trouble Crew dancers who was in my workshop) perform, and had been inspired to start dancing. He ended up doing a duet in the performance with Mati and so was able to work directly with his idol. The group was very positive and I feel like we were able to bring out the best and most motivated sides of each other. We had fun and worked hard.’

In addition to managing the workshops, Battery Dance Company Vice President Emad Salem also engaged in meetings with the leadership of Tangaj Dance and Minority Center, exchanging information, strategies and visions for collaboration in the future.