Kids to Kids Choreography

“The truest expression of a people is in its dances and its music.  Bodies never lie.”

—Agnes De Mille

Kids to Kids Choreography is a cultural awareness though arts integration program for children ages 7 & up designed by Marilyn Mullen.

1.  Who am I as an individual?
2.  Who am I as a community member?
3.  Who am I as a citizen of Baltimore, MD, USA?  

Students will participate in classes in dance technique, improvisation, and choreography. Using the movement material they discover, they work together to build a group dance that represents their individual and collective culture. In addition to their group dance, each child will write a story focusing on these three questions and illustrate all the pictures (drawing/painting/collage etc.). The history of Baltimore will be incorporated into these lessons to assist students' reflection upon cultural identity.  

Students will collaboratively create an original dance to share with another group of students. The process will focus on group work skills, identifying one’s role in the community, and discovering the joy of movement. The culminating dance will be their gift to another community. Each student will be asked, “Tell me about yourself and don’t use any words.” This challenges us to learn kinesthetically. What do we learn when we learn through movement?

The Kids to Kids Choreography Program is a new branch of the Effervescent Collective's Regional Movement Initiatives. Effervescent Collective is a dance organization that focuses on dance making, the movement everyday rituals, and examining popular culture? Kids to Kids Choreography can run as a workshop, after school program, or community workshop.  

Background:
Kids to Kids Choreography is the product of Marilyn Mullen's study of dance, education, and West African history and culture. After an inspiring trip to West Africa in 2007 she received The President’s Office Department of Justice Grant at Goucher College to pilot the Kids to Kids Choreography program.  In 2009 she returned to West Africa, this time directing an arts cross-cultural exchange program between the students of Barclay Elementary School in Baltimore and the students of the Montessori School in Cape Coast, Ghana. Even in its nascent form, it was clear that this program enlivened historical and cultural studies, enhanced communication and creativity, as well as helped develop an understanding and respect for different cultures. The participants learned about another culture effectively because they were emotionally and physically invested in the process. As she develops, Kids to Kids Choreography, Marilyn hopes to emphasize the importance of community and global citizenship in youth education. This program is designed to meet children where they are at developmentally, teach them about another culture and provide them with skills necessary for community building.

For more information, including a sample budget, please contact us.