The Moving Arts Initiative
Bringing Dance Education to the Public Schools
One of the first priorities an artist must recognize as they work to sustain the practice of their art form is a commitment to building and educating an audience. The cultivation of the audience’s critical eye fosters an informed and growing interest. With interest comes a desire to participate and it is through participation that artists are born.
The Moving Arts Initiative-a CDCT program for bringing dance education to the public schools of Rockbridge County-was established for just that purpose: to nurture and expand the understanding of the art of dance and to help connect school children to their creative potential through active dance experiences.
Accompanied by CDCT intern Tabi King, Artistic Director Nancy Saylor began meeting with school principals and administrative officials over the summer to offer the program on a trial basis, free of charge to anyone able to fit the suggested course of study into their school-day schedule. The syllabus she created for the program included a list of optional choices for lecture demonstrations, choreography workshops, and dance performance opportunities tailored to augment the standard curriculum of each participating grade level.
By the end of the summer, one school had signed up, ready to join the experiment. Lylburn Downing Middle School Principal Rich Dowd enthusiastically embraced the concept and arranged for the LDMS 6th grade class, under the leadership of their English teacher Leigh Mayo, to take part in the first season of The Moving Arts Initiative. He also chose to include the students in each of the available program options so that over the course of the fall, the 6th graders were thoroughly engaged in the artistic process of the Initiative.
The program began in early October when the students took an all day field trip that started with a hike to The Theater at Lime Kiln, Lexington’s regional, outdoor theater on the west edge of town. While there, they were presented with an interactive dance demonstration performed by members of The CDCT followed by a guided tour of the theater grounds that focused on the history of the site and the intriguing qualities of its different performance venues. After a brown bag lunch and time spent writing in their journals, the students attended a dance workshop on the main stage of The Kiln. They ended the day with a return hike to LDMS.
The Lime Kiln event was followed up by a continuing series of dance and choreography workshops taught by Saylor and held in the school gym on alternate Fridays during November and December. During the workshops, students were introduced to the basics of dance theory and taught how to apply the theory to create their own choreography. With an emphasis on the correlation between making a dance and writing a composition, Saylor directed the students through the process of creating an original dance based on the themes of their language unit studies, “Tests of Courage” and “Growth and Change.”
As a finale to the experience, the students presented the work as part of a CDCT show for elementary school children as well as in a concert for the public. Both shows were presented at the Lenfest Center for the Arts on the campus of Washington and Lee University.
