Summer at the Workshop
by Jessica Mele

This summer, the Workshop is serving more children than in any previous summer. In June, July and August, the Workshop will deepen its multi-year partnership with Marin Juvenile Hall by continuing year-long creative writing instruction with incarcerated youth. In June 2009, those students published an anthology of their prose and poetry. It is an extraordinary collection of written work; at once angry, sad, beautiful and achingly honest.

Through partnerships at 11 preschool centers and two summer camps, the Workshop will serve over 200 of San Francisco’s children this summer. In a new partnership, the Workshop and the OMI/Excelsior Beacon will provide an intensive arts program in dance and drumming to 80 students ages 8-14. For six weeks, four days a week, students at the Beacon’s Urban Explorers summer camp will engage in creative expression and critical thinking through artmaking for three hours each day. The Excelsior neighborhood (District 11) has the city’s lowest per capita income level. The Beacon provides summer camp to students of working families who otherwise would not be able to afford it. Performing Arts Workshop has served students of the OMI/Excelsior neighborhoods during the school year both in school and out of school time. We hope that this new partnership will deepen through the summer to the coming school year so that Workshop artists can continue to ignite young minds for learning in this area of San Francisco .

Workshop Receives $50,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Funds
by Brian Wiedenmeier

Performing Arts Workshop is proud to announce that it has been selected as a recipient of funds for direct support from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These grants have been awarded to directly support jobs in the arts and will allow us to continue to provide young people with the education they need and deserve during the current recession. The process was highly competitive—the Workshop was one of only 28 arts education organizations nationwide to receive a grant, and the only one in California.

Other groups in the Bay Area receiving grants from the NEA include the San Francisco Symphony, the American Conservatory Theatre, and the Oberlin Dance Collective (ODC). These funds, part of the so-called “economic stimulus package” that passed earlier this year, will help the Workshop remain dedicated to its mission of developing critical thinking, creative expression, and basic learning skills through the arts.

Performing Arts Workshop Cited in New Harvard Report on Excellence in Arts Education
By Tom DeCaigny

Performing Arts Workshop is honored to have been cited in a new report on excellence in arts education published by Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and funded by the Wallace Foundation.  The report, The Qualities of Quality: Understanding Excellence in Arts Education references a 2006 Performing Arts Workshop publication, Lessons from the Workshop:  A guide to best practices in performing arts education to demonstrate that:  “The challenges of access and excellence in arts education are hardly new; neither is the field’s awareness of them.  Significant efforts have been made for decades through research, theoretical debates, and, most importantly, through innovations in practice."  The Workshop appreciates this recognition of our effective and tested programs for youth and congratulates the lead author, Steve Seidel and his team on the publication of their research.

What People are Saying
By Anne Trickey

As the Workshop continues to bring the artmaking experience to youth who would not otherwise receive it, we get feedback from our partners who see our artists in action. The following are some select quotes about the high quality artists who ignite young minds through the Workshop's innovative programs.

Cynthia Young, Jose Ortega Elementary - Artist, Brooke Gessay

“Brooke brought-out the best in every student. Those needing focus improved. Those who were shy participated enthusiastically. Those who were artistic found a voice for their talents. She made a personal connection with each student. They were so sad to see her go that we had some tears, and they still ask about her! (I finally had to xerox her picture from the publicity brochure for each child!)”

Maria Picazo, Mission Education Center - Artist, Jose Barroso

“I think the greatest success was that our students learned something from this residency that they will take with them for the rest of their lives.  At the beginning of the residency the majority of our students had some difficulty following the steps but as the weeks went on our students improved and they learned how to dance salsa.  Mr. Barroso was an excellent teacher.  The students really enjoyed participating in his dance class.”

Aundrea Kaune, Commodore Sloat Elementary - Artist, Joseph Schine

“The students had little or no experience being part of a chorus.  They loved the experience and looked forward to Joseph coming every week!  He had a wide variety of music choices that incorporated other cultures, which was wonderful.”

Teacher, R.L. Stevenon Elementary - Artist, Eric Hoffman

“Eric was outstanding!  He is creative, consistent, reliable, makes learning fun, and has good management skills.  My students loved going to ARISE class. It gives kids a chance to express themselves in a new way.  This was especially important for shy kids and kids who struggle academically.  They really benefitted from the program. Please keep quality instructors like Eric.  The success of the program is linked to high quality consistent instructors.”

Is the Workshop in Your School?
by Karena Salmond

During the 2008-09 school year, Performing Arts Workshop partnered with a record 99 Bay Area schools and child development centers! We thank our partner sites for their commitment to ensuring students receive the education they need and deserve.

Want to know if our program reaches your child?

• Speak with your principal or Arts Coordinator to find out what arts programs they have set up at your child’s school.
• Think about what gives your child a sense of confidence and success.  Is it perfecting a dance move?  Finishing an original story?  Playing music or stealing a scene?  Chances are, it’s through the arts!
• Contact the Workshop to see what sites we work with and how to secure our programming for the 2009-10 school year:

Karena Salmond, Program Manager, Artists-in-Schools
T: 415.673.2634 ext. 202
E: karena@performingartsworkshop.org

Creative Movement at Starr King: Joyful Learning
by Brooke Gessay

This past school year, my Starr King classes had so much fun dancing, you'd think it was pure play. And it was! The important aspect of this play, however, is just how full of learning it is. We played games with a beloved blue ball that challenged the students to articulate specific motor skills. We practiced a choreographed movement phrase, which we added on to every other week, that challenged the students’ ability to recall and memorize movement. In groups, the students performed this dance for each other, developing a sense of social confidence and audience appreciation. We also did the "Airplane Dance," which creates space for exploration of various locomotor movements, as well as a short free dance. 

Often, during the free dance, there was an eruption of giddy laughter and amazing physical release, showing the utter joy and freedom available through movement. Every week, I looked forward to exploring even more complex motor skills and student composition.  I looked forward to more joyful learning with those brilliant students! 

Brooke Gessay is a Dance and Creative Movement Artist who started with the Workshop in 2005 and spent this last year as an Artist Mentor. Previously, as a Teacher Coach she spent time working one-on-one with teachers at partner schools to help raise their level of comfort with art as a tool in the classroom. Recently, Brooke became a Life Coach, continuing her practice of helping professionals find their path. http://brookegessay.com/wp/