Urban Gateways Artists Wired

[Steph] Why does after school have to be over?

I miss my after school program kids.  I really do.  My year long residency at Greeley has been over for about 2 weeks and yup, I miss those kids.  Half the time, they made me insane & occasionally made me question my teaching skills but honestly, it was such a beautiful teaching experience.  They challenged me and made me better.  They made me work hard for their attention, but ahhhhhh, when I got it, it felt good.  They loved to dance.  They stepped outside of their comfort zones.  They weren't afraid to use their voices in performance.  And most importantly, they came to class... every single day.  They were always enthusiastic & offered to do the sweetest things, like asking to carry my radio or hold the door open.  Does it get much better than that?  Not really.

On the final performance day one of my students, Moses, asked me, "Why does after school have to be over?  I wish it would never end."  

• Way to have the key to my heart Moses.  Wayyyyyy to have it.

Thank you to my primary hip hop class @ Greeley Elementary School for their undeniable awesomeness.  I am honored to have been your teacher!  

The final performance day (5/20/10):

 

Another pic from the last day! 

 

Lets rewind to March for a second... here is some of the class taking a fun pic after doing some negative space exploration (3/22/10):

 

Ok ok, this has nothing to do with dance BUT on my birthday (3/22/10), two of my amazing kids offered to play me a birthday song.  How could I say no?  :)

 

 
 
 

[Steph] Does anybody know what it means to be inspired?

Today's task: Create choreography inspired by animals.  

(Why animals you ask?  My initial idea was shapes, but I later decided that this would be more fun.  I mean, who doesn't want the chance to dance like a dinosaur?)

I split my 1st-3rd grade hip hop class into 4 groups.  Each group picked a folded piece of paper out of a pile (to be kept secret from the other groups) with the name of an animal.  They were instructed to create choreography inspired by whichever animal they chose. 

Me: " So, does anybody know what it means to be inspired?"

Students:

• "to be happy!"
• "to like something!"
• "to have confidence!"

Not a bad start.  I told them inspiration can lead to all of those things.  We talked a bit about how being inspired can lead you to develop fresh, new ideas...  that you can take from what you've learned in one experience & apply it to other situations.  We would take inspiration from the animals we chose and develop a dance.  I told them we didn't have to be literal and try to be the animal.  If one were to draw the word "cat," I was not expecting them to meow and chase after mice.

"Think about the way the animal moves... the way the animal carries itself...  Is it weak or strong?  Is it loud or quiet?  What kind of shapes does it make?  Let those ideas help you as you create."

This wasn't so much a hip hop dance exercise but an opportunity for them to simply explore.  However, I did expect that their dances would all have a slight hip hop tinge because they have been immersed in the technique the past few months.  

At the end of their creation, they shared their dances with each other.  After each dance, the rest of the class got a chance to guess each group's animal.  I found that this encouraged each student to be a really observant and respectful viewer.  All in all, it was a fun & creative day.  Enjoy the video! (Oh, apologies if you are sick of the song.  They LOVE it, so I felt it was only right...)  

[Steph] My kids like to get dooooown.

the name of the game is ENERGY.  enjoy!

Enjoy.  :)

[Stephanie] "I miss Ms. Sanders."

I'm currently teaching a 2 day/week k-3rd grade hip hop class at Greeley School.  It's my first foray into UG's Community Schools programming and I love it.  In comparison to a shorter residency, it feel less rushed and I love the fact that I have the students for the whole year.  However, I know there are pros and cons to both a shorter residency and this longer community school experience.  Maybe I'll explore that topic for another post but first, I must jump into the main reason for THIS post. 

So, I actually took over this class for fellow UG artist, Vershawn Sanders.  Vershawn unfortunately had to leave because one of the teachers at her studio could no longer teach classes that conflicted with this gig, and as the owner, Vershawn had to step in & cover them. 

On Vershawn's last day (11/23) I shadowed her & then officially took over on Mon, 11/30.  Today (12/14) was my 5th class on my own and I've been feeling really good about things.  I've had their names memorized since day one and feel like my lesson plans have been fun yet educational.  To help ensure a smooth transition I have incorporated some of the games and activities Vershawn introduced to them (shadowing on 11/23 was so beneficial!). 

Fast track to the end of today's class.  I end every class with a "hands in... team on 3!"  The kids dig it & no matter how chaotic of a class we have, it always brings the group back together.  After we put our hands in/ I tell the kids it doesn't matter whose hand is on top,  we yell "team" at the top of our lungs & pump our hand football team style.  Then I hear a quiet voice say "I miss Ms. Sanders."  Ummmm what!?! 

About Stephanie Paul

Dancer.

Body Percussionist.

Drummer.

Teaching Artist.

My name is Stephanie Paul and my passion is rhythm.  Pleasure to meet you.

I have been a proud teaching artist of Urban Gateways since 2008.

I am a Co-Founder/ Artistic Director/ Teacher/ Ensemble Member of Be the Groove, a rhythmic performance/education ensemble that focuses in dance and percussion (Fellow UG artist & blogger, Kevin Brown is also a member!). 

I'm also on staff at Dance Center Evanston, Lake Forest Dance Academy, and Urbanbeat Dance, teaching hip hop dance at all 3 locations.

Rhythm has the means to inspire.  I believe that wholeheartedly.  There is something undeniably fascinating about its ability to transcend language, race and culture (I'm sure there is more I could list). 

I am honored to have the opportunity to provide arts education for the youth.  My approach to dance and music instruction is founded in the usage of rhythm as the means of motivating development of ensemble and individual self-confidence.  It might sound weird to knock those two out at once but I go for it.  :)