For
immediate release August 10,
2001
Contacts:
Deborah Reshotko, Artistic Director Esther Gross, Program Director
303-722-0902
BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH DANCE
Denver, Colorado – SPEAKING OF DANCE is pleased to announce that
we will present the fourth year of our community program in Capitol Hill,
"Building Community Through Dance." The first three years of
the project were so successful that SOD will again offer free dance workshops
in which neighborhood residents of all ages work together to use the art
of dancemaking as a vehicle to enhance community-building.
During the first three years, over 370 children and adults attended workshops.
Over 2,000 audience members attended the free final performances pieces
choreographed and danced by participants at the end of the winter session
each year. Participants report that their lives change as a result of
the programs: they develop trust in others, increase their self-esteem,
and create stunning, heart-felt, original choreography. People of all
ages created enduring intergenerational friendships, and children increased
their school attendance and improved academically.
The fall 2001 session of the workshops will run for nine weeks beginning
the week of September 17, 2001. No previous dance experience is necessary.
Current plans for workshop sites include Crofton Elementary School, Morey
Middle School, Dora Moore School, East High School, Wyman Elementary,
Higgins Plaza Senior Housing, and the First Unitarian Church. The workshops
teach dance and community building skills through the group process in
a safe environment, and participants use them to tell their own stories
in their own way. A performance by workshop participants who continue
with the program in the winter session 2002 will take place on March 16
and 17, 2002, at the Temple Events Center Uptown. For information about
participation, please call 303-722-0902.
SOD is a community-based dance organization with considerable experience
collaborating with neighborhood organizations to achieve common goals.
SOD Artistic Director and choreographer Deborah Reshotko and her dance
company work with Capitol Hill residents to use art to build bridges between
individuals and groups. SOD recently received a second National Endowment
for the Arts grant in recognition of our outstanding community arts work.
This community development project is funded in part by generous grants
from the Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program, the Scientific and Cultural
Facilities District, the Colorado Council on the Arts, the National Endowment
for the Arts, the City and County of Denver, the Denver Foundation, Capitol
Hill United Ministries, the Trask Family Foundation, SAFECO Insurance,
and Target Stores. Performance space has been donated by the Temple Events
Center, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support arts and
culture in the metro area. Rehearsal space has been donated by the First
Unitarian Church, the Temple Events Center Uptown, and the Church of the
Ascension.
For information or to register, please call SPEAKING OF DANCE at 303-722-0902.
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