PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
August 22, 2002

Contacts:
Deborah Reshotko and Esther Gross
303-722-0902

BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH DANCE

Denver, Colorado - SPEAKING OF DANCE is pleased to announce that we will present the fifth year of our community program in Capitol Hill, "Building Community Through Dance." The first four 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 four years, over 650 children and adults have attended workshops. Over 3,000 audience members have 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 2002 session of the workshops will run for nine weeks beginning the week of September 2002. No previous dance experience is necessary. Current plans for workshop sites include Crofton Elementary School, Park Hill Elementary School, Bryant-Webster Elementary School, Baker Middle School, Dora Moore School, Manual High School, 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. This year's theme is "Life Journeys." A performance by workshop participants who continue with the program in the winter session 2003 will take place on March 15 and 16, 2003, 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 has received two special National Endowment for the Arts grants in recognition of our outstanding community arts work.

This community development project is funded in part by generous grants from 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, Target Stores, Capitol Hill United Ministries, and Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods. Performance space has been donated by the Temple Events Center Uptown, 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 and the Temple Events Center Uptown.

For information or to register, please call SPEAKING OF DANCE at 303-722-0902.