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A New Pipeline for Dance
By Charles Emmons
Is there a viable career path in the arts? Denver Public Schools (DPS) thinks so as they have designated March as arts month within DPS. When budgets were cut many years ago arts programs went by the wayside. But the arts are important in schools. They foster confidence, creativity, appreciation of differences and cooperation with others, all needed life skills. But in this purpose school systems often need partners in providing a vision to an end. Students need to see examples in being what they can be.
The arts provide a cultural community connection, and this is particularly evident in dance. In late January the International Association of Blacks in Dance held their conference in Denver. Over 500 attendees, including dancers, choreographers and dance advocates came to present, teach, and discuss what is current in the dance world. Cleo Parker Robinson Dance hosted the conference, and included workshops and classes held at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Faculty and students at MSU Denver worked behind the scenes in contributing to the conference’s success.
MSU Denver and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance have partnered in a dance incubator program and major which gives students real world experience in performance as well as production. The program is in its second year. “We can talk to our students in dance administration about producing a show. But until you actually go do it, or you witness your helping in a smaller role in a larger organization you have no idea what goes into it and how much work goes into it,” said MSU Denver dance instructor, Nicole Predki. “So having that connection for our students that’s a real world experience, getting people ready for what’s out there and what its actually like it’s amazing its such a huge benefit and our students are starting to realize that, as we are doing more things with Cleo Parker Robinson.”
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If DPS students want to move to the music, MSU Denver could be the place. The DPS 2020 Arts Strategic Plan revealed that while students get moving in elementary and K-8 schools it significantly drops off after middle school into high school, because students see no career path in the arts. “Metro’s mission as I see it is preparing people to live their lives doing what they feel empowered to do and what they want to do and to make a difference. This major is designed to do just that. There’s four different sub sets of the major and that is teaching, social transformation through dance, performance choreography and dance administration, so there are all different categories where dance is integrated into the community in a larger way.”
Predki says that MSU Denver students are very talented, but the environment is less competitive than a Julliard or other type of conservatory or intense program. There is a greater comfort level and sense of community as the competition faced by the students is more with themselves. Many of the students come from rec programs or neighborhood dance studios, have an abiding love of dance and want to continue. “This dance major is just this really important link to our community in a very direct way. Having our students do field experiences, take classes, and volunteer at events that Cleo Parker Robinson does is really important. But also the way the major is designed it is unlike other dance majors at other universities. It is more like compared to a graduate program where you can choose your direction, able to focus your studies in that direction, so that when you leave, you get work doing what you want to do.”
Professionals and dance advocates participated in a panel discussion at the conference in January. Dawn Fay, Producing Director and vice president of Wonderbound, a dance studio in the ballpark neighborhood, commented, “I go to DPS schools where there are no arts. There is nothing inspiring creativity. Kids have to be empowered. It is disturbing that we don’t hear about arts in schools. Dance came from people.”
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It’s never too late and DPS is making the right move with the March Arts initiative. Inspire your child. We need creative enlightened leaders in our future. See the DPS 2020 Arts Strategic Plan, and more information about the MSU Denver dance major .