Thank you to all who attended the first Student Dance Summit!
Saturday, November 4, 2023 9:30am - 4:30pm
Kaatsbaan Cultural Park
Tivoli, New York
We look forward to next year!
Dear Hudson Valley and Capital Region Dance Community:
We are dance educators working to build community for educators and students. We hope to share ideas, offer resources, and learn from one another. Our goals are to create a hub for dance educators while also developing student – centered dance opportunities.
Our very first regional event took place this fall and was sponsored by New York State Dance Education Association, an affiliate of National Dance Education Organization. On Saturday, November 4th, we hosted the first annual Student Dance Summit at the beautiful Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, New York. This free, day-long event offered students, ages 8 – 18 years, dance workshops, a community dancemaking experience and a performance. Five student works were performed along with an ensemble dance and a community dance created on the day of the event.
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Financial support for this event was made possible by the New York State Dance Education Association’s 2023 Regional Meetings & Conferences initiative. Additional support was contributed by Kaatsbaan Cultural Park and dance and the Child international USA.
Why a "Student Dance Summit"?
How do you become a choreographer?
You need to make dances. You need the opportunity to work with bodies in space and time. Just like the practice needed to become a dancer, one needs to practice to become a dancemaker.
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How do you build community?
Dance, as an art form, requires community. Whether that community is found at a local studio, or among friends who dance, or in your school, connected communities provide opportunities for creative inspiration and collaboration. Dancing together, learning together, creating together and performing together are all ways we strengthen our bonds as dancers and artmakers.
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Advocating for a strong dance community:
We are dance educators and artists working across sectors who want to cultivate a stronger dance community in our region. Some of us own and/or work in private studios, some work in the Elementary/Secondary school environment, and some are itinerant teaching artists. Our mission is to support and nurture young dancemakers in our communities and to provide opportunities for them to learn together and share their work with each other. The Student Dance Summit event offers young dancers a day of learning with Hudson Valley and Capital Region dancers and provides youth choreographers an opportunity to share their work with peers from around the region.