In the month of February, Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) will add three new programs to its virtual Learning Library that further its mission to promote inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in the arts. Created to bring free original arts educational content to students, families and educators at a time when in-school classes are often not feasible due to the pandemic, the SPAC Learning Library has collaborated with more than 25 professional regional musicians and dancers including Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company and Caroga Arts Collective, as well as summer resident companies New York City Ballet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Starting February 1, SPAC's Learning Library will offer new programming including lessons in Stepping and South African Gumboot Dancing with dance company Soul Steps, five interactive, wheelchair-accessible dance lessons in the "Kitchen Floor Dance Class" series led by Broadway veterans Eric Hatch and Dennis Moench, and "Instrument Beginnings", a new series of music lessons that guide children through the beginning stages of learning an instrument.
In celebration of Black History Month, dancer, choreographer and producer
Maxine Lyle and her "electric and also joyous" (New York Times) dance company Soul Steps have partnered with SPAC to create six interactive video lessons on the art of Stepping and
South African gumboot dancing. A percussive dance that uses the hands, feet, arms and legs to create polyrhythmic sounds, Stepping originated over a century ago as a coordinated movement to express solidarity, using the body as a percussive instrument to create a new physical language that inspires, celebrates and forges community. The video series provides dance lessons, as well as historical context and an accompanying "SPAC-tivity" worksheet.
"In working with Soul Steps, our mission was to increase awareness and to celebrate an art form that highlights the strength, resilience, and solidarity of Black communities in the United States and South Africa," says SPAC President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol. "We hope that educators, families, and students will not only enjoy exploring these art forms, and learning these powerful dances, but that they will also appreciate their significance within the history and culture of the Black community."
"Soul Steps is thrilled to partner with SPAC in bringing virtual step lessons to Saratoga's young people," says
Maxine Lyle, Founder of Soul Steps. "African American fraternities and sororities in the early 1900s embraced step to display unity, foster community, and demonstrate perseverance, which are all principles Soul Steps is eager to reinforce in our country's youth at this time. It is our hope that through these step lessons students will experience the joy of step and the inner strength it builds as they lock into the playful, yet powerful, rhythms. In a year when we're not able to do our usual Black History Month touring it means a lot to us to know that our work, and most importantly the message behind it, is still getting out into the community."
SPAC has also partnered with New York's
Center for Disability Services to create dance classes that are both accessible and inclusive as part of its virtual lesson series
"Kitchen Floor Dance Class", where Broadway veterans
Eric Hatch and
Dennis Moench teach choreography from own kitchen, encouraging viewers to turn spaces in their own homes into dance studios. In these five new interactive lessons, viewers will dance along to music from the iconic West Side Story, a musical in which Mr. Hatch performed on Broadway in 2009. Each of these new lessons has been carefully modified and presented in both seated and standing positions so that dancers of all abilities can participate.
"Every child should have the opportunity to experience the transformative power of the arts, and we are grateful to the Center for Disability Services whose partnership and expertise allowed us to create dance lessons that are tailored to include participants with a wide range of abilities," says Sobol. "We encourage classrooms and families with children of varying abilities to enjoy these lessons and experience the art of dancing together."
"The Center for Disability Services is excited to collaborate with Saratoga Performing Arts Center to provide virtual, accessible, and inclusive dance lessons," says Anne Schneider Costigan of the Center for Disability Services. These dance classes will provide an opportunity for individuals of all abilities to experience the joy of movement and dance while encouraging them to express emotions, build confidence and self-esteem, and improve overall physical fitness and health."
In another initiative to increase accessibility to arts education, SPAC has partnered with local instrumental music teachers and the
John Keal Music Company to provide video lessons that guide children through the beginning stages of learning an instrument. John Keal Music Company will provide instrument rentals for a four-month trial period with a one-time payment as low as $15, depending on the instrument type and size needed. The new series of lessons, called "Instrument Beginnings", offers lessons on learning to play violin, viola, and cello, with more on the way - including brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.
"Our goal with 'Instrument Beginnings' is to provide an increase in access to instrumental music education, especially for children in families who are unable to afford private lessons and the costs associated with renting or buying an instrument," says Sobol. "We hope that these lessons might provide a gateway to discovering a lasting passion for music-making."
