Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre Presents Signature Dance Education Program 

Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre has been offering its unique dance educations program through its arts education arm Notes in Motion Outreach Dance Theatre since 2000. We became a vendor of NYC Department of Education in 2005 and since that time, have been offering a wide array of residency, professional development, interactive performance, and after-school programs that teach ballet, modern, jazz, African, tap, hip hop, yoga, Latin dance, and more.

This year, Notes in Motion Outreach Dance Theatre is active in 16 schools across Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens with programs for students from Pre-K through 12th grade. These programs are united by a singular approach to arts education, The Movement Exchange Method, in which students take on leadership roles in their own learning, have creative input in the design of the curriculum, participate in critical discussions of the work of their peers, and develop collaborative skills. Programs foster self-discovery, risk-taking, and making connections between different topics, themes, and areas of learning, aiming to provide access to the art form of dance to inspire the next generation of dance appreciators.

Students are physically active throughout class sessions, practicing improvisation exercises, developing technical skills, working in small groups, and creating original dance performances. They process their learning through class discussion, writing, drawing exercises, and audience feedback sessions. Notes in Motion teaching artists provide classroom teachers with detailed lesson plans and follow-up activities prior to the beginning of the residency. Residency sessions explore specific themes, target age-appropriate learning objectives, and follow a five-part structure:

Warm-up: Students learn technical skills through repeated and progressive exercises in the center and across the floor.

Improvisation: Students physically explore the given class theme through structured and guided activities. Choreography: Students develop original movement phrases, create group dances, or learn set phrases of choreography.

Performance: Students prepare for a culminating performance event and learn performance skills.

Reflection: Students process learning through observation, analysis, & constructive criticism.

With new Dept. of Ed ELL funding and City Council Rivera CASA funds for the 2018-2019 school year, Notes in Motion programming is in 16 NYC Public Schools!

NEW School Partners:

-PS 290 A.C.E. Academy of Scholars, Queens

-Brooklyn School for Music and Theater

-Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts, Manhattan

-The Earth School, Manhattan

---Brooklyn Independent Middle School

Continuing School Partners:

-PS 63 STAR Academy, Manhattan

-PS 78 Anne Hutchinson School, Bronx

-PS 112 Bronxwood, Bronx

-One World Middle School, Bronx

-East Village Community School, Manhattan

-The Neighborhood School, Manhattan

-Murray Bergtraum High School, Manhattan

-PS 89, Queens

-PS/IS 323 Brooklyn

-Amistad Dual Language School, Manhattan

-PS 312 Brooklyn

Since 2000, Notes in Motion Outreach Dance Theatre has brought arts programs to over 36 schools and over 65,000 students in New York City with programs in all 5 boroughs that reach diverse student populations from PreK-12th grade. As a vendor of the NYC Department of Education, the programs reflect the NYC Dept. of Education's Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance. Notes in Motion creates long-lasting arts partnerships with schools and inspires the greater community of each school with the beauty, magic, and vitality of dance. These are not cookie-cutter programs. Each program is custom-tailored to the specific needs and population of each school partner. Notes in Motion Teaching Artists work collaboratively with classroom teachers at every stage from program planning, implementation, performance/community sharing, assessment, and evaluation. They guide students through a unique creative process, creating connections with other academic subjects and fostering active learning-students are creators, improvisors, and collaborators. Notes in Motion has an Education Ensemble of 35 experienced Teaching Artists with advanced degrees and extensive performance and choreography backgrounds in several dance styles and techniques.