BalletX and National Dance Institute to Conduct Weeklong Training Workshop

From September 19 to September 23, 2016, BalletX, Philadelphia's Premier Contemporary Ballet, and the National Dance Institute (NDI) will conduct a training workshop at General Philip Kearny School, located at 601 Fairmount Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19123. This residency is free of cost to select dance educators, with the option of attending as a Participant or Observer. The NDI training comes ahead of BalletX's 4th Annual Dance eXchange, an educational outreach program held in 3 Philadelphia schools, October 2016-January 2017.

During the weeklong NDI workshop, Sept. 19-23, dance educators will undergo training in NDI's pedagogy, which teaches students the fundamentals of dance and performance by integrating a curricular theme, and concluding each program with a final performance. Students also hone their critical and creative thinking skills as their dance skills develop. Focused through a curricular theme, students are introduced to new cultures and big ideas, engendering in them an abiding curiosity about the world and their place in it. Tracy Straus and Tony Kieraldo, notable NDI instructors, will lead the workshop's dance and music, respectively.

BalletX has successfully implemented NDI as the core discipline behind Dance eXchange, an eleven-week in-school educational outreach program that uses live music and structured creative learning to teach Philadelphia students the basic vocabulary of dance, while fostering personal growth skills like self-confidence, focus, teamwork, and determination. Founded by BalletX in Spring 2014, Dance eXchange began with a class of 24 students at Philadelphia's Andrew Jackson School. The program has since grown significantly, reaching nearly 200 3rd and 4th grade students at 3 Philadelphia schools in the 2015-2016 school year.

The theme of 2016-17's Dance eXchange program will be Aviation, based around Sunset, o639 Hours, a full-length ballet that BalletX will perform at The Wilma Theater, Nov. 16-20. Dance eXchange final student performances will be held at the Prince Theater on January 24 and 25, 2017. Participating Philadelphia schools are Bache-Martin, Chester A. Arthur, and Albert M. Greenfield, with outreach efforts reaching approximately 200 students. Kate Carr is the lead teaching artist and Program Coordinator of BalletX's Dance eXchange program this year.

Dance educators interested in attending BalletX and NDI's training workshop (Sept. 19-23) as a Participant or Observer may request an application by writing Alicia Tom, BalletX Administrative & Programs Assistant, at atom@balletx.org or 265 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For more information on the Dance eXchange program October 2016-January 2017, please direct all inquiries to Kate Carr, Program Coordinator, at kcarr@balletx.org or (215) 605-0199.

Dance eXchange was founded with support from the 2013 Knight Arts Challenge, a program of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Leo Model Foundation, among others. Its continued support is provided by PECO, lead corporate sponsor, the William Penn Foundation, Leo Model Foundation, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, Zeldin Family Foundation, Loeb Performing Arts Fund, Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, and Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

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