Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company Partners With Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation to Facilitate 'Dance to Learn' Curriculum

The world renowned Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has received funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation to facilitate the Dance to Learn curriculum in Elizabeth's Dr. Orlando Edreira School #26. Dance to Learn is a four-year interdisciplinary and inclusive dance curriculum with the goal to advance dance education in schools and community settings. Dance New Jersey and Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA) will work with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company to develop a new, creative and fun curriculum for the third graders of the school that is infused with Asian American artistic values. Through this unique collaboration, teaching artists of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and Ms. Akila Chetan, an expert in Indian Classical Dance will work with School #26 to offer an original curriculum that is diverse, inclusive, arts based and arts integrated.

Wendy Liscow, Education Program Director at The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation shared "The Dodge Foundation is pleased that Dance to Learn has successfully helped advance dance education programming throughout New Jersey over the past ten years. The D2L team has multiplied impact by providing professional development and support to over 11 New Jersey professional dance companies who together have helped over 50 school partners get students up and dancing."

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company's application to be a Dance to Learn provider demonstrated a real commitment to offering schools exceptional dance education," said Michele Russo, President & CEO of Young Audiences. "We look forward to working with Nai-Ni Chen, Hayoung Roh, Sonny Shiu and Guru Akhila Chetan and Dr. Orlando Edreira Academy to offer an innovative model of dance education that aligns with the NJ Department of Education Core Curriculum Standards for Dance and the National Core Arts Standards in Dance."

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will work with Dance New Jersey, YA's staff and Dr. Orlando Edreira Academy to implement the statewide dance curriculum. The grant will provide funding for:

professional dance performances at the school by Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

10 to 16 days of the Dance to Learn curriculum for students in the third grade

professional learning to help teachers use dance in their classrooms

assistance in creating a community event celebrating students' work

"We are thrilled to receive this generous Dance to Learn opportunity," said Howard Teitelbaum, principal of Dr. Orlando Edreira Academy. "Providing quality arts programming to our students has always been a goal at School #26, but not always possible in these difficult economic times. With the help of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Young Audiences Arts for Learning and Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, we can now offer our students this dance education curriculum that offers an inroad to kinesthetic learning and connects to language arts, mathematics, science and social studies, physical education and music curriculums."

To post a comment, you must register and login.