Visual and Performing Arts Dance Program

1. Work with the entire 4th grade (divided into groups no bigger than two classrooms – limit is 55 students) for NINE SESSIONS and teach students the fundamentals of Rueda, a Cuban circle dance. Students will learn about compassionate partnership and embody concepts of cooperation.
   
   
2. A group of students from each school will be selected to participate in a second program for TWO ADDITIONAL SESSIONS. These students will learn choreography and perform for the community at Barnham Hall, and share the stage with the professional dancers of CONTRA-TIEMPO in the Spring. ALL 4th grade students from each of the four schools will attend the culminating event in the Spring.

NOTE: CONTRA-TIEMPO's work will enhance the experience of each child to grow across learning styles, and is an excellent way for teachers to have the opportunity to work with students in a completely new capacity. The company's work is based on the California State Board of Education's Content Standards, and is most successful when cross-curricular connections can be made. This year in Social Science, students learn the story of their home state, unique in American history in terms of its vast and varied geography, its many waves of immigration beginning with pre-Columbian societies, its continuous diversity, economic energy, and rapid growth. CONTRA-TIEMPO's work is about the movement and immigration of human beings and how that impacts our current society and culture, as Los Angelenos. Using Cuban dance, Urban movement forms and referencing traditional forms like Mexican Folklorico allows students to experience kinesthetically the connection and shared histories of all people through dance. Students learn to see themselves as part of something larger than one individual; part of a global context and an important contribution to their own culture.

For more information regarding CONTRA TIEMPO, visit their website:
http://contra-tiempo.org/education.html