When looking at the Navigator site, I couldn’t help but notice that something was missing in the arts category… dance! Sadly, I find this quite analogous to the arts community in general – the dance community is small and often disconnected.

At Newman, dance is literally disconnected from the arts department. The studios are physically distant from the rest of the art rooms. Dance is a beautiful and versatile art form, yet (to my utter despair) many people ignore it and don’t get to see it – dance students don’t have concerts, showings, or any performance opportunities. Mrs. Narcisse is a fun teacher who’s ready to meet you whatever your skill level. Ms. Weber, who has been a part of the Newman arts community for so long teaching dance and choreographing for musicals, informs me that Newman has seen many fun dance performances and projects in the past (i.e. several dance pieces at Arts Week, dancing in the Valmont Courtyard, and the NOMA Sculpture Garden Project). Both Ms. Narcisse and Ms. Weber are so amazing and excited to explore more choreographic projects.

The Newman community is missing out on amazing disciplinary art opportunities. Dancers could collaborate with visual arts students and take inspiration from each other. We could do Dance/Film projects – dance videography is fascinating and fun to play with – or work with photography students. We could dance to a song the choir sings, present work outside instead of on stage… Heck, maybe even in museums! There’s so much possibility, we shouldn’t miss it!

Multi-media dance performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWvhraChziA

Dance video: https://vimeo.com/6227414

Jordan Matter photography: http://www.dancersamongus.com/photos/Boston-MA-Shawn-Krayenborg

The Art of Movement: http://www.nycdanceproject.com/

Dance at MoMA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NSrJypk6QE