March 29-April 2, 2010
Fort Worden State Park
Port Townsend, Washington
During Tales, Texts & Theater, the entire Seventh Grade student body of Port Townsend's Blue Heron Middle School will work with vital, contemporary artists in a variety of disciplines—creative writing, theatrical movement, music, and visual art—for a weeklong immersion in creativity.
The lineup of performing, visual, and literary artist-faculty engages and guides young artists in the world of arts and ideas, creative risk-taking, and professional practices. Each day is divided into four workshop sessions. Blue Heron 7th grade students and teachers experience the whole range of workshop offerings.
Beginning each day with a core subject, students get an in depth concentration on a genre of their choice. Then they explore by learning about other art forms in their other three classes, seeing how the different arts interconnect.
Each afternoon, the core artist faculty show and talk about the work they do. At the end of the week, students share their creative experiments with the community in a student showcase performance.
Now in its 7th year, this innovative collaboration between the Centrum, the Port Townsend School District, the Washington State Arts Commission, and PT Artscape, provides both students and teachers a model experience in arts immersion.
This program is funded through the generosity of community sponsors. Donations from Homer Smith Insurance Comapany, Kristin Manwaring Insurance Company, Rotary, and Kiwanis add to funding provided by Centrum, PTArtscape, 7th grade families, and Port Townsend School District to make this experience an ongoing program.
For more information, please contact Martha Worthley at 360.385.3102 x120.
CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
Visual Art “Gizmos and Automata”
Darwin Nordin teaches how to create thing-a-ma-jigs and doo-hickeys that challenge the usual notion of what is considered to be a painting or sculpture. Learn to use elements of simple machines, and pop-up paper engineering to create Gizmo- Paintings, Collages and Assemblages. The objective in this class is to tinker like creative geniuses.
African Dance
Etienne Cakpo and Siya Manyakanyaka
will teach contemporary dance movement that is commonly found across
West Africa. Etienne specializes in traditional dances from Southern
Benin that originate from Vodoun spiritual, ceremonial and/or
historical dances. The dances involve graceful movement, undulation of
the back, and lowering of the body by bending the knees. The music is
rhythmic percussion played on bell, shaker and drum. Siya introduces
movements originating from her home country of South Africa, including
step dancing (called gumboot dance) originating from the hardship of
working in the mines.
Rachel Kessler uses her background in poetry and collaborative writing to lead writing exercises that awaken the senses, take wild imaginative leaps, deepen the image and trust the surprise. Students will work both individually and collaboratively, and by the end of the week, begin to experiment with ways to take the text off the page. Typewriters will be provided.
Teachers Nancy Ozaki and Gary Tsujimoto of One World Taiko introduce students to Japanese culture through the study of Japanese drumming. They bring traditional Japanese instruments such as the chudaiko (medium sized drum), shimedaiko (small, rope-tied drum), shinobue (bamboo flute) and atarigane (small brass gong). Learn the history of taiko in Japan and the United States as they teach the intricacies of Japanese drumming. Their drumming style is energetic and athletic with a mix of modern and traditional rhythms and whole body movements similar to the martial arts.
NANDA members Misha Fradin and Chen Pollina will focus on the art of juggling. This program is designed to teach coordination and the melding of brain hemispheres through the simple art of throwing objects in the air and catching them theatrically. Students will learn to ambidextrously apply practical physics in a fun and challenging setting.
Combat resolution
NANDA members and brothers Tomoki and Kiyota Sage will teach a form of stage combat known as combat resolution. This is a unique look at a non-aggressive style of stage-combat. Students will learn to take and give hits in a theatrical way; slow motion techniques; and how to engage in tightly choreographed energetic movements.
ARTIST BIOS
Etienne Cakpo is a professional dancer, choreographer and musician from Benin, West Africa. He teaches and performs traditional African dance from Benin as well as contemporary African dance styles, and has been building his dance repertoire for over twenty years. Currently the director and lead choreographer of Gansango Music and Dance based in Seattle, Etienne contributes regularly to the cultural arts community in western Washington, and performs in solo events and group shows.Siya Manyakanyaka is an accomplished dancer and singer from South Africa. She has performed with the Iintombi Zilapha Dancers from South Africa, Gansango Music & Dance, Sankofa Theatre's Maafa Experience, and Seattle Theatre Group's Dance This! She currently teaches various classes and participates in numerous performances in the Seattle area.
One World Taiko presents a contemporary style of Japanese drumming that incorporates dynamic and fluid movement as well as heart pounding percussion. Founded in San Francisco, CA, One World Taiko is led by Gary Tsujimoto and Nancy Ozaki. Their music is drawn from Japan's ancient tradition of lively and spirited festival drumming and One World Taiko’s own creative rhythms, arrangements and choreography, adding a modern spirit to the ancient tradition of taiko. Their repertoire includes traditional pieces, which were taught to them by the world-renowned groups Kodo and Ondekoza from Japan, and original compositions infused with contemporary rhythms from their love of jazz and world music.
Rachel Kessler is passionate about providing a structured, supportive learning environment for all students. Kessler is a writer, educator and performance artist. She is a senior Writer in Residence at Ballard High School through Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools program. Kessler has natural ease with young people and an ability to work in high-pressure situations while maintaining a sense of humor, qualities that she has relied on in The Typing Explosion, a seven-year collaboration with two other poets and 15 years working in the education and child care field.
Darwin Nordin is an accomplished visual artist whose work includes drawings, paintings and sculpture that reflect his fascination with nature. Darwin’s twenty-five-year career as a teaching artist is centered-around the creative process. He has worked collaboratively with poets, writers, actors, dancers, filmmakers and set designers. He has facilitated the creation of large mixed media artworks for organizations like The Seattle Children’s Museum, The Port of Seattle, The Pacific Northwest Ballet and The Museum of Glass.
NANDA consists of Chen Pollina, Kiyota Sage, Tomoki Sage, and Misha Fradin. Their performances include dance, juggling, and acrobatics in a humorous mix. NANDA has toured throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The group performs regionally at Seattle's Moisture Festival, The Oregon County Fair, Harmony Festival, as well as a variety of theaters and public and private events.
