Footworks has toured nationally and internationally since 1979, including taking part in a Smithsonian Institution tour of Japan, and performing as guest artists with “Riverdance” in London. The company has performed and taught in schools throughout Maryland and the United States since 1980.
Founder and Artistic Director Eileen Carson is an NEA Choreography Fellow, a recipient of the “Annie” Award from the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, and the 2006 Young Audiences of Maryland’s Artist of the Year. The Washington Post declares, “The eruptive joy of Footworks dancers is as contagious as laughter.”
Footworks’ Arts in Education programming includes the 45-minute assembly program, “Keeping the Beat: Multicultural Influences in American Music and Dance,”; workshops; the residencies, “Roots and Rhythm,” “Exploring the Cultural Diversity of the United States Through Traditional Dance,” and “Understanding the Star-Spangled Banner Through Dance.”
office@footworks.org
http://www.footworks.org
PO Box 1760
Anne Arundel
410-897-9299
410-923-2467
Residency: Traditional music and dance is an activity that Footworks presents in a way that makes participation accessible and fun, creating an atmosphere that encourages self-expression and heightens self-esteem, where the student feels safe in exercising his or her own creativity. Residency workshops include learning percussive dance, singing, “hamboning,” and improvisational exercises. Footworks makes participation accessible and fun with an approach that brings students together in a positive, constructive and interactive way, building community and connecting the participants to each other and to their culture. The learning sequences develop motor skills and communication skills, teaching how to focus, follow directions, and work with others. Every individual understands that they are an important part of the whole. The residency is custom-designed to fit the needs of your school. 2-3 artists.
Grade Level: K-12
3 (minimum) to 5 (ideal) sessions per classroom.
Marsha Searle
410-897-9299
office@footworks.org
Availble year round, contingent on block booking of 2 days.
TBD
Gym, music room or classroom space cleared of desks and chairs for enough room for dance.
TBD
Determined by the final residency schedule.
R7 – Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively as well as in words.
SL2 – Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively and orally.
L3 – Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
From the Social Studies K-2 Essential Standards:
This program connects to Social Studies for all grades and promotes understanding of the diversity of people in the local community (for example, 1.C.1).
From the Arts Education, Dance K-8 Standards:
The program connects to many of the NC Essential Standards for Dance, and especially fosters understanding of cultural, historical, and interdisciplinary connections. Additionally, the program encourages students to use a variety of thinking skills to analyze and evaluate dance (K-8.C.1, K-8.R.1).
FOOTWORKS views every performance as a commitment; however, if the need arises to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness, injury, inclement weather, FOOTWORKS will make every effort to give as much advance notice as possible. FOOTWORKS will reschedule when possible, and in a timely way, and will appreciate the same effort from the school. Neither FOOTWORKS nor any representative of FOOTWORKS shall be liable for the FOOTWORKS’ failure to appear, present, or perform if such failure is caused or due to the physical disability or illness of more than 25% of FOOTWORKS’ performers, acts or regulations of public authorities, labor difficulties, civil tumult, strike, epidemic, interruption or delay of transportation service, acts of God, or any cause beyond the control of FOOTWORKS or the school.