Educational Outreach with CLD
History & Experience
CLD has a long-standing commitment to educational outreach. Over the past decade, CLD has collaborated with the Catskill Mountain Foundation in bringing cultural enrichment to Hunter Elementary School. Six company members travel upstate each July to conduct a week-long workshop with children ages 4-12. The focus of this workshop is to expose students to standard dance rhythms, improvisation, musicality, and choreography. Our lessons are centered around a selected folktale, often portraying histories of oppressed populations.
Mission
Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance’s (CLD) mission is to engage its audience through contemporary choreography generated by issues of social injustice and the concern for the human condition. This fuels profoundly sensitive and compassionate work with the intent to heal and call attention to the issues faced by women, people of color, and other marginalized groups. This body of work could not be appropriately created or conveyed without a diverse group of dancers, composers, musicians, and other artistic collaborators.
Cherylyn’s Teaching Philosophy
Lavagnino’s dance education approach is centered around the concepts of economy of effort, modifying the form to suit your body, and encouraging the development of a personalized practice. Through her exercises, she asks students to pay close attention to anatomically sound alignment, transitions, breathing, and coordination – aiming to encourage grace and ease of movement.
A musical dancer is captivating to watch. Something special happens artistically when the interplay of movement and dance is deeply experienced. Music not only supports technical execution, it supports artistry and nuance. The structure of Lavagnino’s class is designed to cultivate a deep connection between body, mind, and music. Each exercise is an opportunity to intertwine breath and movement, enhancing each student’s connection to both their own body and the surrounding space.
Lavagnino encourages dancers to think of their work as soulful and connected to being human, leading them to discover individual expression which sets them apart from a purely technical dancer.
2020: COVID-19 Compliant Residency with Hunter Elementary
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, CLD’s 2020 residency was successfully conducted over Zoom with 25 students, consistently engaging the students with lively international music, props, and creative prompts. This workshop’s selected story was My Hero is You, a tale of children worldwide supporting one another and navigating the global pandemic. At the heart of CLD’s educational outreach is the selection of folktales that present life lessons encouraging the children to act from a place of respect, empathy, and appreciation for others in all aspects of their young lives.
Educational Outreach Gallery
