LIVING ARTS BLOG
Harnessing Personal Power through Dance
On Saturday November 16, seven of the nine Youth Dance Ensemble dancers joined their mentor/instructors Miryam Johnson and Penny Godboldo, along with Living Arts’ Director of Programs, Erika Villarreal Bunce and Dance Program Director, Marianne Cox over Lebanese food and conversation.
Living Arts’ dancers and instructors met to discuss and reflect on their Sofrito of Cultures summer intensive.
On Saturday November 16, seven of the nine Youth Dance Ensemble dancers joined their mentor/instructors Miryam Johnson and Penny Godboldo, along with Living Arts’ Director of Programs, Erika Villarreal Bunce and Dance Program Director, Marianne Cox over Lebanese food and conversation. Also in attendance was Jennifer Collins the mother of Bailee Williams, one of the dancers. The gathering was the first time the group had met since their August 8th performance at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
The inter-generational conversation, led by Villarreal Bunce, was an opportunity for the young women to really debrief and dig into what they learned and how they felt during the intensive.
On learning Dunham technique alongside her own students, Miryam Johnson said she was “…in the moment, in the music, in my body connected to the people around me” as opposed to being in her head, focusing on self-criticism. She added, “It was important for me to be a student next to you; for you to see me not getting it also.” Master choreographer and intensive lead, Penny Godboldo said “Dance is a language...it’s called a company because it’s community working together.”
Over the course of the three weeks, the dancers, instructors, and drummers met for five hours a day, five days a week. Initially desiring a 10-week session, Godboldo had to readjust expectations from her students. “I knew what young people in this community were capable of, but I wasn’t sure if [you] were up for it. I was so pleased with the way [you] young women stepped up and did the work!”
Reflecting on the journal entries they wrote during the intensive, the young dancers recalled the feelings brought on by dancing. Learning the history and cultural relevance of the drum and movement in Afro-Latin dance was critical to understanding their own role in the dance. “I felt that the intensive really made me feel like a leader. It really tested my boundaries,” shared Bailee Williams, 13. Many of the dancers agreed that their boundaries, both physical and mental, were tested during their training. Learning how to breathe proved to be one of the most valuable tools, centering themselves before rehearsals began and carrying them throughout the hours of movement. “Wwhen I came here to dance I was happy and more confident.” Brianna Hernandez, 12. Mariajose Galarza, 13 added, “After the intensive I really felt like I could do anything! It was really long and hard but really good.”
Though still a while off from their careers, many of the dancers are considering entering into professional dance. A chance to represent both Detroit and the Southwest community where they live, the dancers want to show the world that Detroit is still in the game. “No one expects big dancers to come out of Detroit because it’s just a small city. No one expects someone like Miss Penny or Dunham to come out of Detroit. Everybody just thinks that it was famous during the Motor City era and has been left behind like it was nothing. But there really is something special in this community...dance just connects us,” said 14-year-old Nina Contreras.
Ms. Collins exclaimed, “You all are powerful! Knowing what you all accomplished this summer you all can do anything!” A sentiment echoed by all the mentors in the room.
Reflections on Sofrito of Cultures
For three weeks, students of Living Arts' Youth Dance Ensemble studied under visionary master teachers Madame Penny Godboldo, Chi Amen Ra and Ozzie Rivera to understand the cultural connection between Black American and Afro Latinx communities (The African Diaspora). As the Living Arts Teaching Artist brought in on this project, I was honored to even be in the room with these incredibly decorated artists that I'd heard about for years. The importance of using dance as the catalyst to discuss these connections is a conversation I've had many times with various students, parents and fellow teachers. In Afrocentric and Indigenous culture dance is often used as an archive.
For three weeks, students of Living Arts' Youth Dance Ensemble studied under visionary master teachers Madame Penny Godboldo, Chi Amen Ra and Ozzie Rivera to understand the cultural connection between Black American and Afro Latinx communities (The African Diaspora). As the Living Arts Teaching Artist brought in on this project, I was honored to even be in the room with these incredibly decorated artists that I'd heard about for years. The importance of using dance as the catalyst to discuss these connections is a conversation I've had many times with various students, parents and fellow teachers. In Afrocentric and Indigenous culture dance is often used as an archive. Various movements are used in relation to specific traditions or derived out of cultural experiences. Thus, there's never a separation between the movement and the history of the culture. This is something that the Dunham Technique, the technique used to inform the residency, teaches extraordinarily well.
Because I've worked with this group of students over the past two years, I knew that they would be a very committed group and they would get pushed in ways they never had before. What I didn't fully anticipate was that I would too. Having only taken Dunham as a master class in High School I was far removed from this as a practice. So, months before the residency began I started training with Madame Penny in her weekly classes, and they were no joke. She pushed everyone to their strongest and gave personal attention/corrections along the way. I became quickly taken with this technique. It was the first time I felt my natural way of moving and my training could live in harmony. During the residency, I watched as the youth increasing soaked up every word Madame Penny said and came to the same realization I had only a few months prior. There was nothing like this technique.
Dunham wasn't the only movement style studied. The students got good doses of Step, Hip Hop, Rumba and Bomba as the teachers swapped responsibilities sharing our places of expertise. Each morning after they set intentions for the day, we moved into a lecture on the style they'd be learning in repertoire rehearsal. This time allowed for deep discussion on the connections and histories of the cultures. As each teacher had expertise in separate areas we found ourselves as students of each other as well, taking notes and asking questions. This inter-generational learning space was one of the most important parts of the days. It allowed for us all to continue growing and for the students to see their teachers as students themselves, something no one ever stops being.
The days went on and the youth became increasing confident movers. The shift in their mindset became abundantly clear, in the way they discussed and asked questions of the styles, their self-assurance and even their posture. This heightened as we moved into preparation for the show. There's an indescribable feeling when a performer moves to rehearse in a performance/theater space. After all the work training in class and rehearsal, your body takes over, bumps it up several notches and makes you performance ready. This is exactly what happened to the students. They performed a phenomenal concert of movement from across the African Diaspora, but more importantly learned their connection in that history, grew as artists, and became in tune with their bodies.
I'm still processing this work as these three weeks absolutely shifted the way I understand movement as well as myself. What I am absolutely sure of is; this residency connected me to artists I'd dreamed of working with, gifted me a brilliant mentor in Madame Penny, deepened my personal practice and strengthened my relationship to my students. For that I am forever grateful.
Living Arts Dancers to Perform Sofrito of Cultures with Penny Godboldo at the Wright Museum
Living Arts’ Youth Dance Ensemble, under the direction of Master Teacher and Dance Artist Penny Godboldo and Living Arts’ Teaching Artist Miryam Johnson, with musical accompaniment by Chinelo "Chi" Amen-Ra and Ozvaldo "Ozzie" Rivera, will present a free community performance graciously hosted by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on August 8, 2019 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm.
Young Southwest Detroit dancers explore Afro-Latinx identity through dance and music
Living Arts’ Youth Dance Ensemble, under the direction of Master Teacher and Dance Artist Penny Godboldo and Living Arts’ Teaching Artist Miryam Johnson, with musical accompaniment by Chinelo "Chi" Amen-Ra and Ozvaldo "Ozzie" Rivera, will present a free community performance graciously hosted by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on August 8, 2019 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm.
Sofrito of Cultures is the culmination of a two-week dance intensive, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Through the intensive, participants train in the Dunham Technique of dance, which blends European ballet, modern, jazz, and classical African movement.
“Katherine Dunham founded this technique as a means of anthropological study asking ‘What is the function of the way people move? Why do we move differently than Europeans? What history is tied in the ways we move, sing, play an instrument’,” says Godboldo. “Rather than feeling inadequate, there is a body of movement ingrained in culture to define yourself and feel empowered.” Johnson, who has taught with Living Arts for the past three years, was attracted to the project as her work revolves around the concept of the body as an archive of movement. “We’re looking at the ways we move naturally and what these bodies carry into dance; in contrast to the upright form of European traditions of dance.”
Johnson’s role as protege to Godboldo as well as instructor to the students is part of the mentorship process. “We are also looking at the intercultural (black and Latinx) and intergenerational traditions of movement,” says Erika Villarreal Bunce, director of programs at Living Arts. Godboldo adds “there is a history of oral tradition in African and Caribbean culture. This project holds that tradition in the construct of music and movement, it is an accurate account of history — as opposed to the written tradition that has become skewed through the eyes of others.”
The project began with a master dance class in the summer of 2017 through the Teatro Chico program. Since then, the students and families of Living Arts have requested more culturally relevant programming that reflects their own history. “Living Arts’ commitment to respecting partnerships and youth drives our programming. When it comes to our artistic production, we take direction from our youth to create art that reflects their experience,” says Villarreal Bunce.
For tickets to the performance, visit: bit.ly/SofritoPerformance.
Living Arts Launches Sofrito of Cultures with Penny Godboldo
This summer, Living Arts will launch a two-week dance intensive, Sofrito of Cultures. Lead by Master Teacher and Dance Artist Penny Godboldo and Living Arts’ Teaching Artist Miriyam Johnson, 12 participants will engage in five hours of daily training from July 22-August 2 in the Dunham Technique of dance, which blends European ballet, modern, jazz, and classical African movement.
Young dancers explore Afro-Latinx identity through dance and music
This summer, Living Arts will launch a two-week dance intensive, Sofrito of Cultures. Lead by Master Teacher and Dance Artist Penny Godboldo and Living Arts’ Teaching Artist Miriyam Johnson, 12 participants will engage in five hours of daily training from July 22-August 2 in the Dunham Technique of dance, which blends European ballet, modern, jazz, and classical African movement.
“Katherine Dunham founded this technique as a means of anthropological study asking ‘What is the function of the way people move? Why do we move differently than Europeans? What history is tied in the ways we move, sing, play an instrument’,” says Godboldo. “Rather than feeling inadequate, there is a body of movement ingrained in culture to define yourself and feel empowered.” Johnson, who has taught with Living Arts for the past three years, was attracted to the project as her work revolves around the concept of the body as an archive of movement. “We’re looking at the ways we move naturally and what these bodies carry into dance; in contrast to the upright form of European traditions of dance.”
Johnson’s role as protege to Godboldo as well as instructor to the students is part of the mentorship process. “We are also looking at the intercultural (black and Latinx) and intergenerational traditions of movement,” says Erika Villarreal Bunce, director of programs at Living Arts. Godboldo adds “there is a history of oral tradition in African and Caribbean culture. This project holds that tradition in the construct of music and movement, it is an accurate account of history — as opposed to the written tradition that has become skewed through the eyes of others.”
The project, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, began with a master dance class in the summer of 2017 through the Teatro Chico program. Since then, the students and families of Living Arts have requested more culturally relevant programming that reflects their own history. “Living Arts’ commitment to respecting partnerships and youth drives our programming. When it comes to our artistic production, we take direction from our youth to create art that reflects their experience,” says Villarreal Bunce. The culmination of the intensive will be a community performance graciously hosted by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on August 8, 2019 6:00pm - 8:00pm.
Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming public performance!