July 13, 2010

One of the pillars of our dance program is community outreach. This year the dance program had a very successful touring ensemble working with approximately 7,500 elementary school students. Students in the dance program visited a new school every Friday to work with students on choreography and performances. Dance Program Director Miriam Giguere and Professor Olive Prince mentored the dance students in teaching and working with the youths. The collaboration is a win-win situation as our students gain a lot from interacting with numerous Philadelphia communities and seeing the realities of public education.

The culminating event of the outreach program, Youth Performance Exchange, took place on June 4th in the Mandell Theater. Four schools, where our students worked with 7th and 8th graders to develop dance and choreography, were selected to perform. 400 Philadelphia school students filled the theater on June 4th to support their classmates and be a part of the Drexel dance community.  The Drexel dance ensemble also performed, demonstrating the wealth of talented Drexel dancers both within the dance major and the many dancers from other Drexel schools and colleges.