The FWDC officially launched the 2012 Outreach Campaign, and we are already over $1,000!! We need $4,000 more to reach our goal of $5,000. This campaign helps continue outreach programming in schools and places in the region that assist those with disabilities. Why is this important? Here are 5 reasons:
1. Dance is often the sole reason many students go to school and/or stay in school. FWDC’s outreach programs stimulate creativity and intellectual growth while contributing to emotional and physical well-being.
2. FWDC’s after school dance programs give students a positive, non-judgmental and safe environment to express themselves, exercise, form relationships, and feel a true sense of purpose and unity. These programs keep at-risk youth off the streets.
3. Dance teaches self discipline and teamwork which are skills that translate to better education and success in the workplace. The arts are uniquely capable of providing rich opportunities in exploring creativity and encouraging positive self-image.
4. Dancing allows those with physical/mental disabilities a chance to express themselves through movement despite their limitations. The arts are essential to opening new insights to the world and enriching our lives.
5. Dance provides physical/mental refreshment and relaxation.
The FWDC’s goal is to give students a balance in their lives so that they may be motivated, engaged, and enriched for a lifetime through early exposure to the arts, and by nurturing and encouraging their creative spirit. We hope you will join us in realizing our goal. We believe in “Dance for ANY Body, A Chance for EVERY Body!” If you would like to contribute to this initiative, you may do so by making a contribution online at fwdc.org/register or by stopping by our offices, or mailing a check to FWDC at 437 E. Berry St. Suite 203 Fort Wayne, 46802. We thank you for any amount you can contribute to keeping these programs going strong for many years to come. We cannot do it with YOU!
Current Outreach Programs of the Fort Wayne Dance Collective
- South Side High School
- Weisser Park Arts Magnet School
- Bunche Montessori Early Childhood Center
- St. John the Baptist School
- Hamilton Elementary School
- Forrest Park Elementary School via Youtheatre
- St. Henry’s Head Start via CANI
- Anthis Career Center Early Childhood Lab
- Oak Farm Montessori
- Carroll Middle School
- Turnstone Center for Children and Adults with Disabilities
- Children’s Autism Center
- Pathfinders Services Inc.
- Passages Inc.
- A Day Away Adult Daycare
- St. Anne Home
- Bi-County Services
Arts United has recently introduced a new method of purchasing tickets to all Arts United funded member group events. This new centralized ticketing method is managed by Arts United and serviced by Theatre Manager. ALL tickets to FWDC events, performances, concerts, etc. will now be sold through the Arts United box office using the Theatre Manager system. This new system is meant to provide better customer service and satisfaction through a streamlined, hassle-free process. The fully functional, completed integrated system is expected to launch in the very near future. We will keep you up to date with new information as that date arrives.
The Fort Wayne Dance Collective will NOT be selling tickets to our events from our office effective immediately. There may be a few exceptions to this in the future, but we will give you all plenty of notice. To purchase tickets for the 2012 June Family Concert: The Boy Who Wanted to Count, please call the Arts United box office (260) 422-4226, or stop by the box office located at 303 E. Main St. Downtown, Fort Wayne from 12-6pm. You may also purchase tickets online by following this link: https://tickets.artstix.org/TheatreManager/1/tmEvent/tmEvent1459.html We encourage you to purchase tickets in advance for your own convenience.
Thank you so much for supporting the Fort Wayne Dance Collective!
Special thank you to Kelly Lynch and Allyson McGovern of LynchPin Pictures for taking such gorgeous film and photos! These photos are all beautiful and what a fantastic weekend! The RUBBERBANDance Group Lecture/Demonstration was amazing, and informative, the Master class was a HUGE success and the performance was simply breath-taking. We so enjoyed getting to know this talented group and hope you all did too. Thank you to all of the volunteers, businesses, funders, and supporters who make bringing these special guest artists possible and enjoyable. Check out the FWDC Facebook page for these photos and more!
Being a non-profit, the Fort Wayne Dance Collective often relies on the support of the community to help this organization run smoothly. Support is needed through: financial contributions, business sponsorships, grants and foundations, and especially from the services and time donated by people like Aaron Brown. Aaron has started a blog called Impact 52 along with his wife Erica recording his experiences while serving area non-profits through volunteerism. Aaron explains:
We are a husband and wife duo looking for opportunities to serve in the community. We met while attending Central Michigan University and started our family 14 years ago. We have two beautiful girls and three dogs. We have lived in Fort Wayne for three years.
Starting Impact 52 will allow us to get involved in our community. We will learn about non-profit organizations and expose them to our children. We want our girls to learn about the importance of volunteerism and service to others. We hope this experience will inspire others to take action and make a difference!
Aaron | husband, father, business leader, speaker, mentor, sports fan and a community advocate.
Erica | wife, mother, photographer, strong willed spirit, control freak and volunteer.
Please, check out Aaron’s blog impact52.org and read about his experience with the Fort Wayne Dance Collective and a wide variety of other area organizations. FWDC would like to thank Aaron Brown, and the many WONDERFUL volunteers who give of their time, money, and skills without hesitation. We appreciate ALL that you do and sincerely thank each and every one of you. We could not provide the many services we currently offer without your support. If you would like to volunteer, please fill out the online form at fwdc.org/volunteer or call 424-6574 and ask to speak to Outreach Director, Alison Gerardot.
Hey, look who’s learning to dance at the FWDC during National Dance Week!! Oh yea, that’s Johnny TinCap all right! Johnny needed some assistance with learning some new dance moves this season, so of course he called the Fort Wayne Dance Collective! You’ll have to attend the Fort Wayne TinCaps game May 11 to catch the video showing how Johnny learned his new moves! If you can’t make the game, the video will be posted on the Fort Wayne TinCaps website. Special thanks to FWDC hip-hop instructor Abe Gutierrez and dancers Kaitlyn Byall, and Brennan Stillman for stepping in and showing Johnny and his Bad Apple dancers a thing or two. Great job Johnny! I think the call to FWDC paid off! If you want to learn some new moves too, help is just a phone call away at 260.424.6574. For a complete listing of our classes visit fwdc.org/classes and to enroll online check out fwdc.org/register or call the FWDC today! The new summer 7-week semester begins June 25 and ends August 8 and the complete list of summer classes will be posted by April 24.
Thank you so much to Castle Gallery for hosting a lovely party to welcome the amazing RUBBERBANDance Group to Fort Wayne! Everyone had an amazing time and what a beautiful gallery! If you have not had the pleasure of checking out the Castle Gallery in West Central, Downtown Fort Wayne, please do so.
If you missed Liz’s interview with Chuck O’Conner on Arts Weekly last Sunday, check it out. She discusses RUBBERBANDance Group, and other FWDC happenings. It’s an exciting time here at the Fort Wayne Dance Collective and in Fort Wayne. There are many arts & culture related activities this month with RUBBERBANDance Group, Blue Man Group, Elton John, Rip Van Winkle, 32nd Annual National Print Exhibit, All Grown Up Now, Clutch, and don’t forget Last Saturday’s! We hope you get out there and get involved! Please watch the interview and check out the article’s in both the Fort Wayne Reader and Whatzup Magazine regarding RBDG. Call 260.424.6574 to purchase tickets for the
- Lecture/Demonstration April 13, 4pm at the Arts United Center, 303 E. Main St., Downtown, Fort Wayne
- Master Class, 7 pm at the Fort Wayne Dance Collective, 437 E. Berry St., Downtown, Fort Wayne
- Performance of “Gravity of Center” at 8pm at the Arts United Center, 303 E. Main St., Downtown, Fort Wayne
Whatzup Article by: Deborah Kennedy
FW Reader article By: Michael Summer
Check out this commercial shot by the talented John Hartman, in FWDC’s Elliot Studio featuring FWDC School for Movement Studies and Creative Process student, Hannah Moore! Learn how you can WIN tickets to see Elton John!
There will be NO classes next week April 2-7 during Spring Break except Monday morning T’ai Chi w/ Nancy Woollacott, Monday evening Cont. Modern Dance & Improv. w/ Liz Monnier, and Wednesday evening Cont. Ballet & Modern w/ Elizabeth Mikautadze. All classes will resume April 9.
Also, be sure to tune into Arts Weekly on PBS39 this Sunday, April 1 at 7:30 pm to catch Artistic Director, Liz Monnier talking with Chuck O’Connor about RUBBERBANDance Group’s upcoming performance, Lecture/Demonstration and Master Class, etc. You can catch this interview on FIOS channels 3 & 470, Comcast channels 3 & 240, or Digital channel 39.1. Have a safe and relaxing Spring Break!
Be sure to get your tickets in advance for this ONE-TIME ONLY performance by international dance sensation, RUBBERBANDance Group from Montréal, Canada coming up April 14 at the Arts United Center. The doors open at 7 pm and performance starts at 8 pm. Adult advance tickets are $22/$27 at-the-door, Students advance tickets are $20/$25 at-the-door, and $18 for groups of 10 or larger. Why pay full price, when you can get a group of friends and family together and pay just $18? For just $5 you can attend the Lecture/Demonstration April 13 at 4pm at the Arts United Center, 303 E. Main St. and attend the Master Class in the FWDC Elliot Studio 437 E. Berry St., Downtown Ft. Wayne for just $25! Just imagine, a chance to dance with international dance sensation RUBBERBANDance Group! Call 260.424.6574 to reserve your spot today, but better hurry, space for the Master Class is limited.
To order tickets for the lecture/demonstration or the performance and to enroll in the master class, please call 260.424.6574 or email info@fwdc.org.
RUBBERBANDance Group is a tribe of five dancers who move like spiders, spending as much time on all fours and upside-down as they do vertically. They use their legs like arms, their feet like hands. They do not dance with rubber bands but rather like them, unpredictable and flexible. RUBBERBANDance Group was founded in 2002 by choreographer and dancer, Victor Quijada to create an exploratory base where he could blend several dance influences resulting in a new concept of how dancers can move through space. Borrowing from yoga, modern dance, ballet, and hip-hop, RUBBERBANDance Group presents a unique vision of contemporary dance theatre. The presentations of the company are also rich in its exploration of human relationships concentrating on psychological constructs and emotional conflicts. Their work provides a cultural bridge between the traditional and nontraditional arts.
The piece they are bringing to the Fort Wayne audiences this spring is titled “Gravity of Center,” and as you may guess, their center of gravity is not what you’d expect. The 75-minute non-stop piece had me reminding myself to breathe. They appear tough in costumes that resemble rehearsal clothes, and the red socks worn by one female dancer catch my attention against the gray and brown tones of the other clothes. The piece is dark with it’s lighting design and the layering of relationship dramas which find it’s way into duets, trio’s, quartets and solos. What is this dance? It cannot be defined in terms you might identify as modern dance, break dancing, ballet, street dance but rather a unique blend. And as you watch “Gravity of Center,” it really doesn’t matter what you call it because it is just. …well, amazing. There is so much happening that when there is a pause, it is welcomed, as I became as exhausted as they were even though the movement itself seemed effortless. The sound score by Jasper Guhunia changed so incrementally that I never noticed that the quiet solo piano had transitioned into a percussive drum piece that somehow later became a cello piece with a little violin.
There is a story somewhere in “Gravity of Center,” but don’t bother trying to figure it out. The title is just a title, I believe based on how choreographer, Victor Quijada, decided to explore the movement by challenging the dancers to find different ways to find their center of gravity not only in themselves but as a group.
The two-day residency will start with a lecture-demonstration at the Arts United Center Friday April 13, 4 p.m. for the public. (It’s a deal at $5!) Following will be a master class at 7 p.m. held in the FWDC’s Elliot Studio Theatre. This is for the experienced dancer! Sign up soon as this workshop is limited to 25 and will fill up fast! RUBBERBANDance Group performs “Gravity of Center,” Saturday, April 14, at 8 p.m. at the Arts United Center. Visit fwdc.org/guest/artist for more information about RUBBERBANDance Group and other guest artists FWDC has hosted since 1989. Special thanks to Lincoln Financial Foundation, Wells Fargo Bank, and Arts Midwest for supporting this residency, and we look forward to seeing you at these events! Call 260.424.6574 to purchase tickets or for more information regarding this event.—Article By: Artistic Director, Liz Monnier
