NEA Regional Touring Program: Garth Fagan

A Community in Motion: Garth Fagan Dance in New Orleans Elementary Schools

By: Laura B. Scholz



Students at Lafayette Elementary creatively explore their science studies through movement as part of the In Motion Partner School Program New Orleans Ballet Association. Photo by Mary Strout

Who better to engage young audiences in the diverse, culturally rich city of New Orleans than Jamaican-born, Tony-award-winning, "The Lion King" choreographer Garth Fagan? With unique choreography that blends athleticism, energetic Afro-Caribbean movement, ballet-like precision and the rule-breaking spirit of modern ballet, Fagan has been heralded by the New York Post as "a true original."

This innovative spirit, as well as a proven commitment to dance education and community outreach, made him a perfect fit for the New Orleans Ballet Association’s Dance in Residence: In Motion Partners program.

Developed in 1998 with seed money from the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation, the In Motion Partners program offers extended, curriculum-based artist residencies at local targeted, culturally underserved elementary schools. In the spring of 2000, the New Orleans Ballet Association applied for a Southern Arts Federation In-Depth Artist Residency grant to bring Garth Fagan Dance to New Orleans for the third year of the In Motion Partners program.



Partcicipant in the In Motion Partner School Program New Orleans Ballet Association. Photo by Mary Strout

Why Garth Fagan? According to Melissa Stephenson, the New Orleans Ballet Association’s Development Manager, "African-Americans comprise 95 percent of the population in New Orleans public schools, so we try to bring in artists that can not only get children excited about dance, but also reflect their unique cultural heritage. That, and Garth Fagan and his company have a great ability to engage children and communities in the creative movement of dance."

Just as Garth Fagan Dance was a natural choice for residency activities in the New Orleans community, the New Orleans Ballet Association was a perfect fit for the Southern Arts Federation’s In-Depth Artist Residency program.

Begun in 2000, the In-Depth Artist Residency program supports extended, curriculum-based arts education residencies by performing artists funded through the NEA/SAF Regional Touring Program. The program’s goal is to increase opportunities for students to receive curriculum-based arts education instruction and participate in live performing and literary arts. Grants are limited to new arts education programs in underserved communities, and the New Orleans Ballet Association was one of only two presenting organizations to receive an In-Depth Artist Residency grant during the program’s inaugural year.

In order to ensure the most educational, rewarding experience for all involved in the Garth Fagan Dance residency, the New Orleans Ballet Association spent several months planning the project with community partners. The Louisiana Institute for Education in the Arts (LAIEA) facilitated initial planning sessions and teacher training workshops with In Motion’s twelve partner schools in Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes. Instructors and arts education specialists at these schools designed cultural enrichment and curriculum-based activities to use jazz and jazz dance, elements of New Orleans’s unique African-American heritage, to introduce and reinforce Black History Month studies. Curriculum plans were also designed to utilize residencies by both local and guest dance artists.

For example, Lacoste Elementary School in St. Bernard Parish developed a dance curriculum to teach Louisiana Math Standards through movement, a project that involved both a nine-week, eighteen hour intensive residency conducted by a local professional artist and a four-day residency with Garth Fagan Dance Company. 5^th graders at Lacoste received two hours a week of dance instruction, which culminated with a student-created and executed performance, "Geometry in Motion." Broadcast on a local educational network, the performance was also enthusiastically received by 4^th graders and parents in attendance.

According to principal Joy Connor:

The female students were excited about the prospect of taking dance in school. Most of our male students, however, entered the class with trepidation and the stereotypical perception of dance being a girl activity. Our very enthusiastic (local professional) dance teacher accomplished all curriculum objectives, managing to engage even the most reluctant of learners, both male and female. Her passion was contagious; students were eager to learn geometry through dance.



	Getting into character at Lafayette Elementary, In Motion Partner School Program, New Orleans Ballet Association. Photo by Mary Strout

Parents and teachers also expressed overwhelming support for the In Motion Partners program. According to one parent, "my child has been enriched by this experience. The quality of this program is something one would expect in an exclusive private school setting, and these students have embraced and benefited from this cultural experience while learning math."

The local artist residencies at Lacoste and other participating elementary schools supplemented the one-week residency by Garth Fagan Dance in January of 2001. All schools received study guides prior to the residency, which included an on-site hour-long lecture/demonstration and a question and answer session at each school. Students at all four elementary schools, grades kindergarten through 5^th grade, were attentive to the performances and eager to ask questions.

This week-long residency of master classes, lecture/demonstrations, question and answer sessions and school performances culminated with two special student performances at the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts in New Orleans. Over 3,000 students from both In Motion partner and non-partner schools from four local parishes had the opportunity to attend fully produced 50-minute Fagan performances. Nearly 2,000 of them, including 1270 In Motion students, received free tickets. Many students and other who participated in the In Motion program attended Garth Fagan Dance’s public performance, which featured music by New Orleans native and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra leader Wynton Marsalis, later that evening.

After the performances, In Motion Partners students shared the following comments with their teachers:

"I can’t believe how muscular and strong the dancers were!"

"The costumes and lighting were so colorful and magnificent!"

"The dancers were so flexible and agile!"

"It looked so easy, but it really is so hard."

One fifth grader simply said, "I liked everything!"

Involving over 5,000 elementary school students in Orleans and surrounding parishes, the Garth Fagan Dance In-Depth Artist Residency project clearly illustrates the New Orleans Ballet Association’s proven commitment and demonstrated excellence in dance education. Founded in 1969 as the New Orleans Ballet, the New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA) has over a three-decade history of dynamic programming and service to the community. The Gulf Coast Region’s primary dance presenting and service organization, NOBA presents over 1,000 concerts, lecture/demonstrations, workshops, classes and other programs that annually reach over 50,000 dance enthusiasts. NOBA is a leader in dance education, offering Young People’s Concerts, master classes, artist residencies and scholarships to promising young dancers in addition to its innovative, tuition-free dance instruction program for Orleans parish students in partnership with the New Orleans Recreation Department.

Together, the New Orleans Ballet Association and the Garth Fagan Dance Company serve as powerful reminders of the accessibility, cultural relevance and community-building power of dance.