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Ensemble Gives Youngsters Chance to Danceby Kathy Keeser
Special to iBerkshires
04:34PM / Tuesday, March 03, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A local dance program was given the opportunity to watch and learn from the one of the nation's most distinguished choreographers and dance educators last week as the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble arrived in the Berkshires for a week of programming.
Robinson, who founded the Denver dance company in 1970, led the 15 children in Northern Berkshire Neighbors' Experience Dance program through the basics last Wednesday. Four of her dancers, Jessi Knight Walker, Kamilah Turner, Antoine Banks-Sullivan and Kendell Dempster, also participated.
Robinson and her dancers had the 14 girls and one boy up and moving the entire hour and half of the workshop learning basic dance moves, self-expression through dance, some history with African responses, and how to feel the rhythm of the music.
Photos by Kathy Keeser
Kids get tips from professional dancers. |
In addition to Robinson's artistic talent, she has a warm, positive energy and enthusiasm with an ability to remember names that enables her to draw out even the shyest youngster — calling on them by name and noticing their individual abilities.
The modern dance company's mission is collaborative and educational. It encourages access to the arts by providing programs and outreach to at-risk youths and school systems in the Denver area and hosts a summer dance institute.
The ensemble was brought to Northern Berkshire as part of the "Stalwart Originality: New Traditions in Black Performance," to celebrate the 100th birthdate of dance great Katherine Dunham.
Sponsored by Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (as MCLA Presents!), in conjunction with Williams College and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts, the dance company hosted public workshops during the week, a performance for 600 schoolchildren, a celebration of Dunham, whom Robinson cites as a significant influence, and a performance of "Stalwart Originality: Katherine Dunham" at the '62 Center for Theater and Dance on Friday night.
At the end of the Wednesday session, the children were divided into four groups assigned to each dancer to learn and create a dance that they then performed to the small audience.
(It was amazing to see how fully they participated, even those very new to the dance program, how they worked together so well with such enthusiasm and how their talents were brought out. The youngsters left excited and energized.)
Working with the youngsters from the Neighbors, a program of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, Robinson said she enjoyed their energy and invited them to Friday's show.
Robinson, in pink at left, poses with the Experience Dance youth |
Most of them did go to the performance and thrilled, especially by the colorful costumes. Maya, Rya and Geneeva talked about how they really like the red costumes and the music of work "Rain Dance." They were enthralled by the production and, at the end, joined in the community dance on stage. During intermission, they spotted Robinson on the second-floor balcony above them and asked to talk with her. She recognized them and warmly greeted each of them as she wrote them personalized autographs.
She also invited the youth to meet with she and the dancers after the show - an opportunity that they may long remember
Speaking to a crowd gathered for a Spark event shortly before the performance in the '62 Center, Robinson thanked the community for its warm welcome.
"You are celebrating creativity and we can feel it, we can feel it in your children because we've had some young ones up on stage with us," she said. "This is how you grow a community. What a great community." |
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