MsMo
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Students rock Evanston studio
Arnes Osmanovic and fellow students at Swift Elementary Specialty School in Chicago spent several weeks practicing their dance steps for the annual Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago jamboree Friday in Evanston...
Pulses were racing in the studio Friday as students cheered their friends on and sang along with the music. One of the final dance segments featured a group of seventh-graders dancing to Michael Jackson's "Beat It."
For many it was their first time in a professional dance studio...
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/evanston/news/2344618,evanston-kidsdance-060310-s1.article
In a festival of creativity, Arlington Elementary kids embrace ‘Fine Arts Day'
Eight-year-old Quinnia Reese’s brow was furrowed in concentration as, wide-eyed, she tried to keep up with the drumbeat.
She and Jaxon Kidd, 9, along with the rest of Arlington Elementary School, had the opportunity to try out West African drumming during the Fine Arts Day at Arlington Elementary School Tuesday.
In 2009, the school was awarded a grant from the Fort Wayne Museum of Art to have a Fine Arts Day. It went so well that music teacher Janet Piercy and art teacher Janet Corah decided to make it happen again in 2010, even if they didn’t have a grant. Together they held fundraisers, found artists and planned the schedule. Tuesday the event went off without a hitch.
“The arts are so important in our schools, I’m so happy we could pull this off,” said Corah with a smile.
She is hoping other schools will try a similar day and even said she would help anyone interested with scheduling a day at their own schools. The schedule included everything from students learning how to moon-walk to how to artistically stack slate rocks, in the manner of artist Andy Goldsworthy.
The teachers created 12 stations, six for the lower grades and six for the upper. Moving down the hallway, the beat of the drum could be heard from the library and the music of Michael Jackson echoed in the gym. Looking into one room, children were hearing a story about scary monsters after which they would have an opportunity to draw them. In another room, local author Fred McKissack was encouraging creative writing.
Down the hallway, Lori Kaylor and Martha Strock were teaching children about the aerodynamics of flight and how to create their own paper airplanes. Outside children were involved in an “Art Relay.” In the art room, children from each grade level were given the opportunity to paint a square, which later will be made into a permanent mural for the school. Art teacher Corah was kept busy moving between rooms to make sure everything was going smoothly.
Music teacher Piercy was watching the dancing in the gym – students and several teachers were getting a lesson in moon-walking as they learned some moves for a Michael Jackson song from dancer David Ingram.
“We hope to make this an annual event,” said Piercy with a smile.
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100602/NEWS/6020316
School District of Lancaster students learn about Motown
By JENNA EBERSOLE, Staff Writer
It all started with "A, B, C — easy as 1, 2, 3."
Music teacher Joe Torres had just played Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" for a class of fifth-grade students at Wickersham Elementary School in School District of Lancaster when they asked if he'd ever heard the Jackson 5 song.
"I said yes," Torres laughed.
When they asked to sing "ABC" at the next concert, he started brainstorming.
Wednesday night at 6 in the McCaskey East auditorium, elementary students will be singing Motown songs in the first spring concert to have a theme, and a set — the Detroit skyline.
Torres, a 2008 Millersville University graduate, said he played "Billie Jean" to introduce the modern music unit.
The unit, which he began teaching last year while a full-time substitute before joining the staff for this school year, links music with history, from Scott Joplin and ragtime to Michael Jackson and pop.
Fifth-graders have done a research project on Motown and its culture, which is a big part of that history, he said.
"Motown became sort of like the African-American push to bridging the color lines on the radio during that time," Torres, 26, said.
Though the audience won't hear "ABC," ...
http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/256748
It all started with "A, B, C — easy as 1, 2, 3."
Music teacher Joe Torres had just played Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" for a class of fifth-grade students at Wickersham Elementary School in School District of Lancaster when they asked if he'd ever heard the Jackson 5 song.
"I said yes," Torres laughed.
When they asked to sing "ABC" at the next concert, he started brainstorming.
Wednesday night at 6 in the McCaskey East auditorium, elementary students will be singing Motown songs in the first spring concert to have a theme, and a set — the Detroit skyline.
Torres, a 2008 Millersville University graduate, said he played "Billie Jean" to introduce the modern music unit.
The unit, which he began teaching last year while a full-time substitute before joining the staff for this school year, links music with history, from Scott Joplin and ragtime to Michael Jackson and pop.
Fifth-graders have done a research project on Motown and its culture, which is a big part of that history, he said.
"Motown became sort of like the African-American push to bridging the color lines on the radio during that time," Torres, 26, said.
Though the audience won't hear "ABC," ...
http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/256748
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