Dancin' Days

originally published by Medill News Service, May 1, 2003

Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" might be a fitting theme for this year's National Dance Week, which seems almost entirely focused on inspiring children to appreciate dance.

National Dance Week's spokesman Rikki Lee Travolta, of Chicago's Northwest suburbs, said he is excited to share the honor of representing the week of April 25-May 4 with Zoe, the adorable ballet dancing Muppet from Sesame Street.

"Having Sesame Street involved in this year's National Dance Week is something wonderful for dance," he said. "It really gets kids involved early on."

Travolta, an artist-in-residence at the North Shore Dance Center in Skokie, said the week is not simply about getting recognition for existing dancers but also about getting young people excited about the arts.

Chicago's Hubbard Street Dance company got involved by premiering the work of a young, new choreographer Thursday.

Pope School third-grader Tiera Schaeffer created a new piece for six Hubbard Street dancers Thursday afternoon at the Harold Washington Library.

Huddling around Tiera, the dancers listened intently to her choreographic vision. "Go, then turn and jump," she reminded the dancers before the dance began.

As Tiera's classmates from Mr. Stipp's class cheered and applauded the whirling bodies on stage, the dance world gained a young, new audience.

This Hubbard Street "informance" was one of many youth outreach programs the dance company facilitates to get young children and high school students interested in movement.

Humphreys said the dance company tries to expand National Dance Week by offering special in-school programs and performances for students throughout the year.

Beyond learning how to shake their stuff, dance has helped some students to raise their test scores in school, according to Humphreys.

"If a kid can create movement based on a poem they are reading, and then remember what words created the feeling that inspired them to move, maybe they can apply those techniques to their own writing," she said.

Phil Reynolds, executive director of The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, said children naturally appreciate dance once they are exposed to it.

"They love it," Reynolds said. "The kids have no problem with contemporary dance because they aren't hung up on what it's all about. That seems to be a problem adults have. The kids just sit there and take it all in. It's really pure."

This Saturday, the Dance Center will host the final Family Dance Matinee of the season, where families can participate in a movement workshop with professional dancers and then watch a performance of Danny Buraczeski's dance company Jazzdance.

Spokeswoman Jill Chukerman said the Family Dance Matinees are a "great way to introduce families to the beauty, magic and wonder of dance in a way that they can understand.

"The performers really get the kids and their parents moving around," Chukerman continued. "It’s very cool."

Family Dance Matinee tickets are still available through the Dance Center at (312) 344-8300. For more information on National Dance Week, visit www.nationaldanceweek.org.