The Kentucky Center Blog

Aqura Lacey of Ailey II will lead The Kentucky Center's 2013 ArtsReach Summer Dance Camp

KENTUCKY CENTER ARTSREACH SUMMER DANCE CAMP TO FEATURE INSTRUCTION FROM ALUMNA AND FORMER ALVIN AILEY II DANCER AQURA LACEY

MEDIA ADVISORY

The media are invited to attend this special series of events, which celebrate the power of
the arts to transform our community.  

CONTACT:

Rob Thomas

(502) 562-0794

rthomas@kentuckycenter.org

WHAT:

ArtsReach, an educational program of The Kentucky Center, will hold its 2013 Summer Dance Camp at The Kentucky Center. Dancers of all levels will study Hip Hop, African, Contemporary and Liturgical Dance with renowned instructors and choreographers.

The classes will culminate in a final performance in the Bomhard Theater on Friday, June 28 from 5-6:30 pm. In addition, weather permitting, campers will demonstrate freestyle dance in front of The Kentucky Center on Thursday June 27 from 2:30-3:15pm. 

WHO:

Dancers, ages 9-19, from ArtsReach community center settings, will benefit from this intensive dance training.

Instructors include:

Aqura Lacey - ArtsReach studio dance student alumnus and former dancer with Alvin Ailey II

Christa Twaa Whaley - Student of West African Dance and founder of Twaa Dance Company

Keisha Walker - ArtsReach Studio Teaching Artist in dance and Soljettes coach

Marcellus Love - ArtsReach Studio Teaching Artist in dance and Straight Diamonds coach

Portia White - ArtsReach Studio Teaching Artist in dance and former Education Director and Modern Dance Instructor for Louisville Ballet

WHERE:

The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, 501 W. Main Street, Louisville KY 40202 

WHEN

Monday-Friday, June 24-28

Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Friday, 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.*

*Final performance on Friday,June 28 at 5 p.m. at the Bomhard Theater.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

Since 1991, The Kentucky Center's ArtsReach program has collaborated with community centers throughout Metro Louisville to provide quality arts programs and professional development with a strong emphasis on hands-on arts experiences. Through an innovative approach and connection to the cultural
heritage of Louisville's communities, the arts are no longer an afterthought in the development of healthy, self-assured, dynamic youth, families and adults with disabilities. ArtsReach works with community non-profits including libraries, parks, church-based non-profits, boys & girls clubs and
neighborhood community centers.

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You're invited! Local ONE MILLION BONES exhibit (May 20) on Kentucky Center front steps

This June, “one million bones” which have been crafted out of clay at workshops by tens of thousands of children and young adults, will be installed all across the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to bring awareness to the human costs of genocide and ongoing conflicts around the globe.

On May 20, The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts will host a similar installation of bones that have been made in Kentucky before they are transported to the national exhibition in Washington.

Local community members, school children and participants in The Kentucky Center’s ArtsReach program worked with artist in residence Aletia Robey to create bones which will be temporarily installed at the Center. The installation will be open to the public for viewing during regular Kentucky Center hours. 
 
The installation is timed to coincide with the Dalai Lama’s visit to Louisville, in an effort to reinforce his message of, and our community’s commitment to, compassionate engagement.

The Kentucky Center’s ArtsReach program regularly collaborates with community centers throughout Metro Louisville to provide quality, hands-on arts experiences and professional development to engage and educate in new and eye-opening ways. 

The national One Million Bones initiative, conceived as a visible petition against genocide and conflict-related crises, is designed to raise awareness of the suffering and struggle of people in Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burma and Somalia.

More powerful than a signature, these bones become tangible ways for ArtsReach students to engage in art, culture, and global issues.

Join us for free ArtsReach Showcase May 19, 4pm (Dance, Spoken Word, Instrumental Music...)

Community Youth Perform in ArtsReach Showcase

As reported on WFPL.org by Erin Keane:  http://www.wfpl.org/post/community-youth-perform-artsreach-showcase

Hip hop dancers and Suzuki Method-trained violinists will share the stage Sunday at The Kentucky Center’s ArtsReach showcase. The annual show features community youth arts groups performing in the Kentucky Center’s Bomhard Theatre, including special guests River City Drum Corps, whose director, Ed White, has a long-standing relationship with ArtsReach.

Violin instructor Keith Cook teaches Suzuki Method through the Presbyterian Early Childhood Center, Meyzeek Community School and WESTEC, his own studio. His students are among several local groups performing Sunday.

The 22-year-old outreach education program develops free arts education for youth who otherwise don’t have access to lessons. Violin is popular; there's also demand for dance classes. 

“We select different art forms we feel young people will identify with and enjoy studying,” says director Julia Youngblood. “But we also know that many students, in the public school system especially, are not able to pay for private lessons, so we want to make lessons available on a weekly basis in community center settings.”

Through ArtsReach, the Kentucky Center has spread its model throughout the state, developing more than 100 arts education initiatives in eight Kentucky communities with funding assistance from the Kentucky Arts Council.

“We choose different performing arts centers around the state and we ask them to identify community center settings they would like to work with, and we pair them up and provide some professional development and offer them some grant opportunities to program the arts in their community,” says Youngblood.

Several dance ensembles will perform on Sunday, including the Oscar Cross Step Crew, a dance ensemble based at the Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club in Paducah. Local dance groups include dance ensembles Soljettes Dance Team and the ArtsReach dance studio, based in the Chestnut Street YMCA.

A similar dance studio at Shawnee Arts and Culture Center has grown into a competitive ensemble, Youngblood says, featuring a hybrid style of hip hop and contemporary dance instruction. The 15-member ensemble will perform four numbers at the showcase.

“That was one of our first groups we had auditions for rather than whoever was interested,” says Youngblood. “We made it a competitive process.”

Hosted by actor and arts educator Keith McGill, Sunday’s showcase is free and begins at 4 p.m. Tickets are not required. 

To see more photos from The Kentucky Center's performances and statewide Education and Community Arts programs, visit us on FLICKR.

Dancer with Ailey II talks about benefit of Kentucky Center ArtsReach program

 

When you watch the compelling video above – and see and hear this young dancer describe her journey – it is easy to understand how ArtsReach, just one of The Kentucky Center’s statewide education programs, improves lives and creates opportunities.

This weekend, we invite you to join us for the annual ArtsReach Performance Showcase as our Studio program students and special guests celebrate the joy of live performance:

ARTSREACH Performance Showcase
Sunday, May 19, 4 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater

This is a free event, no ticket purchase or RSVP is needed.

KENTUCKY CENTER TO TAKE PART IN CITY-WIDE CELEBRATION OF COMPASSION AND DALAI LAMA’S VISIT

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rob Thomas, rthomas@kentuckycenter.org, (502) 562-0794

 This month, as the city prepares to welcome the Dalai Lama, several special events will be held to celebrate Louisville’s status as a “Compassionate City” and Mayor Greg Fischer’s mission to make the city a friendlier, more caring place to live and visit. The Kentucky Center will be participating in, hosting, and supporting many of these events.

 The Compassionate Resolution

The Kentucky Center has drafted and approved a resolution to uphold the Charter for Compassion, signifying our commitment to being a compassionate organization via such elements as empowerment, transparency, hospitality and abundance.  To ensure this resolution has tangible outcomes at The  Center, a staff committee has been formed (named “Centered on Compassion”) to identify the compassionate work The Center has already been doing, to monitor the progress of our "compassionate” identity, and brainstorm/execute additional ways in which we can embrace the principles of this resolution. 

One Million Bones

On May 20, a version of the Washington, D.C. One Million Bones exhibit will be installed at The Kentucky Center. These bones were created by local community members, school children and participants in The Kentucky Center’s ArtsReach program along with artist-in-residence Aletia Robey as a visible petition against genocide and conflict-related crises. Initially conceived for and soon to be placed on the National Mall, the One Million Bones initiative is designed to raise awareness of the suffering and struggle of people in Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burma and Somalia. Each bone that is created nets one dollar towards reconstruction efforts in war-torn communities around the globe. The exhibit will be installed on the front steps of The Kentucky Center on Monday, May 20, from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.  This exhibit will be on display until 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 21.

"Youth Engaging Compassion", A Dialogue with the Dalai Lama at The Kentucky Center

On May 21, The Dalai Lama will conduct a dialogue with youth from across the Commonwealth at The Kentucky Center.  These students were asked to describe what compassion means to them and develop questions for the Dalai Lama. During the dialogue, ten questions will be selected from among those submitted, and those that posed these questions will deliver them on stage. The mission of Youth Engaging Compassion (YEC) is to ignite compassion in the hearts of young people by sustaining the unquenchable fire that warms the world and the soul. The program celebrates acts of compassion so that suffering is eased and pain is lessoned on the journey toward a more compassionate world.  For more information about YEC, please visit www.youthengagingcompassion.org. 

 
Photo: Weber Globe during construction

The Weber Gallery Art Globe

As part of the Weber Gallery’s wider Striped Show exhibition, The Kentucky Center’s South Lobby will be hosting a 6-feet tall revolving globe of the earth from May 13-22. The Earth’s continents and seas are comprised completely of 1,500 colored canvas stripes painted by children, the Louisville Visual Arts Association (LVAA) Open Door classes, and people with disabilities; after which the stripes are shaped and applied to the globe by Tara Remington of LVAA. The collage of stripes showcases the favorite colors, interests and ideas of its creators. One strip features a pair of hands cradling the Earth. Others display a cross, a Star of David, various music notes, a basketball court, a ladybug, suns and smiling faces—all illustrations of what the artists believed make the world a beautiful place. Initial support for the exhibition was provided by a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support provided by Louisville Metro Arts and the Council on Development Disabilities.

Festival of Faiths: "Sacred Silence"

The Globe will be at The Kentucky Center in conjunction with the Dalai Lama’s visit and a special series from the Festival of Faiths, entitled “Sacred Silence: Pathway to Compassion,” which will take place May 14-19 at the Galt House Hotel and Actor’s Theatre of Louisville. These events will include lessons on and practice of meditation, silence and compassion.   

The Tibetan Freedom Concert

The Tibetan Freedom Concert, taking place at the Brown Theatre on May 21, will feature Kentucky native and popular cellist Ben Sollee alongside other local and Tibetan musicians, including Grammy nominated world music composer and former monk Nawang Khechog. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Drepung Gomang Institute, Louisville’s Tibetan Buddhist Center and the host organization of Engaging Compassion and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Tickets available at www.kentuckycenter.org.

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THANK YOU for making KY GIVES Day such a success!

THANK YOU to everyone who participated in KY GIVES Day! Over $330,000 was raised to support nonprofit organizations across the state. We are deeply grateful to those individuals who made a donation in support of The Kentucky Center’s Education and Community Arts programs. Thanks to your
generosity, we finished in the top 30 organizations based on donations received, from among over 375 participating nonprofits. Plus we received an additional donation – a “golden ticket” prize – from the Kentucky Nonprofit Network. What a wonderful day! We will definitely put those dollars to good use
serving youth and adults throughout the Commonwealth.

KY GIVES DAY is April 24! Support The Kentucky Center's Education and Community Arts Programs.

April 24, 2013 is KY GIVES DAY, a 24-hr event where people across the state of Kentucky will log onto a single web site to make donations to support their favorite nonprofit organizations and worthy causes.

On April 24, The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts invites you to make a donation in support of our award-winning Education and Community Arts programs:

Arts in Healing

ArtsReach

Governor's School for the Arts

These programs, closely aligned with our institutional mission, educate, inspire, and improve quality of life for youth and adults in all 120 counties of the Commonwealth.

Click here to make your donation on April 24.

Busy on 4/24? You can follow the instructions below to make a donation in advance - and schedule it to be processed along with other KY GIVES gifts on the 24th.

How to schedule your donation:

Visit www.kygives.org.

Scroll halfway down the page and click on the green "Connect with Nonprofits" button.

Next page: In the "Search for a Cause" box, type in "Kentucky Center for the Arts Endowment Fund." Hit the SEARCH button.

In the Search Results, click our link.

On our page,enter your total donation amount.

From the drop-down menu under "Make This Donation Occur...", select "On A Giving Day."

On the next page, fill out your payment information. At the bottom of the page, above the SUBMIT NOW button, you'll notice the sentence that explains your donation will be processed on April 24, 2013.

Be sure to hit SUBMIT NOW to put your donation into the processing queue.

Kentucky Center ARTSREACH program participates in national One Million Bones Project

 

Eleven Kentucky Center ArtsReach sites are participating in the national One Million Bones Project.  Watch the video to better understand the scope of this activity.

At this time, ArtsReach staff and youth have been among hundreds of individuals to sculpt over 10,000 clay pieces.  The “bones” will be displayed in Louisville on the front steps of The Kentucky Center during the May visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and then transported to Washington, DC to be part of the larger installation.

ArtsReach director Julia Youngblood said, “I have been getting rave reviews from all the participating sites. The students have been heavily engaged and it has been very beneficial for them on a humanitarian level to learn about and be engaged in this project concerning violent conflicts in the world.  The act of making the bones from clay (in remembrance) opens the way for many conversations and greater understanding. ArtsReach participants are excited that for each bone created money will be donated to assist those that are rebuilding their lives in war torn regions.”

Learn more about The Kentucky Center ArtsReach program.

Celebrating record attendance at annual "Keepers of the Dream" event (see photos)

On Sunday January 27, The Kentucky Center ArtsReach Program, Louisville Central Community Centers, Louisville Metro Government and River City Drum Corp presented "Keepers of the Dream", a Community Arts Celebration of Dr. King’s Vision. The event, held in Whitney Hall at The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, was attended by over 1600 people.

Prior to the performance and award ceremony, guests visited interactive lobby exhibits and enjoyed pre-show entertainment by the Peg Leg Pete Quartet, Truth B Told, Kenny Fresh, Cole Goodrich, Derainge Barz, D-Twist, R’Shawnea, Marlesha Cooper, Megan Perkins & Toni Wheeler.

In the spirit of Dr. King, the "Keepers of the Dream" program acknowledged the creative and administrative service to community by Ms. Anita Neil, Rod Napier and Diane Harrod. Mayor Greg Fischer presented Ish Burks with the 2013 Freedom Award. 

 

Spoken word artist Christopher "Truth B Told" Owens served as emcee for the evening which included performances by multiple community and guest artists.

View more photos from the event.

Performers included:

* vocalist Calvin Ramirez

* River City Drum Corp drum line with La’Nita Rocknette Dancers en pointe

* O’Dell Henderson and Will McBride reciting King’s famous "I have A Dream" speech

*Drumbeats for Justice, Peace and Righteousness paid tribute to the photographs
of Aukram Burton with percussion by Joan Brannon and Sisters of the Sacred
Drum

*Mike Tolbert, Baba Kenyatta, Yetunde Adeyinka and Women of the Drum

*ArtsReach Dance Ensemble and ArtsReach Dance Studio (Chestnut Street YMCA)

*Spoken word artists Gary "Edjukated Rebel" Brice, Samuel Hawkins, and Kenny Fresh

*West Louisville Boys & Girls Choir and Crosby Middle School Super Tight Step Team

*ArtsReach Violin Studio with guest artist-in-residence Lewis Eichelberger

The show concluded with an uplifting "Happy Birthday" tribute featuring young dancers Trinity Edison and Irena Fletcher of Louisville Central Community Centers who set the scene for the lively reception in The Kentucky Center’s East Room.

The Kentucky Center ArtsReach program receives grant from Dizzy Feet Foundation

For its dedication to providing arts education to under-served youth in community settings, The Kentucky Center’s ArtsReach program was recently awarded a Community Program grant from the Dizzy Feet Foundation (DFF). The Dizzy Feet Foundation was founded in 2009 by Nigel Lythgoe, Adam Shankman, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Katie Holmes, among others, to support, improve, and increase access to dance education in the United States.  

The Dizzy Feet Foundation provides grants to community organizations and other tax-exempt entities in the United States which provide dance education programs to children in low-income areas and disadvantaged communities. Through its grant recipients, DFF seeks to give children the experience of dance, to educate them about the many styles of dance, and to expose them to the lifelong benefits of dance. Other recipients of 2013 grants include:  Axis Dance Company, BalletMet Columbus, Chance to Dance, Children’s Dance Foundation, Culture Shock D.C, Dynamic Forms, Kids Excel El Paso, Luna Dance Institute, and The Wooden Floor & the Vancouver Public Schools Arts Program.  

The Dizzy Feet Foundation Grant received by ArtsReach will support the expansion of the dance studio experience which provides on-going dance classes, performance opportunities, tickets to see world-renowned dance performances, and residency opportunities with organizations such as the Dance Theatre of Harlem. The 2012 ArtsReach Dance Ensemble, which blends contemporary and hip hop dance,  currently rehearses at the Shawnee Arts and Cultural Center, and earlier in the summer the organization worked with Safiyyah Dance to offer an onsite hip-hop dance camp for one-hundred and twenty students. The DFF grant will provide support for similar programs well into 2013.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

Since 1991, The Kentucky Center's ArtsReach program has collaborated with community centers throughout Metro Louisville to provide quality arts programs and professional development with a strong emphasis on hands-on arts experiences. Through an innovative approach and connection to the cultural heritage of Louisville's communities, the arts are no longer an afterthought in the development of healthy, self-assured, dynamic youth, families and adults with disabilities. ArtsReach works with community non-profits including libraries, parks, church-based non-profits, boys & girls clubs and neighborhood community centers. 

QUESTIONS? Please contact Rob Thomas, (502) 562-0794, rthomas@kentuckycenter.org.