Gayle Danley at Compass House

Slam poet Gayle Danley presented at Compass House on Thursday, October 10. The shelter, for runaway and homeless youth, hosts Writing for Life, a  YA-WNY residency that encourages the expression of difficult emotions through the creation of “altered books,” journals of memoir writing and found imagery. Funded with major support from the John R. Oishei Foundation, the program is taught by teaching artist Sherry Robbins and art therapist Kristen Crossen, with a performance/presentation by Danley.

Arts and Education Director Sunnylee Mowery and Program Director Palmer Davis attended the performance. Both were inspired to witness firsthand the ways the arts empower youth, enrich lives, and erase barriers between different age groups, as interns, staff, teenagers and performer discussed poetry, relationships and self-expression in a productive setting.

Announcing to the group seated in chairs and couches that she was going to perform some slam poetry, as soon as pen and paper were passed around, Danley engaged the young people by insisting they score her work, and encouraging a conversation about what to title her newer pieces. Danley soon had the entire group laughing, singing and crying along with her, as she shared personal memories of her parents, children and early years as a poet. After a set of fourteen poems, Danley asked everyone to share their scores, giving the young people the opportunity to provide some gentle critique of her work.

The evening wrapped up with three teenagers spontaneously sharing poetry of their own. One read a piece he had written during Danley’s performance, one recited a piece from memory, and a third read from her cell phone several poems she had posted online. Danley provided personalized suggestions for each of them, urging everyone to use writing as a safe outlet for their feelings.

A Rhythm Runs Through It! at Heritage Centers After School

This month, YA-WNY is beginning a long-term residency at Heritage Centers After School Program with funding from the Children’s Guild Foundation.

A Rhythm Runs Through It is a long-term arts integration program incorporating dance, music, yoga, and visual arts for young people throughout the year, in a 33-visit residency at the Heritage Centers After School Program.  A Rhythm Runs Through It includes multi-session residencies with YA-WNY Teaching Artists — Sarah Hooper, Miriam Minkoff and Jen Russo.  The program builds sequential skills that develop physical coordination, visual communication abilities, and confidence, using rhythm as the unifying element.  As multiple artists introduce participants to their art forms, the program progresses through a variety of skills.

A Rhythm Runs Through It is a unique program because it leverages kinesthetic activities, literacy skills and creative expression to help participants develop comprehensive coordination and communication abilities.  The program uses the arts to apply the findings of current research on how kinesthetic activities enhance brain development, physical and mental coordination, and language processing.

A Rhythm Runs Through It is also unique because of the unusual partnership between an arts organization like YA-WNY and a human service agency such as Heritage Centers.  The program provides a learning opportunity for all stakeholders that builds capacity for long-term partnerships between YA-WNY and special needs educators.

The ultimate objective of A Rhythm Runs Through It is to help young people with special needs become more independent, confident, and productive.  Young people who have special needs often find success through the arts, leading to greater confidence in all academic subjects. 

Save the Date! theatreFigüren presents Underground, Over the Moon

theatreFigüren will present  ”Underground, Over the Moon” at:

Open Hand Theater & Puppet Museum, Syracuse, NY
Feb. 6th, 2010 - 11:00 a.m.

Lancaster Opera House
Feb. 9th, 2010 - 10:00 am

Riviera Theater
Feb. 23 & 24th, 2010 - 10:00 a.m.

Kenan Center
March 25th & 26th, 2010 - 10:00 a.m.
also,  ”The Great Shiner’s Show” will be presented at the Kenan Center on the evenings of March 26th & 27th

Gusto at the Gallery October 9 at Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Save the Date! Join us for a FREE showcase of our programs for families, young and old alike.

Travel on the Erie Canal with Young Audiences

4:30pm-8:30pm October 9, 2009

• Traveling Museum – with Helga MacKinnon, explore artifacts from the era
• Journeys and Journals – imagine you live during the Canal’s heyday with Melissa Kate
• Collage an Erie Canal Postcard with Gerald Mead
• Gretchen Murray Sepik is Surly Sal, a cook on the Erie Canal
• The Stringmen, Doug Yeomans and Geoffrey Perry play the songs of the Erie Canal Era

Traveling Artists -- Book these outstanding artists while they will be in town!

Chinese Theatre Works — March 10-12, 2010
Cubanana — October 19-21, 2009 and May 24-26, 2010
Dance China — March 15-19, 2010
J.P. Somersaulter — May 24-26, 2010
Taikoza — May 3-7, 2010

Dance at Cradle Beach this Summer

Young Audiences artists, Cindy Hanna and Sarah Hooper recently completed a five week residency at the Cradle Beach Summer Camp in Angola, NY. Using dance as a tool to promote socialization and self-expression, these artists helped students with various disabilities to engage with a range of musical genres and discover the joy of movement through dance.

Sarah Hooper, a new addition to the Young Audience roster, taught five Salsa and Hip-Hop workshops. Sarah used sequenced dance moves and freestyle, improvisational “krumping” techniques to introduce campers to urban modes of popular dance. Sarah noted a strong student interest in her Hip-Hop classes and aided her students in incorporating their newly acquired moves into creatively choreographed group dances to be performed at the Camp de Cirque closing ceremonies.

In her sixth year as a teaching artist at Cradle Beach, Cindy Hanna provided campers with the chance to explore the art of tap dance and designed a Tribute to Michael Jackson workshop where students learned about “The King of Pop” through his music and dance. Cindy was honored with an award dinner and interactive dance party where she was thanked for her long-running commitment to the Cradle Beach community.

General Mills and Young Audiences Keep it Moving

With support from General Mills, YA-WNY will provide fitness and nutrition education through Keep it Moving! a 35 week after school dance residency. Led by Cindy Hanna, Sarah Hooper, Leslie Wexler and Kip Ralabate, this program will be offered at Buffalo’s Main Street Salvation Army and a Boys & Girls Club during the 2009-2010 school year.

By teaching dance as a form of fitness as well as a form of creative expression, the residency’s primary goal is to give participants enjoyable, rewarding ways to keep moving. Each session will begin with a teaching artist’s performance on the dance style involved (styles covered include Ballroom, Modern, Jazz, Salsa, and Hip-Hop). After each lesson, a journaling activity will encourage reflection on what students have learned, and ways they can incorporate dance, a healthy diet and physical activity into their daily lives.

Keep it Moving! hopes to share our teaching artists’ experience and passion for dance with children who may not otherwise have the opportunity to kick up their heels… and in so doing, learn that fitness can indeed be fun.

Young Audiences of Western New York announces new leadership

After twelve years of service to Young Audiences of Western New York, Inc., Helga MacKinnon retired on July 31. Cynnie Gaasch, previously YA-WNY’s Director of Development, has stepped into the role of Executive Director.

Ms. MacKinnon had a significant impact on the organization. While YA-WNY only offered assembly performances when MacKinnon began, she prioritized classroom programming and curriculum-supportive residencies to increase student exposure to the arts. Specifically, MacKinnon led the development of the multi-disciplinary Journeys and Journals: Traveling on the Erie Canal Residency for 4^th and 7^th graders, and Writing for Life, a visual and literary arts program for “at-risk” youth.

MacKinnon initiated Empire State Partnerships for 11 years, partnering with Waterfront in Buffalo, Holland, and Holley Elementary Schools, with significant support from New York State Council on the Arts. She also developed after school residencies for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Buffalo in 1997.  After school and summer residencies continue to be a major piece of YA-WNY’s programming.

Ms. Gaasch will build on the organization’s strengths, expanding and developing programs to best serve the young people of Western New York.  This year YA-WNY begins Keep It Moving! a fitness and dance after school program with support from General Mills, and will build a multi-disciplinary residency around the Underground Railroad in Western New York, with support from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. To provide more accessible information about the organization, YA-WNY plans to lauch a redesigned website and online catalog in early fall of 2009. With these and similar initiatives, Gaasch looks forward to furthering the services the organization offers Western New York.

We’ve just finished a compilation of the valuable information on differentiated instruction presented during our Arts Abilities Conference. This PDF handbook is available as a download from our website. From Kristen Crosson’s insights on emotional intelligence, to Gayle Danley’s “Five Steps to Slam,” you’ll find the handbook a useful resource for educating students with diverse learning styles.

Writing for Life

Young Audiences of WNY is concluding a third year providing Writing for Life to young people, with major support from the John R. Oishei Foundation and in partnership with Renaissance Campus and Compass House Resource Center.

Renaissance Campus and Compass House Resource Center serve young people who are recovering from drug addictions, escaping unsafe home environments or life on the streets. This unusual collaboration is a natural partnership: each organization strives to enhance young people’s development and learning and increase their sense of self-worth in order to provide them with the tools to be successful and productive individuals within their communities.

Writing for Life is a 10 to 12 week residency with writer/ poet, Sherry Robbins and visual artist Kristen Crosson. The students were lead through writing and visual arts workshops; they were inspired through found imagery and create poetry and related visual art. Gayle Danley, an award winning slam poet who deals with grief and healing, loss, urban life, and the importance of friendships, presented workshops and a performance to kick off the residency.

Read Student poetry here. In the poem “Imprisoned,” students wrote:

loud, impulsive
she smiles
down, gone and out.
She went berserk for awhile.

neurotransmitters- Malfunction
radioactive- Brainwaves
infuriating! Pulsating!

Writing for Life concluded at Renaissance Campus with a final reading by participants for family, friends, staff, and appropriate community members, followed by a small reception to celebrate their achievements.

Approximately 250 young people have been served for each of the three years the residency has been offered. The Peter C. Cornell Trust, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, New York State Alliance for Arts Education, the Partners for Arts Education Technical Assistance Program, and the Baird Foundation have provided additional support for this program. Writing for Life originated in 2002 with support from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation. We thank the John R. Oishei Foundation for their long term support.