Learning in and through the Arts

Gayle Danley at Compass House

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:02:00 -0400

Slam poet Gayle Danley presented at Compass House on Thursday, October 10. The shelter, for runaway...

A Rhythm Runs Through It! at Heritage Centers After School

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:32:26 -0400

This month, YA-WNY is beginning a long-term residency at Heritage Centers After School Program with...

Save the Date! theatreFigüren presents Underground, Over the Moon

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:50:55 -0400

theatreFigüren will present ”Underground, Over the Moon” at: Open Hand Theater &...

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

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:37:00 -0400

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

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

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:32:54 -0400

Chinese Theatre Works — March 10-12, 2010Cubanana — October 19-21, 2009 and May 24-26,...

Dance at Cradle Beach this Summer

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:25:00 -0400

Young Audiences artists, Cindy Hanna and Sarah Hooper recently completed a five week...

General Mills and Young Audiences Keep it MovingWith support...

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:22:00 -0400

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...

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:59:00 -0400

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...

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:43:00 -0400

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

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:08:00 -0400

Young Audiences of WNY is concluding a third year providing Writing for Life to young people, with...

Budding poets at Lovejoy Discovery School #43

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:25:00 -0400

Annette Daniels-Taylor worked with second and seventh graders at Lovejoy Discovery School #43 to...

YA-WNY Teaching Artist Gretchen Sepik brings history to life for...

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:49:00 -0400

YA-WNY Teaching Artist Gretchen Sepik brings history to life for grade school students. She recently shared her experiences at one of our rural schools.

Had a wonderful time today at Barker School. Maureen Misiti, fifth grade teacher, had decorated her room to look like the inside of a council house. She even had a fake fire and subdued lighting to give it the feel of a real council house. One of her guests was a woman from the Seneca nation, Jeanie, who brought corn soup and fry bread for the kids to try. I taught the children how to say, “thank you” in Seneca so they could thank her when she served them their food.

NEA reports decline in arts audiences for 2008

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:38:00 -0400

NEA reports decline in arts audiences for 2008: — David Ng — Los Angeles Times —...

TA Melissa Kate's must-see summer performances

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:12:56 -0400

Melissa Kate has taught for YA-WNY for about three years, sharing her musical talent with students...

Kyoko Roszmann’s Biomes Teach Ecology and World CultureAs...

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:49:00 -0400

Kyoko Roszmann’s Biomes Teach Ecology and World Culture
As part of YA-WNY’s Empire State Partnership with the Holley School District, the third grade students at Holley Elementary School worked with teaching artist Kyoko Roszmann to create murals representing four of the earth’s biomes, or ecosystems, using traditional origami techniques. Students made origami animals, plants, and people, which were then arranged on the mural.

As always, Kyoko’s playful teaching methods educate and entertain simultaneously. The monks on the peaks were inspired by Kyoko’s recent trip to Bhutan, in the Himalaya Mountains, while the men in white and the women in saris represent the people of India. The people clad in plaid depict Americans from the Blue Ridge Mountains. If you squint, you may even spot Elvis.

June 10th Follow the Sun! Benefit a Huge Success

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:48:06 -0400

Supporters of YA-WNY met at Shanghai Red’s on Buffalo’s historic waterfront on June 10th...

Third Annual Arts Abilities Conference: Addressing the Needs of...

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:46:34 -0400

Third Annual Arts Abilities Conference:
Addressing the Needs of Diverse Learners in and through the Arts

Collaborating with the Art Partners Program at Buffalo State College as well as Starlight Studio, this year’s conference included pre-service college students, educators, human service providers and teaching artists. More than one hundred attendees participated in visual, verbal and musical activities they could then use in their own work to engage diverse learners.

As our attendees told us:

I was so impressed by the dedication and commitment of all presenters
Very inspired to continue developing my own programs as well as moving on with more exploration into the field
This conference is so affirming, informative, and very inspiring
Great price, amazing presenters. I feel refreshed and connected!
This was an excellent tool for professional development

The conference focused on the theory and practice of differentiating instruction to meet the range of learning differences found in today’s classrooms, community centers, clinics, after school programs and other settings where the arts are taught.

With support from the Buffalo Teachers Center, YA-WNY has...

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:29:00 -0400

With support from the Buffalo Teachers Center, YA-WNY has provided Journeys and Journals: Traveling on the Erie Canal and the Phonics Program: Alphabet Awareness in Buffalo Schools for many years. These long-term residencies were offered in 98 Buffalo Public School classrooms during the 2008-2009 school year.

Journeys and Journals: A Trip Down the Erie Canal

This residency invites students to take a personal journey down the Erie Canal by speaking through the voices of the era. A YA-WNY poet/writer encourages students to express themselves through different literary exercises using vintage maps, photographs, drawings, and imaginative prompts. The poet/writer can incorporate concepts that the classroom teacher would like to focus on. Students learn to write in character, helping them develop a sense of narrative and delve more deeply into the details of daily life in a small town from the past. Over several workshops, the students create interrelated narratives involving multiple culturally and ethnically diverse characters.

The Phonics Program: Alphabet Awareness

This innovative program, created by Jerry Raven, Cindy Hanna and Marna Burstein, uses multiple stimuli to teach phonics to pre-Kindergarten through first grade students. Using songs, dances, signing and visual arts, each consonant or vowel is attached to a variety of activities which establish and reinforce the connection of the letter to its corresponding sounds. The Phonics Program addresses the needs of students who struggle with the traditional approach to reading, by acknowledging that not all students learn in the same way, or at the same rate. The Residency culminates in a celebratory performance by all participating students.

Holland Elementary School Partnership This slideshow shows the...

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:04:11 -0400

Holland Elementary School Partnership

This slideshow shows the students at Holland’s H.O. Brumsted Elementary participating in long-term arts residencies offered with support, in part from the New York State Council on the Arts through an Empire State Partnership with young Audiences of Western New York.

Images include 1st Graders working on “Community Quilts” with teaching artist Cynnie Gaasch, and Kindergarteners working with teaching artist Maggie Parks on a recycling and the environment visual arts project.

Holley Central School Partnership This slideshow highlights the...

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:00:00 -0400

Holley Central School Partnership

This slideshow highlights the partnership between Holley Central Schools and Young Audiences of Western New York. Young Audiences provides arts-in-education programming to every student in the Holley School District. This is made possible by support secured by the school district, and funding secured by Young Audiences from the New York State Council on the Arts and the MetLife Dance for Life program.

Featured in this slideshow are 11th graders working with dancer Kip Ralabate, Elementary school students working with dancer Elizabeth Clark, Middle School students Square Dancing with Mike Callahan, 8th graders working with poet Robin Brox, and 5th graders working on memoirs and pop up memory books with teaching artists Sherry Robbins and Kyoko Roszman,