San Diego Based Youth Arts Project
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transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project to Bring 5 Site-Specific Performances to ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station
Original dance, music, and spoken word performances are planned to highlight and activate ARTS DISTRICT spaces throughout November and December
October 30, 2018 – San Diego – transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project is in residence at ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station throughout November and December, 2018.
The performances, titled Intersections, celebrate and study San Diego’s unique history as both an immigrant community and military city. The performances will take audiences on a journey across multiple geographies, incorporating the natural landscapes and dynamic architectural offerings of ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station. The dances are inspired by the stories of people who have migrated to San Diego or trained at the former Naval Training Center. Intersections is a one-of-a-kind journey into the history, tradition, and beauty of ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station.
Visitors to ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station will have the opportunity to enjoy these site-specific dance performances on November 2, November 18, December 2, December 7, and December 15. Two performances will coincide with Friday Night Liberty, San Diego’s biggest monthly art walk, and the rest will be part of Salute The Season, Liberty Station’s signature holiday festival. Each unique performance promises to give visitors an experience they’ll never forget.
Meeting locations and performance routes will vary, giving audiences a choose-your-own-adventure style experience. Spectators may choose to meet the group for the beginning of the performance and travel with it for its 45-minute duration, while others might happen upon the ensemble mid-performance and watch for just a few moments. This spontaneity and chance are hallmarks of this residency.
Intersections Dates, Starting Times, and Meeting Locations:
Friday, November 2, 2018 – 6:30pm in the hall between Pinot’s Palette and Solare
Sunday, November 18, 2018 – 1:00pm in the courtyard outside Moment Bicycles
Sunday, December 2, 2018 – 1:15pm at Luce Court near the fountain
Friday, December 7, 2018 – 6:30pm in the courtyard outside Moment Bicycles
Saturday, December 15, 2018 – 6:00pm outside Moniker General near the Fire Ring
Intersections is an interdisciplinary dance theater experience featuring 5 transcenDANCE alumni dancers, live music from Kristopher Apple, and spoken word by Miesha Rice Wilson. The work is created by transcenDANCE Associate Artistic Director Tonnie Sammartano and Supporting Choreographer grace jun.
transcenDANCE in residence at ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station is made possible by funding from the California Arts Council, NTC Foundation, County of San Diego Community Enhancement Project, and Anonymous.
About transcenDANCE
transcenDANCE is a Creative Youth Development organization based in National City.
Our mission is to guide youth in underserved San Diego communities to transcend barriers, expand their ambitions, and create positive change for themselves, their families and communities, through dance and performance. The transcenDANCE curriculum involves self-reflection and the examination of local and global social issues, combined with technical dance training and creative expression. As a result, transcenDANCE students build supportive peer and adult relationships and strengthen their social emotional resiliency. transcenDANCE is a 501-3c nonprofit organization that offers year-round free programs through on-site classes, community residencies, a formalized Performance Group, outreach performances, out-of-school time camps, and alumni engagement opportunities.
About the NTC Foundation & ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station
The NTC Foundation was established in 2000 by the City of San Diego as a 501(c)3 nonprofit foundation to enrich the lives of San Diegans by renovating 26 historic buildings at the former Naval Training Center to create, facilitate and operate a broad-based complex focused on experiencing the arts, culture, and creativity that are the hallmark of the San Diego region. The NTC Foundation has oversight over 26 buildings in the ARTS DISTRICT. www.ntcfoundation.org
ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station is San Diego’s largest Arts & Cultural District located in historic buildings at the former Naval Training Center at Liberty Station near Downtown on San Diego Bay. With 100 park-like acres the ARTS DISTRICT is home to nearly 120 museums and galleries, artist studios, dance companies, educational groups, multidisciplinary arts, fine dining, creative retail and other organizations that showcase San Diego’s creative community and provide innovative experiences for the public. The campus also features venues for indoor or outdoor events, festivals, seminars, retreats and meetings. www.libertystation.com/ARTSDISTRICT
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The subject of mental health is gaining attention and becoming increasingly and more openly discussed thanks to campaigns such as May’s Mental Health Awareness Month, which is publicized nationwide. The value of educating around this issue was further amplified for me this year because of the work we’re doing with students in our 2018 CREATE Program.
Each year, a cohort of 20 students – many from National City – are selected through auditions to participate in transcenDANCE’s CREATE Program. Beginning in March, teens enter an intensive 5-month program, during which they explore dance and the performing arts through technical dance training, while simultaneously being immersed in a social change/ emotional resiliency curriculum that incorporates self-reflection, community-building, and life and leadership skills training. Both the curriculum and chosen annual theme inform our students’ work as they co-create pieces for the culminating production of Light Within the Cracks, to be held this year on July 20 & 21 at the Lyceum Theater in downtown San Diego.
There was immediate consensus from the students this year to choose Mental Health as our theme from several possibilities we uncovered during in-depth group reflection and discussion. Unfortunately, the day-to-day reality for most of our teens includes challenging circumstances that come with living in poverty, while also dealing with past traumas – often without support. Some of our teens experience depression and anxiety; many are working to heal the wounds of trauma while dealing with the everyday stressors of transitioning into young adulthood. Quite often, there are too few resources to support young people living in underserved communities.
Core drivers that negatively affect the mental health of today’s teens include traumas such as sexual assault, abuse, and family separations. Not so obvious is the toxic stress that comes from social media and technological “numbing,” the pressure of fitting into socially-constructed identities, and the divisive rhetoric and practices amplified by the current socio-political climate. However, for many San Diego teens, there is also the constant fear that some member of their family will suddenly be removed due to undocumented immigration status. The anxiety produced by all of this is immense.
Many of us in the Creative Youth Development (CYD) field have seen first-hand that the expressive arts can work to aid suicide prevention and improve mental health, especially in conjunction with a Trauma Informed Care approach that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the impact of trauma. CYD programs such as ours are training artistic and program staff on these practices, which creates the safe space and supportive environment for healing and increased resilience.
Each year, our CREATE Program partners bring educational experiences that deepen the learning and this year they are especially relevant to both the current socio-political climate and our theme. The Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma (IVAT), has brought awareness to our students about sexual harassment and concepts like toxic masculinity. Through experiences like these, students are becoming more comfortable with their voice and power – and able to identify how society can perpetuate unhealthy attitudes and behaviors.
Creative Youth Development programs like transcenDANCE uniquely bridge mental health support, the arts, adult mentoring, and youth-driven programs with formalized leadership development. This holistic approach allows teens who have experienced trauma and adversity to change the trajectory of their lives. Often youth programs work with just one of these components. But, by bringing them together under one roof – where dance and creative expression are happening side-by-side with group therapy, and all with a teen focus – we see significant and measurable positive change and growth in the students we serve.
We hope you can join us for Light Within the Cracks – a dance theater performance exploring trauma, mental health, and resilience. Performances are July 20th& 21stat 7pm at the Lyceum Theatre in San Diego. Tickets are available at www.LyceumEvents.org.For more information about transcenDANCE programs, please visit www.tdarts.org.
transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project is a nationally-recognized creative youth development organization located in National City that works with teens in underserved San Diego communities. Our programs change the trajectory of students’ lives by promoting creativity and community engagement, building confidence and resilience, and instilling life-changing skills such as leadership and collaboration.
San Diego’s own nationally-recognized creative youth development organization, transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project, proudly presents Light Within the Cracks, a dynamic dance theatre production that explores mental health, trauma, and resilience. Light Within the Cracks is a timely artistic work co-created by students, alumni, and professional artists using modern, hip-hop, contemporary dance, and text to create a multi-media journey for audiences that is meant to inspire thought-provoking post-performance dialogue.