Education Nancy Warzer-Brady Education Nancy Warzer-Brady

New Dance Education Program! Moving Santa Ana

Livestream via zoom starting April 14th!

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Through a grant from the City of Santa Ana, Parks, Recreation and Community Services, we are overjoyed to present free ballet and creative dance classes for ages 3-12 to Santa Ana youth. Our classes will be fun and engaging, providing new and exciting experiences building skills,  technique, and expression through dance! Spring session will be virtual and starts April 14th. Performances at the end of each session for friends, family, and the entire community. No experience needed, and classes are open and accessible to all Santa Ana-based young children to youth. Help us spread the word! 

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Education Nancy Warzer-Brady Education Nancy Warzer-Brady

BD Online + Imagination Celebration Family Arts Festival

Backhausdance virtual classes are part of the 36th annual county-wide Imagination Celebration family arts festival!

Backhausdance is excited to present our upcoming virtual classes as part of the 2021 Imagination Celebration, Orange County’s only county-wide family arts festival held annually each spring, in partnership with Arts Orange County and the Orange County Department of Education. Linking to this year’s theme of ‘Imagination Thrives,” you’re invited to express yourself, have some fun dancing, and let your imagination soar! No experience needed! Here’s the schedule of our upcoming BD Online livestream classes included in Imagination Celebration:

 
  • Move with Us for Every Body - Tuesdays, April 20, May 18, 6 pm - 7 pm 

  • Company Class - Thursday, May 13, 9:30 am - 11 am

  • Ballet and Creative Dance- ages 3-5 and 6-8 - recorded classes on-demand

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Education Kaitlin Regan Education Kaitlin Regan

Happy National #STEMSTEAMDay!

Today is national STEM/STEAM day — a day to celebrate and focus on ways to inspire the next generation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

WHAT IS STEM?

STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

In our world of continual technological development, STEM skills are becoming more and more important. In addition to the study of these fields, STEM inspires the development of 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, questioning, problem solving and collaboration. 

Happy National STEM/STEAM Day from Backhausdance

Today is national STEM/STEAM day — a day to celebrate and focus on ways to inspire the next generation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

WHAT IS STEM?

STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

In our world of continual technological development, STEM skills are becoming more and more important. In addition to the study of these fields, STEM inspires the development of 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, questioning, problem solving and collaboration. 

STEM VS. STEAM

The benefits of including arts education in these areas has been proposed and discussed among educators in recent years. Incorporating the arts (A) alongside the study of STEM can help cultivate deeper interest, engagement, and understanding in these fields. Adding the arts creates STEAM!

VIDEO: A peek inside Backhausdance’s “Physical Science Moves” assembly. Students are exposed to modern dance and experience how moving our bodies can enhance our understanding of physical science concepts.

BD’S COMMITMENT TO STEAM

After two Backhausdance members were invited to participate in a research study teaching science through dance and visual arts, the company began creating STEAM based assemblies, workshops, and residencies to offer in schools. 

Movement coincides naturally with physical science concepts. Dance can provide kinesthetic access to examine and experience ideas such as force, energy, and the properties of matter in different states.

During Backhausdance’s “Physical Science Moves” assembly, students are asked to think critically before the dancers demonstrate specific science concepts through modern dance. Based on the company’s piece, The Elasticity of the Almost, this interactive experience calls on students to participate in movement activities that relate to the ideas presented throughout the program.

In workshops and residencies, students have the opportunity to explore, experiment and create movement that demonstrates physical science concepts. Problem solving and collaborating with their peers, students develop their ideas for a culmination performance.

YOUR TURN …JOIN US IN ADDING THE “A” IN STEAM!

You can explore some physical science ideas through dance and movement, too!

Think about the different states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. 

What comes to mind when you think of the word solid? Sturdy? Dense? How can you move your body or create shapes with your body that represent matter at its solid state?

What about matter as a liquid? Maybe the words flowing and smooth come to mind. Try moving you body in flowing and smooth manner. Imagine water in an ocean or lake …how does that water move? Now explore that type of movement with your body. 

Next try these ideas with matter as a gas.

There is no right or wrong way to interpret these ideas and make them into your own movement. That is just one of the many wonderful things about art!


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Happy National #STEMSTEAMDay from Backhausdance!
 
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