YouthWorks
YOUTHWORKS 2012 IS HERE!
YOUTHWORKS PERFORMANCES ARE COMING UP!
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28th @ 7PM & SUNDAY, JANUARY 29th @ 5PM
Admission: $5 [Buy Tickets]
Led by YOUTHWORKS Director, Donna Costello, and the festivals coordinator, the YouthWorks program will culminate in two performances at the end of January. Young artists of various disciplines and interests have been working tirelessly with professional artists, also of various disciplines, to create original artistic pieces. This hands-on workshop set out to inspire children’s creativity and ingenuity while instilling vital elements of performance development and process through coaching sessions that have been held on weekly basis since the beginning of December. Two nights of performances will showcase dance, song, theater, and more as developed, performed, and imagined by children from the ages of 7-18.
The YOUTHWORKS WEBUMENTARY is now live!
Click HERE to learn more about YOUTHWORKS through the experience of 2009/2010 YOUTHWORKS participants.
– ALSO –
YOUTHWORKS 2011 was featured in LIFETIME LEARNERS supplement to Dance Magazine and Dance Teacher Magazine.
Click HERE to download a PDF.
A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HELPED WITH THE YOUTHWORKS 2010-2011 PERFORMANCE
On the weekend of Saturday, January 29th and Sunday, January 30th, 2011 BAX was proud to host its annual YOUTHWORKS performance. 29 young people (ages 7-18) from 9 schools including Brooklyn Prospect Charter, M.S. 51, Brooklyn New School, P.S. 321, Berkeley Carroll, P.S. 39, The Urban Assembly Institute of Math, and St. Saviour Elementary had a unique opportunity to create and perform their own personal work with the guidance of professional artists who have served as coaches in a collaborative 8-week creative process that culminated with a performance.
This was a great opportunity for the youth to share their artistic voices in various expressive outlets including short plays, dances, original music compositions and drumming!
You get to make your own dance, you can sing, or do anything.
- 2010/11 YOUTHWORKS participant
I liked it because it was fun to express myself and it was cool to see others’ points of view.
- 2010/11 YOUTHWORKS participant
This year’s performance included works by:
Sofia Ozuna Gormley
Elena Ozuna Gormley
Eleanor Crawford, Molly Ellrodt & Rachel Goluboff
Elena Goluboff, Carla Crawford & Ava Mascuch
Fionna McMeekin & Jocelyn Arroyo
Isabela Adsuar, Caroline San Pietro & Julia Lau Hunt
Jacob Sandman & Che Cappadocia
Julian Galesi
Amelia Olson & Dante Crichlow
Tamar Cohen Eckstein, Cloe Mueller, Hannah Gmach & Maya Gmach
Adele Secrest & David Secrest
Lissa Sangree – Calabrese
Rosie Mazzeo
Noah Mazzeo
Our coaches have come from various backgrounds within the arts such as filmmakers, actors, dancers and choreographers, who have volunteered their time to work as a mentor for our young artists and their creative process.
My favorite part was working with the coaches.
- 2010/11 YOUTHWORKS participant
The coaches were open to ideas.
-2010/11 YOUTHWORKS participant
This year we had a record breaking number of coaches work with the young artists. Over 30 coaches donated their time, among them are:
Karl Anderson, Pele Bauch, Maria Bauman, Meruran Bonilla, Lise Breener, Lynn Brown, Nasrene Haj, Carolyn Hall, Shelia Klein, Natalie Jean Kolbo, Cassie Mey, Dawn Mazzeo, Jen O’Donnell, Jimena Paz, Christine Perotta, Alexa Polmer, Alysia Ramos, Bryan Rogers, Jennifer Schemermund, Lindsay Shields, Christine Siracusa, Amber Sloan, Cynthia St. Clair, Cara Surico, Leigh Stein, Diane Tomasi, Justin Tornow, Marya Wethers.
ABOUT YOUTHWORKS
YOUTHWORKS (formerly Kids Outback) has been going strong since 1991 and is FREE to all participants. It provides a unique opportunity for young people (ages 7- 18) to imagine, create and perform their own original performance work. Professional artists work as coaches to guide these aspiring young artists through an 8-week creative process. Past performances have included plays, dances, poetry in performance, original songs and a movie short. Pieces have been solos, group pieces and have even included a father/daughter collaboration! The culminating performance is fully produced (with lights, sound and stage manager) and takes place in our theater space.
Participants have an opportunity to collaborate in the technical aspects of their performance and experience a technical rehearsal (many for the first time) with our in-house professional technical director.
YOUTHWORKS director, Donna Costello, assisted by the festivals coordinator, leads the orientation session (mandatory for participants), recruits the coaches, coordinates rehearsals and produces the performance.
I love YOUTHWORKS! It’s a great time to do something that’s totally you.
-2009/10 YOUTHWORKS participant
It’s a very unique opportunity for kids to exert authority in realizing their own ideas and work in a larger community with mentor artists.
-2009/10 YOUTHWORKS parent
How It Works
Participants rehearse on their own and at BAX coaching sessions over an approximately 8-week rehearsal process to create a fully developed original work. The work is performed in a fully produced evening in our theater for friends and family. All works should be no more than 10 minutes long.
Coaches
We’ve had a wonderful group of professional artists volunteer their time to serve as mentors to the participating young artists.
Past coaches have included: Carrie Ahern, Tinola Bello, Lise Brenner, Erin Cairns, Barbara Cassidy, Nasrene Haj, Carolyn Hall, Kelly Hayes, Belinda He, Heidi McClure, James Morrow, Carmen Nicole, Catey Ott, Becky Pearl, Julia Rosenfeld, Jennifer Schmermund, Lindsay Shields, Emma Grace Skove-Epps, Panni Spears, Rebecca Stabile, Leigh Stein, Jennifer Sydor, and Adrienne Westwood.
I’M NOT A TOUCAN
– Original Poetry, Youthworks participant 2009
I might be weird
I might be an alien
I might be Italian
I might be in a book
But I’m definitely not a toucan
But I might be from a weird planet
