YouthWorks
A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HELPED WITH THE YOUTHWORKS 2011-2012 PERFORMANCE
On the weekend of Saturday, January 28th and Sunday, January 29th, 2012 BAX was proud to host its annual YOUTHWORKS performance. 35 young people (ages 7-18) from 16 schools including PS 1, PS 39, PS 58, PS 127, PS 185, PS 269, PS 321, MS 51, BCS, Brooklyn New School, Brooklyn Prospect Charter, Institute for Collaborative Education, Brooklyn Friends School, St. Saviour, Genesis at Xaverian, and Sheepshead Bay High School, 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 6-week creative process that culminated with two nights of original performances.
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 were held on weekly basis from mid-December to late January. This was a great opportunity for the youth to share their artistic voices in various expressive outlets including short plays, dances, song performances, and even a mixed theater piece.
I love the free creative spirit of it, it’s like your at home making a dance just with a bigger space. And the fact that you get to share it with all these amazing artists that give you very helpful feedback.
- 2011/12 YOUTHWORKS participant
I learned different ways to look at my work and not only to create more but also to variate what I have.
- 2010/11 YOUTHWORKS participant
This year’s performance included works by:
Sofia Ozuna Gormley
Elena Gormley
Eleanor Crawford
Carla Crawford & Ava Mascuch
Shalimara Begum
Isabela Adsuar, Caroline San Pietro, & Julia Lau Hunt
Elena Goluboff & Ariel Aldisa Gunnell
Amelia Olson & Steve Olsen
Amelia Olson & Julian Galesi
Tamar Eckstein, Cloe Mueller, Hannah Gmach, & Maya Gmach
Lissa Sangree-Calabrese
Crystal Franklin
Nyah Cummings, Jessica Lindsay, & Alexandra Stevens
Ingrid Siguencia
Julianne Carino
Kimberly Kraver & Sage Thorton-Taylor
Fiona Pfafflin, Tristan Leone, Pascale Leone, Lexi Jeong, & Anju Meyer
Sadie Krimchar, Sophia Inbar, & Emily Yourman
Justine Farhi & Julianne Carino
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.
I like how they (coaches) didn’t give up on us when we changed our ideas weeks before the performance.
- 2011/12 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:
Gina Kohler, Johanna Golomb, David Miller, Judi Lewis Ockler, Nadia Tykulsker, Nasrene Haj-Yehia, Melinda Ring, Catharine Dill, James McDermott, Melanie Jones, Dumeha V. Thompson, Dylan Levers, Paul Leopold, Karl Anderson, Ashley Brown, Clare Maxwell, Julianna Rusakiewicz, Jodi Bender, Karen Ivy, Janet Werther, David Vinning, Suchan Voodor, Leigh Stein, Sarah Young, Jennifer Mellor, Paloma McGregor, Erin Kelly Browne, Lynn Newman, Diana Crum, Dominique Fluker, and Abigail Mason
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.
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
