Students from the Baileyville area summer youth program enjoyed a multifaceted visit to Eastport Arts Center last week, including a theater tour, art talk and activity and a dance lesson-turned-party.
Heidi Hicks, a Baileyville area educator, has piloted the youth program this summer through a MOST (More Out of School Time) grant from the Maine Department of Education. The program’s focus is exposing fourth, fifth and sixth graders to a variety of potential future careers.
The group viewed Lora Whelan’s Echoes of Place exhibition, then heard from Whelan about her experiences with drawing as a child, which sparked her drive to become a painter as an adult. The students made many comments about the forms they saw in her more abstract pieces.
Whelan engaged the group with details of her exploratory art-making process, then guided them in doing their own artwork—textural rubbings on canvas with crayons.
Next, EAC’s World Dance group members Claudia Jones, Chris Fournier and Liz Weaver taught the students steps to two of their favorite dances, Pata-Pata from Africa and Mama Maria from Italy.
Though the students were initially resistant to the idea of dancing, when Hicks had an idea to show them that the Mama Maria steps would fit to lots of other songs—like Achy Breaky Heart and California Gurls from their summer playlist—the nervous frowns turned to excited grins as a wild mix of dance steps and freestyling ensued.
“We really enjoyed our time at EAC—creating, learning and growing out of our comfort zones,” wrote Hicks.
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