By: Katherine Robles-Ayala, Administrative Assistant
Workshop staff posing outside of Visitacion Valley Elementary School, after a successful site observation.
This year, Workshop staff participated in our first ever Sitecation—a week dedicated to having staff visit partner sites. Our aim was to develop a deeper understanding of successes and areas for growth in Workshop classrooms in order to be better advocates in our respective areas of focus.
We visited six different partner sites. At each site, we encountered talented and passionate teaching artists educating their students in their respective art forms. From Salê’s Capoeira instruction to Dazaun’s Hip Hop dance, Workshop students were seen energetically collaborating with their peers and teaching artists.
Students, ages 3 to 11, joyously engaged in dance, music, and martial arts, where they explored topics, such as history, creativity, inclusion, original composition, and community building. But the students weren’t the only ones able to engage in such topics through the arts! At the beginning of the week, Workshop staff participated in a Chinese dance class led by Artist Mentor, Chinchin Hsu. In the class, Chinchin challenged everyone to think about the power of our emotions and cultural inclusion (or divide) through our body movements. Participating in such a class and witnessing younger students’ participation in similar classes proved to be a positively impactful experience in our Sitecation week.
Thank you to our program staff, partner sites, teaching artists, students, and everyone who made our first annual Sitecation week possible!
Arts Ed Igniter 