Dunbar Youth Summer Program
*The event has already taken place on this date: Fri, 08/18/2023
Please help us keep this calendar up to date! If this activity is sold out, canceled, or otherwise needs alteration, email mindy@kidsoutandabout.com so we can update it immediately. If you have a question about the activity itself, please contact the organization administrator listed below.
The Dunbar Youth Theatre Arts Program is dedicated to training children in the performance styles and traditions of their ancestors and providing them with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge through public performance. Interdisciplinary training in acting, music, dance and technical theatre is provided by professional artists with significant performance and teaching experience. Previously focused on African American traditions, Dunbar has been re-formed after many years’ hiatus, has expanded to incorporate the diverse, and commonly underrepresented, cultures of Buffalo’s West Side. Moving forward, we will continue incorporating performing arts from a wide range of cultures. These may include Burmese, Somali, Iraqi, Congolese, and Puerto Rican. We are developing relationships with various cultural groups, identifying appropriate teaching artists and art forms to fill out our existing curriculum. All of these groups once enjoyed a rich oral tradition, tracking their roots through centuries of life both outside of and in America and maintaining a sense of “connectedness” with the past.
The Dunbar Program helps build and strengthen these connections in young people by providing workshops in the following areas:
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Acting and scene work – focusing on the strengths of the individual and the historical connections between the performer and the character.
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Dance – African, African American, and culturally specific dances with a focus on the meaning of the dance and how it reflects the social and spiritual needs of the community that created it.
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Music – taught with an emphasis on its purpose and its dramatic content.
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Creation and performance – storytelling and creating performance pieces that reflect the experiences and values of the students and their people.
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Technical theatre – training in the fundamentals of light and sound design and operation.
*Times, dates, and prices of any activity posted to our calendars are subject to change. Please be sure to click through directly to the organization’s website to verify.