A Poetry in Motion mini-showcase of dance students from Hot Springs World Class High School will be the featured performance at Wednesday Night Poetry at Kollective Coffee + Tea, 110 Central Ave.
The dancers will begin their feature performance at 6:30 p.m. today, followed by the regular open mic session for all poets, musicians and storytellers immediately afterward. Admission is free and open to all ages. "All are welcome. WNP is a safe space," a news release said.
The students are performing under the direction of Amy Bramlett Turner, the school's dance director, educator, dancer, and choreographer.
"Named 2019 Hot Springs World Class Teacher of the Year, Bramlett Turner has been recently receiving recognition for her innovative and inspiring curriculum and work with students," the release said.
"As a teacher of dance, my desire is to instill a passion and a hunger within my students as they grow and develop into lifelong learners who are contributing citizens of our world," Bramlett Turner said in the release.
"Dance is a craft that allows you to lose yourself, and find yourself, all at the same time. It is my privilege to work every day in a beautiful studio, where students come to me with their energy, their problems, their smiles, their insecurities, some with the desire to shine on stage, and others just with a desire to find a safe place of belonging. It is my job to create a safe environment where they can discover who they are, develop acceptance and respect for their peers, escape their chaotic worlds, and pass down the passion and appreciation for the art of movement."
The three students who will be performing are troupe members Chloe Powell, 10th grade, and Sarahi Medrano 12th grade, and International Baccalaureate Dance student Danielle Rivera, 12th grade.
"Poetry in Motion is an original curriculum that I created in my thesis for my Master of Arts in Dance Education," Bramlett Turner said.
"After researching the importance of dance education, I created an opportunity for students to not only choose a topic that they are passionate about, but also to create a dance inspired by that topic. In collaboration with our Hot Springs Poet Laureate and amazing teaching artist, Kai Coggin, we facilitate a meaningful and powerful intermingling of two forms of expressive arts. This is the third year that my dancers have experienced Poetry in Motion -- first in 2019, again virtually on Zoom during the COVID lockdown, and again beginning last December. Each time, it is such a significant growth experience for the dancers," she said.
"When Kai visited my Dance III/IV, IB Dance, and Troupe classes, we instructed the students to choose a poem that discussed their specific concern of a social justice issue, something that resonated with how they were feeling about a particular societal or personal topic," Bramlett Turner said.
"Kai then helped the students annotate, analyze, and deconstruct the poems to understand the figurative language devices that poets use. Kai and I then worked together to help students translate these poetic devices into choreographic devices -- motifs, spatial direction, levels, effort quality, etc. Students then cast their classmates as their dancers, adding another layer of creation, rehearsal and accountability between peers. It is because of the safe environment that is created in the studio that the students feel they can choose poems that truly touch and inspire them.
"Students are led into an improvisation and exploration exercise in order to define their movement motif for their dance, and the choreography grows and develops from there over the course of just a few class periods. It is incredible to see the choreography that the students create, and then to watch them teach that to their fellow dancers is icing on the cake! It's such a beautiful part of the school year," she said.
"This curriculum has also been adapted to use historical events, visual art, and nonprofit organizations as the inspiration in prior years, truly working through an interdisciplinary approach. The curriculum was also chosen by the National Coalition of Core Arts Standards to be a Model Cornerstone Assessment. We are so excited to have three works performed at this week's Wednesday Night Poetry," Bramlett Turner said.
"Thank you to the Hot Springs School District, and Arkansas Learning Through the Arts for making this collaboration possible," she said.
The full show, "The Student Choreography Showcase VI," will be presented at the Joyce L. Littleton Craft Auditorium at 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. March 7 with a Q&A with the student choreographers to follow.
"We invite you to see how these talented students express themselves in an academic, artistic, and nonviolent way," Bramlett Turner said.
"This is one of my favorite residencies as a Teaching Artist with Arkansas Learning Through the Arts and the Arkansas Arts Council," WNP Host Coggin said in the release.
"Don't get me wrong, I love guiding little ones to write poems very much, too, but there is something about seeing poem transform into movement, into lifts and pirouettes and grace bending in arcs from a young dancer's arms that is so exhilarating! Amy has created such a safe space for students to literally MOVE through their feelings and what ignites their passions, and being a small part of this project is such an honor for me. Arkansas is lucky to have an educator as passionate and brilliant as Amy Bramlett Turner," she said.
"This year, I have especially loved being a part of the different stages of this project's culmination -- from deconstructing the poems, to watching the improvisation movements in the early stages of embodying the poems, into the choreography and finalization phase of the dances. It's an incredible few weeks that is so meaningful for the students and us teachers alike. I am thrilled to be able to show the WNP audience what these student choreographers have created. You don't want to miss it!"
This week marks 1,831 consecutive Wednesdays of open mic poetry in downtown Hot Springs since Feb. 1, 1989, over 35 years ago. "Wednesday Night Poetry is the longest-running consecutive weekly open mic series in the country," the release said. For more information, email [email protected].
Tonight's Wednesday Night Poetry will feature a Poetry in Motion mini-showcase of dance students from Hot Springs World Class High School. (Submitted photo)