Workshop: Aman International Folk Ensemble worked for over 30 years to bring performances and workshops of world dance and music to audiences everywhere. Following the closure of the company, six talented members of this internationally known group have created Aman Dance Educators, and are taking Aman's mission to a new level. All seasoned professionals, the artists include Dawn Dyson, Kristen Smiarowski, Rosina Didyk, Lynnanne Hanson-Miller, and Jane Glaser

These dance educators help students, teachers and others learn dances from Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. With each workshop, participants also expand their knowledge of geography, history and culture, as well as improve their coordination, creativity and rhythm skills. Cooperation and teamwork drive these fascinating and engaging workshops. All lessons are carefully crafted to be grade-appropriate and to correspond to the California Visual and Performing Arts Standards (VAPA) as well as other standards, including History/Social Science, Foreign Language, Math, English/Language Arts and Physical Education. Aman Dance Educators work with schools to create a custom dance experience for students. Schools can also select workshops covering a variety of topics, including the following:

Dance and Community (all grade levels): In this residency, students use their bodies as active tools to learn about different cultures and to understand their own communities in new ways. Participants experience traditional folk dances from a variety of cultures and engage in creative activities that teach them how to create their own unique movement vocabulary that can culminate in a new community dance.

Dances of California/USA (4th-5th grade): These workshops make curriculum connections to the 4th and 5th grade social studies standards by using line, square and circle dances from early United States history. The sessions can also include dances related to Fort Ross, California Ranchos and the Gold Rush.

Legends through Dance (K-3): Sessions in this residency addresses the Language Arts Standards by using dance as the medium to tell stories. Featuring examples of Native American and Polynesian dances, these workshops allow students to explore the basic elements of dance, learn how to communicate or tell a story through gestures, and bring a legend to life through movement.

Rosina Didyk has been teaching folk dance in Southern California Schools for 13 years. Before coming to Los Angeles Didyk toured internationally with the BrighamYoung University Folk Dancers. As a lead dancer, Instructor and Artistic Director for AMAN Folk Ensemble she has taught and performed in schools, colleges, Senior Centers and libraries in 30 states. Ms. Didyk has toured independently in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Turkey and Macedonia.

Dawn Dyson earned a B.S. degree in Dance Performance from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana before becoming a performer, educator and administrator with the AMAN Folk Ensemble. During her 10 years with AMAN, she taught numerous student workshops in California and throughout the nation. As the Education Specialist for AMAN, Dyson constructed a curriculum handbook that focused on dances from the United States, and she restructured AMAN's curriculum to include lesson plans with connections to the California VAPA, Language Arts and Social Science Standards.

Kristen Smiarowski brings a unique outlook and approach to teaching folk dance due to her extensive experience and training in creative movement, improvisation and choreography. Smiarowski has taught in many southern California schools, and is currently a teaching artist with the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning in the Arts. She also teaches dance at the Skirball Cultural Center, the UCLA Krieger Center, and is on faculty at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica. She holds an M.F.A. in Dance from UCLA's Department of World Arts and Cultures.

For over two decades, Lynnanne Hanson-Miller has dedicated her career to the research, preservation and performance of multicultural dance and heritage. As a former member of the Aman International Folk Ensemble, Ms. Miller toured locally and nationally as principal dancer, vocalist and choreographer. During her tenure with Aman, she conducted over 5,000 dance workshops for both children and adults throughout the United States, and assisted with the development of Aman's nationally acclaimed education program.

Price:
$100 per 60-minute workshop, plus possible planning fee. Minimum three workshops per day must be scheduled.

Age Group:All Ages
Capacity:1 Classroom (maximum of 35 students, plus regular teacher)
Availability:Year Round

To design an arts education program with this artist, please call (213) 250-ARTS or email schoolprograms@musiccenter.org.

Prices are for services between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.