Residency Information

Students learning about the Circulatory System in an eba residency workshop!

Students learning how to make an I Movie of their work!

Each eba residency brings a professional group of teaching artists to your school or center to teach an introductory lesson before, or a follow-up lesson after, a curricular inspired eba performance of Dance Theater; complete with music, costumes and narration. This accomplishes several key elements of a well integrated arts experience. Residencies are educational, entertaining, original and directly linked to NYS Learning Standards. eba performances are also excellent for family or community concerts.

Short (one day) or Long (a year) residencys are available.

A One Day eba Residency includes 4 - 8 workshops which prepare students for the performance, and a 45 min - 1 hr performance with your students sharing the stage with eba professional performing artists. Each program includes a Teacher Packet to assist teachers in continuing the excitement of learning through the arts with activities, discussion topics, and references.

eba Performances: 45 min - 1 hr educational and entertaining programs performed by eba’s professional dance theater artists with student interaction and participation. Program selections are adapted for grades K - 12. (pictured right: Bacteria invade students during a "GERMS" performance.)

eba Workshops: eba Teaching Artists work right in the classroom with students and teachers. Workshops either prepare students for the performance, or process the information contained in each performance.

Teacher Information Packets: Each program includes a Teacher Packet to assist in continuing the excitement of learning through the arts with activities, discussion topics, and references. Packets also include suggestions for appropriate audience behavior, and performance preparation materials. Teacher information packets are full of ideas, information and suggestions for not only helping to make the eba residency an educational success, but for continuing the learning after the artists have gone home. Included is a list of characters or dance concepts, curricular vocabulary used in the performance, dance and theater vocabulary, literature or curricular principles based in the work, pre-performance activities to prepare students, appropriate ways to experience a live performance (different from TV or Video), post performance activities connected to the curriculum, suggested readings and other creative activities. Guided post performance questions are part of the larger teacher packet for each residency. Reflecting on and processing an artistic experience is an important aspect of the experience.

Learning Standards:
• Arts Learning Standard #1 emphasizes learning important elements of the art form through participation AND creating individual statements in the artform. Students receive a first hand artistic experience where they learn and try the same elements of Dance and Theater that they will view in the eba performance. Then, guided by an eba teaching artist, students create their own version of the work.

• Arts Learning Standard #3 indicates that active viewing skills are necessary to be able to understand and appreciate performance. Becoming art literate requires a capacity to discuss the elements as well as the salient aspects of the artwork. Students are encouraged to view the eba performance through an open and working mind. To accomplish this, eba teaching artists expose information hidden inside the performance such as: how the work was created, what the work is based on, what the costumes and props mean, the storyline or concept. eba TA's also give students special grade appropriate moments or concepts to watch for as they experience the performance.

Eamples of eba Creative Residency Themes & Lessons Designed for Schools:

History/Social Studies
    Big Ideas
        W.W.II
        Colonial America
        Native American
        NYS History and Geography
    Lessons
        Oppressor/Oppressee/Revolutionary
        Natural Resources
        Branches of Government
        Immigration
        Revolutionary War

Science
        Metamorphosis
        Plant/ Life cycle
        Rain forest
        Weather
        Renewable energy
        Electricity
        Earth’s Crust
        Solar System

Self Concept
        Who Am I?
        My place in my family, in the community, in the world.
        Who do I want to become?

Technology and Art
        imovie plays, dance, puppet theater, news broadcasts
        interdisciplinary performances

Dance and Theater
        Dance Literacy- What makes Dance Dance, rather than poetry.
        Character Dance and Theater
        International Dance and Theater (boys learning a Japanese Sword Dance in the photo above)
        Timeline of Dance in U.S.
        Choreography
        Performance Skills
        Improvisation in Dance and Theater

Audience Skills
        Viewing and discussing work
        Behavior appropriate for various venues- a play on stage vs. an open air rock concert

Creative Learning Goals

• Share creative expariences which help students learn through multiple intelligences.
• Explore broad overarching concepts rather than compartmentalized subjects, helping students realize and appreciate that everything in their world is connected.
• Use the teaching methods that will best accomplish the needed learning, especially the messy ones...  Not just standard, favorite or comfortable ones.
 
Participants will understand:
•  Everyone is creative.
•  Learning creatively is an enjoyable and rigorous activity.
•  Learning is not one size fits all. Different learners require different teaching methods.

Participants will be able to:
•  Express knowledge through creative processes. (Everyone)
•  Create their own concepts of knowledge and understanding rather than simply replicating ours.  (Students)
•  Develop their capacity in various teaching modalities, achieving a creative classroom.  (Teachers and Teaching Artists)

(picture right- A tooth in eba's "GERMS" performance discovering she has tooth decay!)

eba would be more than happy to work with you to create a unique residency for your audience or community.