CATCH will target population  “At Risk” youths attending Jordan, Manual Arts, and Roosevelt High Schools in  Districts 9, 14, & 15. It is our hope that this is only the beginning of this curriculum’s exposure to the Denver area and that in the future; other schools in other places will be able to take advantage of this “hands-on” reinvestment in the educational performing arts curriculum Winifred R. Harris Between Lines Dance Company is seeking to expose. We are open to expanding the curriculum to the schools of ICAP’s or the Office of Youth Arts & Education’s choice based on perceived need.

 Goals/Objectives

Winifred R. Harris Dance Company has designed an interactive performance and career driven workshop series that allow us to use dance as an important tool for educational development and as an instrument of understanding for all students, especially in schools with high Asian, Black, Latin, populations to:

Promote educational advancement & excellence

• Promote positive inter-activity between persons of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds
• Engage students in productive pursuits
• Use Dance as a form of non-violent dispute resolution
• Promote creative freedoms of expression that lead to real jobs
• Promote dialog between students and their families and teachers

 Program Description

It is our intent to expose At-Risk Youth to every facet of performing art (dance) production. It is our desire to teach them of the many career opportunities in the arts, by exposing them  to occupations such as set design, sound engineering, lighting, dance composition, producing a show and many other “behind-the-scenes” operations (TRADES). By helping students understand that someone has to light the dance, choose, compose or play the music, design and construct the costumes, stage manage the theatre, mix and control the sound, and so forth that there are a wide range of career opportunities in the performing arts.  These peripheral occupations are all viable forms of artistic expression that are directly linked and enhanced by a solid education that can eventually lead to fulfilling and lucrative livelihoods.  Our intent is to produce and perform in a multi-disciplined (dance, spoken word and music) concert at the host venues and involve the students on every level from start to finish.  They will act as performers, dancers, poets, choreographers, stage managers, lighting designers, program graphics designer and be involved in all aspects of producing a show.

The main thrust of the program simply put is to produce and perform a professional concert, integrating the services of the students at every level.  The main components are:

Audition or enlistment process to determined who wants or can to do what. We will use the following methods to determine student involvement:

• Meet with the principals concerned to determined who they want involved. In addition to Dance, Theatre, Art, and Creative Writing classes and clubs they may want to mandate that particular individuals participate.
• An open call via inter-school postings or memos would also be suggested depending on the number of persons already available for participation.

 Description of Targeted Schools

Existing under- performing charter schools