Report To The Community 2022

ound
broadway
Young people learn how to create
musical theater magic
Most high school students
never have the opportunity
to audition for a Tony Awardwinning
Broadway star.
But dancer Lakota Boyd
has done it twice.
The summer of 2022 was the
second time she auditioned to
be a part of Savion Glover’s
Summer Intensive, a workshop
for young people held at NJPAC.
Glover — Broadway’s legendary
Tap Dance Kid and a Tony
winner for his choreography in
Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da
Funk — is the Arts Center’s Dance
Advisor and annually leads a
troupe of young artists in the
creation of a new performance.
This was the fifth Intensive
led by Glover, and the first
in-person one since 2019.
Dozens of students auditioned
and 13 were selected for the
free, four-week program. Boyd,
who has now taken part in
two intensives, described the
entire experience as “magical.”
“Being there was magnificent,”
she says. “Mr. Glover lets
you be free at expressing
yourself in a way you never
thought you could.”
This year’s project was inspired
by Adrienne Hunter’s CITY KID,
a play about urban living set in
the 1980s, but students added
their personal experiences to
the script and choreography.
They rehearsed eight hours
a day, five days a week, to
prepare for two performances in
the Horizon Foundation Theater
at the Center for Arts Education.
“This is a wonderful program
that puts students directly
Savion Glover’s four-week
Summer Intensive leads a
troupe of young artists through
the creation of a new musical
theater performance.
in front of a legend to learn
how Broadway auditions and
rehearsals work,” says Rosa
Hyde, Senior Director, Arts
Education Performances and
Special Events. “It’s rigorous,
it’s fun and it bonds students
together as they go through the
journey of producing a show.”
For Boyd, the experience left
her with lasting friendships
and boosted her confidence.
“The experience gave me a
push in life,” she says. “It gave
me the power and enthusiasm
to strive and do more.” •
a place where
teachers become students
Children aren’t the only
ones who come to learn
through the arts at NJPAC.
Their teachers do as well.
“We’ve developed a national
reputation as an arts
education leader,” says Ashley
Mandaglio, Associate Director,
Professional Learning and
Program Development. “We are
known for providing interactive
experiences that inspire,
educate and reinvigorate
teaching practices — and no
one else is tackling social justice
through arts education.”
Over the course of the year,
more than 100 professional
development programs, both
in-person and virtual, were
held for NJPAC teaching artists,
administrators and classroom
teachers from throughout
the state. Three new districts
in New Jersey — Cranford,
Plainfield and Rahway —
sought programming for their
educators and were added to
the professional development
In 2022, more than 100
professional development
programs were held for
educators, providing tools that
turn classrooms into positive
learning environments.
roster in the fall of 2022; the
Arts Center maintains its
distinction as sole provider
of professional development
for arts educators in the City
of Newark’s public schools.
While in-person trainings
returned in June, the Social
Justice Learning Series remains
virtual to reach educators
across the country. This
series is a program of the
Colton Institute for Training
and Research in the Arts.
Since its inception in 2020, the
Social Justice Learning Series
has hosted quarterly interactive
webinars. The goal is to provide
educators with the tools to
turn their classrooms into
positive learning environments.
After two years of pandemic
disruption, teachers are seeking
new ways of impacting their
students who now come to
school weighed down by
anxiety, problems at home
and pervasive news of gun
violence, racial disparities, toxic
political discourse and more.
“We developed this series
in response to the needs
we were hearing from the
classroom teachers. We know
art strategies can be used to
deal with social justice issues
in the classroom, because
through the arts students
express themselves and get
out what they’re feeling in an
easier way than in a math or
science class,” says Mandaglio.
The largest event of the year
was a Day of Learning held
in March, a program that
included a keynote address
followed by workshops on
topics ranging from exploring
social issues through theater
to using movement to model
environmental justice principles.
One teacher said they benefited
from “finding ways to be an ally
and an advocate for anti-racist
practices.” Another appreciated
“providing educators with a
space to speak their truth.”
Fall workshop topics included
“Sustaining Racial Literacy
in the Education of the Arts”
and “Combating Ableism
in the Arts Classroom.”
“We have this responsibility
to make sure that teachers
don’t feel alone, that they
feel like they can have a
community,” says Mandaglio.
“They’re a part of our family,
they learn with us and grow
with us year after year.” •
38 njpac.org
njpac.org 39