Beginning in Summer 2010, the Now & Next Dance Mentoring Project will facilitate physical, artistic, and leadership development in college dancers, adolescent girls, and dance artists. These workshops will combine the intensity of training found in a traditional summer festival with a unique service-learning opportunity in a new, innovative approach to summer study.

This project addresses three critical issues.

College dancers have few opportunities to engage in service-learning and students must learn how to teach and engage diverse populations in movement experiences.

Adolescent girls lack physical competence. Facing issues ranging from obesity, to disordered body images, to overly aggressive sports training, girls need to be supported in mind & body.

Dance artists are under-appreciated and underdeveloped; supporting emerging artists will have a lasting impact.

Using a nesting model of dance mentorship, each workshop will bring together professional dance artists; college dancers; and local adolescent girls. The dance artists will teach physical technique and creative process classes for the college students, who will, in turn, develop their teaching and facilitation skills by mentoring younger students in a movement-based life skills curriculum.

Balancing rigorous physical study with facilitated service-learning, Now & Next Dance Mentoring Project (N&N) will provide college dancers an opportunity to develop as artists, educators, and leaders; adolescents with exposure to dance and increased physical confidence; and professional dance artists with creative support.After the program, participants will join a monitored, private online community and will engage in web-based mentoring with their summer groups.

full website coming soon. for now, please email directorAshley Thorndikeat nownextdance @ gmail . com to join our mailing list.