Harlem Swings

The Harlem Swings project has been in five schools and two community centers. The ongoing Harlem Swings after school club has already produced some great dancers who have had the opportunity to perform at iconic New York dance venues and travel to Swing Dance events around the country. We are looking to generate enough funds to have a fully support... ed year program for the 2016-2017 school year. We're hoping to raise funds in order to provide: Teachers (regular teachers and special guests: it takes a whole lot of dancers to run this show!) It starts with an assembly program, a video presentation about the history of the dance and a live demo and lesson. We invite students who are interested to attend the after school club classes supervised by adults and a certified teacher. At this time, there is only one after school club. However, the assembly program, dance demo and lesson may be brought to other schools in Harlem. Students from those schools who are interested are welcome to come to the after school club classes. What is the age group for Harlem Swings!? We seek to teach lindy hop to the young at heart of all ages, from elementary school through seniors. How often does the high school club meet? Primarily we focus on Lindy Hop and Charleston, but we include other dances as long as they originated in Harlem like Shim Sham, and Big Apple. How does the school or community organization help? Strong relationships with schools and community organizations are very important to the success of the project. Having support from teachers, principals and administrators who are proactive about making the program happen in their buildings makes all the difference. We work with schools and organizations to share resources, raise funds, and find ways to "make it happen." We are excited about collaborating and do our best to make access to this unique arts and cultural programming doable for schools and organizations. Tell us about your school or project!Read More