The Moving Matters! Residency program brings movement-based multi-arts residencies into schools, correctional institutions and
community centers through collaborative multi-arts projects. JDPP's Moving Matters! Residencies are founded in the belief that the arts
can and do make a difference in the lives of children and adults—opening up worlds of self-knowledge and awareness, expanding cognitive
skills and providing tools for living. A particular focus of Moving Matters! Residences is to reach out to underserved populations, whether
at schools, community centers, or correctional facilities. JDPE's innovative approach integrates movement with the program participants'
own personal writings and artwork in an effort to enlarge their expressive vocabulary and consequently
improve their language and communication skills.
JDPP's school residencies are typically 12 weeks long and involve JDPP Teaching Artists going in to work with a group of learners on a weekly
basis on such topics as race, diversity, slowing down, and dream aspirations. Often the themes chosen relate to the piece JDPP is premiering
that year. We work closely with school administration and classroom teachers to ensure enhanced curricular connection with our yearly themes. We
have worked with students from 3rd through high school grade levels. Most residencies culminate in a performance or sharing.
JDPP's most noted long-term residency to date is the Moving Matters! Parkville Community School Residency, having just completed it’s 13th year, in 2009
This program is a collaboration between JDPP, Parkville Community School and Trinity College, and integrates the children’s study of movement
with the language arts curriculum. Trinity College students assist the teaching artists and become special mentors, friends, and role models to the
children. A large-scale performance at Trinity College involving the children, JDPP Teaching Artists and Trinity students culminates the
residency.
This residency is coordinated by JDPE Associate Artistic Director, Kathy Borteck Gersten. “You want to see my students happy? Come here when
the dance residency is happening and you see smiles, especially from the students who find it difficult to succeed." - Parkville Community
School teacher
JDPP has been working with the women of York Correctionl Institution in Niantic, CT for the past four years in a series of collaborative
residencies. JDPP's Moving Matters! residency at York CI is a collaboration between JDPE, Women of the Cross and the women of York. The
residency introduces a collaborative multi-arts approach to storytelling and performance, working with the women in movement,
autobiographical story telling and song. The residency focuses on building a collaborative arts performance piece with the women of York
that encourages both a sense of community as well as developing individual self-esteem, self-expression, and the development of skills that
can be adapted when the women re-enter mainstream society.
As with our school programs, the weekly classes culminate in a performance piece created by residency participants. Two of the past
themes women’s reflections on time and ruminations on actual dreams and dream aspirations, have been the basis and inspiration for
JDPE’s full-length performance works, Time In and Dreamings.
Through the work at York Correctional Institution, we have begun to outreach to some of the families of the incarcerated and we have seen
what an important bridge the arts can provide between family members inside and outside the razor wire. For example, children have
reconnected with their mothers, parents have seen their incarcerated children’s growth and family members have expressed pride in their
incarcerated relatives’ accomplishments. The Judy Dworin Performance Project Inc. (JDPP Inc.) has a new Moving Matters!
residency for mothers at York Correctional Institution and their children, as well as other children in the Greater Hartford area with parents in prison, in collaboration with Families in Crisis Inc., York Correctional Institution, Charter Oak Cultural Center and CCSU’s Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy.
The pilot program in 2009 was based on the theme “What I Want to Tell You.” The women in prison and their children focused on a way to express a message to a
parent or a child through dance, song, poetry or the visual arts. Through a series of exercises and explorations in movement, writing,
song writing and drawing, JDPP Teaching Artists helped to shape these communications into performance.
The two groups came together for a
day of sharing at York CI on June 13, 2009. The final result was joyous, tearful and healing that gave these parents and children an
artistic experience to share together.
The program has expanded in 2010 to include workshops for Hartford-based children at 3 different sites, a concentrated week long intensive arts session at Charter Oak, and an unprecedented 2 ½ day arts retreat which took place at the prison for the mothers, the children and their caregivers. Listen to the culminating piece by students from A.I.Prince High School.
We are also creating a workbook for children with incarcerated parents that deals with key issues that result from that experience. This workbook that will directly express the thoughts and feelings of children from the region and presents constructive explanations, writing exercises and arts activities for others is a critical part of this project and extends its reach much more broadly.
We also plan to continue this work and outreach to shelters and resettlement homes by working with the Center
for Child Advocacy, the Community Partners in Action Resettlement House as well as continuing with women who participated in JDPP
residencies at York and have now been released.
We are currently in the process of fund raising for these efforts, and a tax deductible contribution can be made by mailing a check to JDPP, or by visiting our secure online credit card donation page.
JDPP's school residencies are typically 12 weeks long and involve JDPP Teaching Artists going in to work with a group of learners on a weekly
basis on such topics as race, diversity, slowing down, and dream aspirations. Often the themes chosen relate to the piece JDPP is premiering
that year. We work closely with school administration and classroom teachers to ensure enhanced curricular connection with our yearly themes. We
have worked with students from 3rd through high school grade levels. Most residencies culminate in a performance or sharing.
JDPP has been working with the women of York Correctionl Institution in Niantic, CT for the past four years in a series of collaborative
residencies. JDPP's Moving Matters! residency at York CI is a collaboration between JDPE, Women of the Cross and the women of York. The
residency introduces a collaborative multi-arts approach to storytelling and performance, working with the women in movement,
autobiographical story telling and song. The residency focuses on building a collaborative arts performance piece with the women of York
that encourages both a sense of community as well as developing individual self-esteem, self-expression, and the development of skills that
can be adapted when the women re-enter mainstream society.