Koresh Kids Dance Booklet

About Beginning in 2006, Koresh Kids Dance provides free high-quality weekly in-school creative dance instruction to Philadelphia public school students in grades 2-5.

Through KKD, students learn fundamental dance techniques, how to create choreography, and to bridge dance with life skills including self-confidence, discipline, and collaboration.

Koresh Kids Dance enables children to tell their own stories through movement vocabularies that are meaningful to them. The program is geared toward educating the whole person and enriching the lives of students. We believe dance is a powerful tool for educating individuals and are committed to doing our part to include dance in the curriculum of Philadelphia’s school students.

Students experience the joy of dance both as a participant and viewer, and gain meaningful educational experiences to supplement their existing education.

Koresh Kids Dance is supported in part by ...

The William Penn Foundation The Dexter F. and Dorothy H. Baker Foundation Allen Hilles Foundation Philadelphia Cultural Fund through the Youth Arts Enrichment Grant Sheila Fortune Foundation Joseph Skilling Foundation

KORESH KIDS DANCE BY THE NUMBERS 24

classes per week

4 grade levels

6 credentialed teaching artists 10 13

public schools

years of instruction, creation, and care

“In an age where arts programs are being cut left and right from public schools, Koresh Kids Dance is a beacon that provides an important outlet for young students, fostering their creativity, communication, and critical thinking skills.”

– Philly Is Dancing

Hear from the Teachers...

I have seen students express themselves in ways that they never have through the Koresh Kids Dance program.

-4th grade teacher Every student was engaged in the activities. It was a safe space where students were able to express themselves creatively. Each class was well planned, choreographed and built on concepts taught in previous classes.

-5th grade teacher One highlight of the program was watching children who do not always have success in the classroom succeed at dance. Students used dance to express themselves and learned tenacity to achieve a goal.

-3rd grade teacher

How we make a difference with KORESH KIDS DANCE

MISSION Koresh Kids Dance provides high-quality weekly dance instruction to students in Philadelphia public schools. The classes teach students fundamental dance technique while educating the whole person. Koresh educators create a safe space for children to learn to dance, create dance, and to bridge dance with life skills including selfconfidence, discipline, respect, and healthy self-expression. The program culminates with a performance at the end of the year that cultivates teamwork, leadership skills, and a sense of accomplishment.

CURRICULUM Our creative dance curriculum invites students to create their own dances.

While our professional teachers teach students fundamental dance technique, the entire experience is geared toward connecting to the whole child. Koresh Kids Dance prioritizes flexibility in working with schools and classroom teachers, connecting to schools’ cultures and ongoing projects, and incorporating elements of classroom curricula.

THE KORESH EFFECT Koresh Dance Company’s Artistic Director, Roni Koresh, started dancing as a child in Israel. It was in Philadelphia that he became a choreographer, choosing to tell human stories based in passionate memory and the everyday gestures of his own experience—learned not only in the dance studio, but in dance clubs, during his military service, and in the casual postures and movements of the city street. In developing the Koresh Kids Dance program, Director Lindsey Jaynes builds on parallel artistic commitments, designing a curriculum that enables children to tell their own, human stories through the movement vocabularies that are most meaningful in their own lives.

“When I dance, I feel like a winner.”

- 4th Grader

Hear from the Students...

I felt very proud of myself and my classmates. When we were finished it felt like I was on the top of the world!

-5th grade student It taught me how to by myself instead of trying to be someone I’m not - 5th Grade Student I felt proud because we looked like real dancers.

-3rd grade student At first I felt worn out and tired, but then I was excited for what we would do next. I don’t really like to dance, but I feel safe when I dance with [Koresh] and the class.

-5th grade student

2002 Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia PA 19103 215.751.0959 koreshdance.org