Latest news with #IUN
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gary Students Learn From Harlem's Finest at Dance Workshop
'And five, six, seven, eight!' Warming up to the tunes of Michael Jackson's 'Rock With You,' and James Brown's 'Super Bad' with stretches and steps, a room full of Gary students gathered in the student of Indiana University Northwest to boogie down with a few of Harlem's best dancers. The Dance Theatre of Harlem, a world-renowned professional ballet company, gave a dance workshop and panel at IUN on Tuesday while on its national tour. Three of the company's dancers were joined by a flock of dance and cheer teams from Thea Bowman's Leadership Academy for an hourlong workshop with choreography full of pliés, sauté, and kick-ball-chains. Steadily growing the students' confidence in their routine, they capped off with a stage performance, culminating with an old-fashioned Soul Train line. The Dance Theatre of Harlem was founded by Arthur Mitchell, who was the first Black principal dancer at New York City Ballet at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and credited for creating an inclusive space for Black dancers. Black women have traditionally been underrepresented in the performing arts, especially in ballet. Black women make up only about 4.65% of dancers in ballet representation. Obstacles such as expenses, limited representation, and lack of support from inclusive institutions contribute to the lack of diversity. The dance troupe has held events and workshops in Gary, Indianapolis, and across the state. The statewide tour will conclude with a performance on the Indiana University Bloomington campus on Saturday.'We love to connect with the community. Reach out to young dancers, help inspire them, help them grow, and hopefully help them come to our show,' dancer Lindsey Donnell said when asked why they chose to come to Gary. From the Gary Players to the William Marshall Players dance troupes, Gary's very own dance history stretches beyond the walls of IUN. For example, Roosevelt alum William Marshall, the namesake the players were named after, played the first black Dracula in 'Blacula,' Similarly, Emerson High School was the first performing arts school in Gary dedicated to teaching the arts and culture to students in the community. At a post-workshop panel discussion, the three Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers sat down to chat with students from Thea Bowman, talking about their career in the performing arts. Some said that they encourage double majoring in dance and a different major/discipline — instructor Kira Robinson, for example, said she was on a pre-med track while also pursuing dance. The dancers also encouraged the students to apply for scholarships and summer training camps to keep up their practice. Moreover, they stressed the importance of perseverance and self-care: taking care of the body and the mind. Troop members highlighted their favorite professional memories, with Donnell pointing to performing for former first lady Michelle Obama at the White House that honored African American women in the arts. Meanwhile, Gary resident and IUN graduate Cheyanne Johnson, who joined the dancers on the panel, recalled her favorite moment dancing for Tito and Joe Jackson as a kid. 'Be uncomfortable,' Johnson told the students, saying that is what allowed her to have the discipline to throw herself into new opportunities and grow in a different environment. She now owns a dance studio where she teaches teens and adults and encourages them to get out of their comfort zones and explore different dance forms. 'I didn't have a lot of representation in the media, so now being able to give back to my community in that way, and being a representation that I didn't get to see when I was younger, really means so much,' Robinson said. 'And I feel like that also keeps me going and keeps me inspired to give back to the younger generations.' Back at the student center, the Thea Bowman students reflected on the day's takeaways. Mishael Dixon, a dancer on the Thea Bowman cheer team, said that the experience was 'great' and allowed her to try a different dance style. 'With cheer, it's more like sharp moves. So today, it was more loose, and we got to be more free,' she said. 'And I enjoy getting out of our normal comfort zone.' For Shannya Cardine, co-captain of the cheer team, the experience hit close to home, as dance has always been a part of her life. 'I like to dance because my dad was a dancer,' she said. 'I just grew up on it, and I saw him dancing, and it rubbed off on me.' The post Gary Students Learn From Harlem's Finest at Dance Workshop appeared first on Capital B Gary.
Chicago Tribune
16-02-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
IUN students get a chance to provide free dental services for kids
Ayana Brooks got the best lesson in how small the world can be peering into the mouth of a patient. Brooks, a senior dental hygiene student at Indiana University Northwest, was performing a comprehensive cleaning on 11-year-old Adriene Flowers during the school's Give Kids a Smile event Saturday morning when the talk turned to a dental office across the street. Brooks went there as a child and remembered her hygienist, a woman named Alice. 'Alice? That's my grandma,' Adriene, of Gary, said, referring to Alice Harvey. 'Really? I loved her,' Brooks said, amazed. 'She was one of the people who inspired me to go into dentistry.' A partnership with the American Dental Association to celebrate Children's Dental Health Month, Give Kids a Smile provides local children ages 5 through 12 who don't have dental insurance a comprehensive dental cleaning complete with x-rays, cleaning and fluoride treatments, Clinical Care Coordinator Dana Darman said. It's a national event, with dental schools all around the country helping, and it's free-of-charge for the patients, she said. The program's benefits are twofold: Not only do kids who might not have the opportunity to get regular dental checkups get a thorough treatment overseen by a dentist, but the dental hygiene students get hours toward their clinicals. 'We're a preventative clinic, so we refer issues out to other dentists,' Darman said. 'Our students, who have to get so many hours with children, adolescents and seniors, do the assessments on patients, and then the dentist instructor checks their work and comes up with a maintenance plan with them.' Brooks, of Merrillville, was convinced to go into dental hygiene by her own dentist. 'I come from a family of seven kids, and we came to this school for years (for cleanings),' she said. 'I was getting fillings done at my dentist — I was 16 — and she said, 'I think we need more Black women in healthcare.' After that, she let me shadow her a few times, and I was hooked.' Coming from such a large family, Brooks said she really appreciates programs like Give Kids a Smile as well as IUN's own program, which offers preventative dentistry services at a discounted price. Without it, she can't imagine what her teeth might be like. 'It's personal for me because you have to start kids young on their dental health; just because something looks Ok doesn't mean it is,' she said. 'You might not be able to afford braces, but you can keep your teeth healthy. It's something you can't neglect.' Angi Gonsiorowski, of Hobart, has been a dental assistant for 13 years and is just about finished with her dental hygiene degree. She waited for her kids to grow up before she went back for her degree, she said. 'The biggest thing I learned was how the mouth affects the body in so many ways,' Gonsiorowski said. 'Blood runs through your body, and it runs through your gums, so if you're not getting your teeth cleaned, all that bacteria runs through your body. That's why it's so important to get your teeth cleaned and brush and floss.' Arcella Harvey, Adreine's mom, brought all four of her kids to the event. It was her first time, but she's now a big fan. 'It's a great resource for people who don't have insurance. To have this access is a great benefit,' Harvey said. 'It's also great for the students because they get to see things that maybe they haven't seen before. One of my kids has braces, and the hygienist was like, 'Oh, you have to do it this way.'' The Give Kids a Smile program, which will have a second day February 22, is filled, but residents interested in the IUN Dental School's services should log on to
