Zenon Dance Youth Outreach

I wish you all a wonderful start to the Holiday Season! I hope this message finds you and your loved ones in good spirits. Thanks to your generous support, I'm excited to update you on the progress of our Youth Outreach Project at Zenon Dance School.

The Youth Fall Session has officially wrapped up, with classes held at Zenon and in partnership with local public elementary and middle schools. We are diving into this school year with an exciting lineup and continuing to strengthen our relationships within the youth communities we serve.

This past summer, we hosted an outstanding six-week dance program for young participants in the greater Minneapolis and St. Paul areas at Zenon's studios. It was our second summer offering, “Dancing Through Words,” a collaborative program with the Minnesota-Hennepin County Library system at two library locations. This free workshop series, designed for children ages 6-11, connects the worlds of words and movement, showing how literature can inspire movement. Led by Zenon Dance instructors, creative movement classes utilize beloved children’s stories, and we even had a special guest reading from a local children’s author. The program was a great success, with families joining in during their afternoon library visits.

We also partnered with MacPhail Center for Music, a community music school that offers lessons and classes in over 35 instruments and voice, to provide opportunities for students ages 7-11 to explore the relationship between music and movement. This collaboration included three one-week Sampler Camps and two on-site summer camp opportunities, fully enrolling children ages 3 through 11. Through these initiatives, Zenon reached nearly fifty young dancers this summer!

The Summer Session concluded with a celebration for youth dancers, showcasing their progress in an open studio classroom. This event allowed families and friends to come together in a safe, welcoming space and witness the dancers' growth over the summer.

As we switched gears for the Fall Session, we offered classes in Creative Movement, Youth Ballet, Youth Modern, and Youth Hip Hop for dancers aged 3-14, culminating in a Fall Showcase at the TEK Box performance space in the Hennepin Center for the Arts. This performance opportunity allows our dance students to take their skills from the classroom to the stage, complete with production elements like lights and sound, while performing for an audience filled with friends and family.

Looking ahead, we are gearing up to announce our Winter Session of on-site classes running from January through March. This Winter, Zenon will continue our partnership with Minneapolis Park and Recreation to offer Youth Hip-Hop for two age groups, reaching students within their communities alongside after-school movement classes at a St. Paul Montessori elementary and middle school. I can't wait to share more details about these wonderful opportunities for our students.

Your support has profoundly impacted the lives of these students this summer and fall, bringing the joy of dance to many young hearts. We are so grateful for your ongoing partnership in our mission to empower youth dancers in Minnesota. Together, we are making a difference, one dance step at a time.

With gratitude,

Danielle Robinson-Prater

Director

Links:

• Zenon Dance website

Warm greetings from Minnesota! We are writing to update you on the progress of our Youth Outreach Project at Zenon Dance School, made possible through your generous support.

The Youth Summer Session is underway, featuring Zenon classes and collaborative initiatives with local art organizations and artists. We are delighted by the busy schedule this Summer, as it allows us to foster strong relationships and expand our outreach into youth communities.

During the Spring Session, we successfully provided 10 weeks of exceptional dance programming to youth in the greater Minneapolis and St. Paul areas, both at Zenon's Studios in Minnesota and through partnerships with public school districts and local arts organizations. These efforts reached over fifty-five youth dancers.

The Spring Session culminated in a performance showcase at The Hennepin Center for the Arts - TEK Box, where our young dancers demonstrated their progress after a full academic year of classes. This showcase was a testament to their enhanced confidence in movement knowledge and performance and their development of independent creative voices in a safe and inclusive environment.

This summer, our collaborative workshops and camps with local arts organizations off-site, as well as the weekly classes and the annual Camp Zenon at our studios, have been well-received by the community.

Our partnership with MacPhail Center for Music has been particularly successful. It has allowed us to share dance with students ages 7-11 through two one-week Sampler Camps, exploring the harmony of music and movement. The creativity and artistic choices demonstrated by the camp students have been truly inspiring.

The Summer 2024 Camp Zenon has been a resounding success. It offers two one-week on-site summer camp opportunities for children aged 4 through 10. These camps provide a platform for children to explore various dance styles and creative movements, regardless of their level of experience, within a supportive environment.

Additionally, during the six-week summer session, Zenon Dance instructors' weekly creative movement classes have used excerpts from popular children's literature to inspire movement. The session concluded with a showcase, where families and friends were invited to join us in celebrating the joy of movement, participating in activities such as jumps and leaps, and imitating the movements of frogs and butterflies.

As we prepare to announce our fall session in mid-August, which will feature on-site classes from September through December, we are excited to share that we have established new partnerships with Minneapolis Park and Recreation and local pre-schools.

Your support has profoundly impacted this summer, bringing the joy of dance to many young hearts. We are immensely grateful for your support and sustained partnership in our mission to empower youth dancers in Minnesota. Your contributions are instrumental in helping Zenon make a difference one step at a time.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Danielle Robinson-Prater

Director