Vermont Alliance for Arts Education

A Member of the KENNEDY CENTER ALLIANCE FOR ARTS EDUCATION NETWORK

September 13, 2009 • 1:31 pm 0

Downs Rachlin Martin Continues Support of VAAE

Walter Judge Presents CheckWalter E. Judge Jr, a director and member of the Litigation Practice Group at Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC, presented a check for $1,000 on behalf of the DRM Community Fund to Thomas Stevens, executive director of the Vermont Alliance for Arts Education, on August 25. VAAE’s mission is to support arts education in the public schools and to contribute to the professional development of arts teachers. 

The DRM Community Fund was launched in 2000 to celebrate the firm’s 50th anniversary. Since then, DRM has awarded more than $180,000 in small grants to approximately 180 private, non-profit organizations in Vermont and western New Hampshire to support innovative, grass-roots arts, education, economic development and historic preservation projects that strengthen community. 

Judge, the sponsoring director for the grant, has been a member of VAAE’s board of directors for four years. He also has served on several of the organization’s committees and assists with events. “I am very excited about VAAE’s future under the leadership of the new, energetic director, Thomas Stevens. We are pleased to be able to support this valuable organization’s efforts to advocate for arts education programs for all students and to provide professional development opportunities for arts educators.”

DRM is a full-service law firm with more than 60 attorneys and seven offices in Vermont, New Hampshire and New York.  DRM provides legal services to local, national and international clients in practice areas that include bankruptcy and business restructuring, business law, captive insurance, energy and telecommunications, family law, health law, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, real estate and land use, environmental law, tax law and trusts and estates.  The firm represents clients in legislative, regulatory and public affairs through the Government and Public Affairs group. DRM is the law firm member for Vermont of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms.

Filed under: Business, Conference

September 2, 2009 • 9:45 pm 0

Martha Graham Dance Company to Perform at Lyndon State College

MarthaGrahamThis press release came courtesy of Rebecca McGregor and Marianne Handy Hraibi, dance instructors at Lyndon Institute and St. Johnsbury Academy, respectively.

This is an exciting opportunity for our students in the Northeast Kingdom to see an extraordinary and historic dance company perform.  Hope you can make it too!

St. Johnsbury Academy to Present the Martha Graham Dance Company

The internationally acclaimed Martha Graham Dance Company will perform September 29 at Lyndon State College and one of its principals will conduct a private Master Class for St. Johnsbury Academy Dance students.

Sponsored by the Ned & Sarah Handy Fund for Dance and the Academy, the performance represents a collaboration with Catamount Arts and LSC initiated by Academy Dance instructor Marianne Handy Hraibi, a former Graham Technique demonstrator and performer.

The Company was founded in 1926 by dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, and is America’s oldest and most celebrated contemporary dance company, receiving international acclaim from audiences in over 50 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Graham’s uniquely American vision and creative genius earned her numerous honors and awards such as the Laurel Leaf of the American Composers Alliance in 1959 for her service to music. Her colleagues in theater, the members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local One, voted her the recipient of the 1986 Local One Centennial Award for Dance, not to be awarded for another 100 years. In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford bestowed upon her the United States’ highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, and declared her a “national treasure,” making her the first dancer and choreographer to receive this honor. Another Presidential honor was awarded in 1985 when President Ronald Reagan designated her among the first recipients of the United States National Medal of Arts.

Martha Graham Company dancers have performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Paris Opera House, Covent Garden, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at the base of the Great Pyramids in Egypt and in the ancient Herod Atticus Theatre on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The Company has also produced several award-winning films broadcast on PBS and around the world.

Though Martha Graham herself is the best-known alumna of  her company, dancing with the Company from its inception until the late 1960′s and choreographing 181 works in her lifetime, the Company has provided a training ground for some of modern dances’ most illustrious performers and choreographers.

Former members include Merce Cunningham, Erick Hawkins, Pearl Lang, Elisa Monte, Paul Taylor, Glen Tetley, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Donlin Foreman, and Pascal Rioult. Among celebrities who have joined the Company in performance are Mikhail Baryshnikov, Claire Bloom, Margot Fonteyn, Liza Minnelli, Rudolf Nureyev, Maya Plisetskaya, and Kathleen Turner.

Alan M. Kriegsman of the Washington Post referred to the Company as “one of the seven wonders of the artistic universe.”   A Los Angeles Times critic noted, “they seem able to do anything, and make it look easy as well as poetic.”  Ismene Brown of the London Daily Telegraph called the Company’s performance “unmissable,” and Donald Richie of Japan Times described its dancers as “Graham’s perfect instrument.

The Academy Master Class will be conducted by Miki Orihari, who has performed at St. Johnsbury Academy with her husband, Stephen Pier, a member of the Julliard Ballet faculty in 2004, 2005, and 2007.

Academy dance students also traveled to New York City in 2002 and 2005 for private Master Classes at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.

The Ned & Sarah Handy Fund for Dance at St. Johnsbury Academy is sustained by donors who support the Fund’s mission of providing professional concert dance exposure and training to the students of St. Johnsbury Academy.

There will be a book signing at the event for John Deane’s publication “Acts of Light.”

Additional information and tickets for the Martha Graham Dance Company concert can be obtained by contacting Catamount Arts at (802) 748-2600.

Filed under: Dance, Education

August 28, 2009 • 12:07 pm 1

Important News About Our Fall Conference

Regretfully, we are postponing our annual fall conference.

The VAAE board of directors arrived at this difficult decision based on a desire to bring the best possible professional development opportunities to our members, and we believe the fall date was too soon for us to deliver on our traditional quality this year.

However, plans are already underway for an exciting, vibrant conference next spring that we believe will be better suited to everyone’s schedules.  We expect to announce the new date for our rescheduled event later this fall, and will work with our workshop presenters to determine their availability, as well as on actively recruiting more presenters.

VAAE is committed to presenting a high-quality professional development conference for teachers in Vermont.  We thank you for your patience and we look forward to letting you know more about the rescheduled conference once we know more.


Filed under: Business, Conference

August 25, 2009 • 1:06 pm 0

Kennedy Center Links to Recognition Awards

I have posted links to two of the Kennedy Center’s recognition programs, the Schools of Distinction in Arts Education Awards and KCAAEN-National School Boards Association Award.  Both of these awards require a thorough application process.  Links to the School of Distinction (formerly “Creative Ticket”) Award guidelines and applications for the national and state awards are now available.

You may find the guidelines , a “how-to-apply” primer and nomination form for the KCAAEN-NSBA Award on the same page as well.

Robinson Elementary School in Starksboro received the School of Distinction Award when it was the “Creative Ticket Award” in 2004-2005.

Filed under: Education, Grant Opportunity, Kennedy Center

August 24, 2009 • 3:10 pm 0

Vermont Studio Center Fellowships for Arts Teachers

The Vermont Studio Center Learning in Art & Culture Teacher Fellowships Program is taking applications for their Residency Fellowship Award.  The application deadline is October 1, 2009 and  a preinterview is recommended.  Please call Zelda Alpern, whose information is below.

VSC will offer 1-4 week artistic rejuvenation residencies for Vermont art and English teachers in spring & summer 2010.   All Vermont art and English teachers are eligible to apply.  Lamoille County secondary school teachers will be given preference. Multiple teachers are encouraged to apply from the same school. Fellowship awards include support for student follow-up extension activities.  Program supported by the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Contact  Zelda Alpern, Grants Program Manager, for a pre-interview and application.  Phone: 802/ 635-2727 x 218. Email:grants@vermontstudiocenter.org.

Filed under: Education, Grant Opportunity

August 24, 2009 • 1:54 pm 0

Target Stores Announces Field Trip Grant Program

The following release was received via the KCAAEN’s Artsmanager.org e-newsletter:

The Target Corporation has announced that it will award 5,000 field trip grants of up to $800 each for the coming K-12 school year.

Managed by Scholarship America, the program is open to education professionals who are at least 18 years old and employed by an accredited K-12 public, private, or charter school in the United States that maintains 501(c)(3) or 509(a)(1) tax-exempt status. Educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, or classified staff of these institutions must be willing to plan and execute a field trip that will provide a demonstrable learning experience for students.

Grant funds may be used for visits to art, science, and cultural museums; community service or civics projects; career enrichment opportunities; and other events or activities away from the school facility. Funds may also be used to cover field trip-related costs such as transportation, ticket fees, resource materials, and supplies.

Grants will be awarded in February 2010. Applications can be completed online anytime between August 5 and November 3, 2009. Complete program information is available at the Target Web site.

While this sounds pretty wide open for its uses, it is likely to not apply to Vermont, as Target has no stores in our state, yet!

Filed under: Education, Grant Opportunity

August 14, 2009 • 11:40 am 0

New Kennedy Center Opportunity

The Kennedy Center Partners in Education has announced that they are taking applications for the 12th Partners in Education Institute.  This is a four-day intensive workshop designed for arts organizations and school districts interested in partnering together to initiate or expand professional development programs for teachers.  The KC will select up to 14 two-person teams from around the country, each consisting of an arts administrator from an arts organization and an administrator from a neighboring school district.

The Institute examines program models and planning strategies for establishing and expanding professional learning programs in the arts for all teachers, and develops and nurtures partnerships between arts organizations and their neighboring school systems.

Teams of school district and arts administrators interested in applying for the Institute can download the application here and submit it with letters of commitment from both the arts organization and school system.  The application deadline is October 31, 2009.

Questions and requests for a hard copy of the application can be directed to:

Kelsey Mesa, National Partnerships, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC, 20566

Filed under: Grant Opportunity, Kennedy Center

August 12, 2009 • 3:19 pm 0

Arts Education at the State House

At the end of March, the Vermont Arts Council hosted their annual Arts Appreciation Day at the Vermont State House.  As a state representative, I was able to take a few moments out of my day to participate in the proceedings and witness some performances based on Marjorie Ryerson’s Water Music project, including one by Rebecca McGregor’s dance classes at Lyndon Institute.  On display that week were puzzle pieces from the Vermont Arts Council’s “Art Fits” projects that were created by students across the state and sponsored by the Vermont Art Teacher’s Association.

VATA Art FitsDSC_0090

Filed under: Dance, Education, Vermont Arts Council, Visual Arts

August 6, 2009 • 12:01 am 0

Our Sustainability Study

Just about a year ago, VAAE received two $2,500 grants, one from the Kennedy Center and one from the Vermont Community Foundation.  These were technical assistance grants, and they paid for us to hire a consultant to undergo a sustainability study — that is, a hard look at the present and future of VAAE.

As many of you are aware, VAAE underwent a pretty serious seachange nearly two years ago.  At the core of the change was the relationship between the board of directors and the executive director.  For many different reasons, the failure to communicate led to this change and as a result, I was brought on as the new executive director.  One of the major tasks I was given was to review the background of the organization and make recommendations about how the organization could move forward.  Without a strategic plan in place, one of the key goals was to undergo a sustainability study.

A study of this kind is no fun.  It requires the board to focus on who and what it is, what it has done and what it can do in the future.  The organization, after all, by legal definition, belongs to the board of directors.  VAAE has not operated in this manner for quite some time, and it was my belief in recommending the sustainability study that this mode of operation needed to be corrected.  The board agreed to undergo the study, and it commenced during our Fall Conference last year.  We met several times as a board, and had our momentum slowed by a snow storm in December.  But by the end of March, we had finished meeting and the consultant, Steffi Lahar, and I put together the final report.

The meetings were difficult, and they resulted in the board taking a cold, hard look at the organization, what it meant to its constituents, what would be lost if VAAE disappeared and what might be gained if it were reinvigorated.  This led to some very dispiriting moments, as well as some reaffirming ones.  It was clear that VAAE was important to the teachers who are represented on our advisory board — the visual artists, musicians, dancers and theatre artists — as well as to our partners at the Vermont Arts Council and the Department of Education. Each of these groups benefits by VAAE’s existence, and all were enthusiastic and vociferous supporters for VAAE continuing.

This enthusiasm was welcomed by the board, but it was also met with a reality that the board, each of whom was committed to VAAE during board meetings and events, admitted that it has been difficult to recruit new members, difficult to fundraise, difficult to find more time for VAAE and difficult to take the ownership needed to help regrow this organization.  These conversations, as I mentioned, were painful and honest and allowed the board to try to find a way to preserve what was good about VAAE, especially its Fall Conference, its potential to reinvigorate its newsletter and to upgrade its other communications via the internet, and to restore the teacher commendations that have been so welcome in the past.  The key to this, however, was accepting that in order to maintain its mission, VAAE would need some help.  If VAAE were to remain in a survival mode, with few funds and a need to constantly fundraise in a down economy, attaining its mission would be difficult.  If VAAE were to continue, the board felt there were two options (the third being closing, which was anathema to the board) — merging with a larger organization or reinvigorating the board.  Given how difficult it has been for the last several years to find new and energetic board members, the board chose to appoint a committee made up of the ED and several board members to look into the possibility of merging with another, larger arts organization.

Without going to much further down this path, it is incumbent for you to know that the board discussed the pros and cons of such a merger and enters into any discussions with some set goals and needs that have to be reached in order to make any such move work.

If merger is not viable, the second choice will be for a focussed and concentrated reinvigoration of the board.  This will require some work as well, and the board is ready to embark on that road if need be.

If you have any questions, or would like to read our Sustainability study, please feel free to contact me info@vaae.org or at (802) 244-1314.

Filed under: Business

August 5, 2009 • 11:24 pm 0

VAAE Receives ARRA Money!

 

Tom and Walter pose with Governor Douglas and Alex Aldrich

Tom and Walter pose with Governor Douglas and Alex Aldrich

We were notified early this week that VAAE has received an ARRA Arts Job grant, as administered by the Vermont Arts Council.  We are extremely glad to receive these funds, which can be used for salary for the organization as it relates to the Fall Conference.  These funds will help our planning proceed a lot more smoothly, knowing there is a mechanism to continue our planning.  Board member Walter Judge accompanied me to the press conference today and this photo was the result, along with the grant!

Filed under: Business, Ephemera

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