This year’s Culture Days programming, Discovering the Arts, hit all the right notes.
The event was hosted by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Yorkton and Area, and brought together Dance Innovations, Bara’ Academy of the Arts, Free My Muse Theatre, and singer-songwriter Jeff Nichol. The event gave kids a chance to experience different aspects of the arts, whether that was dance, music, visual art, or drama.
Tammy Kostersky with Dance Innovations says that the event began with like-minded organizations which wanted to bring arts to kids in the community.
They were the hosts of the dance programming, with hip hop and contemporary dance demonstrations. The choice in programming was based on what young people like, and where they see new dancers gravitate towards.
“Those are the two dance forms you see on TV, on So You Think You Can Dance? and World of Dance, so new people to dance, they might identify those two dance forms, so that seems like a logical place for us to start.”
Kostersky says their goal was to show what’s available, with dancers having the chance to try out other art forms, as well as kids having the chance to see dance for the first time.
“I just think it’s really important for people to step outside of the box and see what is available to them... Our community is very vibrant, with lots of opportunities for children and lots of opportunities for families.”
Free My Muse Theatre offered a storytelling and improvisation class for kids. Carrie Pengilly, artistic director of Free My Muse, says they wanted to give a class that could connect a wide variety of audiences, backgrounds, language development levels and levels of confidence.
“If you want to volunteer to come up and be in an improvised scene, wonderful. If not, that’s okay, because you get to be in an audience. Some of these people haven’t even seen live theatre before. Getting to be a child watching live theatre, even if it’s improv, that’s a whole step towards continuing to promote culture in the community.”
Beyond the theatre, improv can also benefit kids as they go through life, as they have to think on their feet and be prepared for anything, which can help in everything from job interviews to awkward situations.
“Improv is life, you never know what’s going to happen.”
Free My Muse has been part of Culture Days in the past, and Pengilly says it’s a way for families to try out new things and see what’s available in the community.
“It’s also exceptional for the families to see that our community has so many offerings specifically in the arts.”
Twila Napoleoni with Bara’ Academy of the Arts was teaching the kids to create art with nature, using leaves, flowers, feathers, and other found objects to create artwork. They also learned basics like mixing paint colours, and were given tools to create whatever they wanted.
“People are creative, they just need the tools.”
Having an event that puts an emphasis on the arts is something Napoleoni believes kids need. She believes that people need a balanced life, with physical activity being provided by sports programs, and creative activity being provided by artistic programming.
“To be well rounded, I think it’s good to have all aspects of life... Creating is who we are.”
