After School Programming

Teachers and administrators: Bring the Palace to "Your Place" with one of these three comprehensive after-school programs. All programs address specific curriculum standards and can be adapted for your classroom.

DANCES WITH WORDS
A Dance and Poetry Program
Best for Grades:  Pre-K -10
An after school program that will be conducted at a Waterbury site TBD.

 Dances with Words is a Waterbury Bureau of Recreation and Leisure Services’ after school program hosted by the Palace Theater that combines poetry with quality dance/movement training. Waterbury residents will experience a diversity of approaches towards the craft of dance, while developing the physical skills necessary to practice dance as a life long form of exercise. Training in ballet, tap, jazz and hip-hop are but a few of the disciplines that will be utilized to foster student appreciation of dance as art form and as a means of telling a story.
To bring this program to your town - call 203-755-8483 x 132.

 BALLROOM BLITZ
A Ballroom Dance Program
Best for Grades:  5-12
Adaptable as an in-school or after-school program at your facility.

 Ballroom Blitz gives students the opportunity to acquire ballroom dance skills that increase physical fitness and artistic awareness, while reinforcing fundamental character skills, such as respect, trustworthiness and responsibility. This program typically incorporates an opportunity for the student to attend a Palace Theater dance oriented presentation.

Certified ballroom instructors from Arthur Murray, Hamden, teach students the disciplines of Fox Trot, Merengue, Tango, Swing and Cha-Cha (to name a few), while highlighting the history and cultural importance of these social dances.  This program can be designed to culminate with a Showcase or Dancesport Challenge (a ballroom competition) that validates the student’s dedication and teamwork, while creating a learning experience that encompasses lessons on presenting in a public forum, staying focused in an environment of competition and good sportsmanship.

I GIVE MY WORD...
A Language Arts, Social Studies and Theater Integrated Program
Best For Grades: 7-12
Adaptable as an in-school or after-school program at your facility.

Participating students will attend the live presentation of The Last. . . The Very Last Butterfly, at the Palace Theater. In a collaborative effort between the Palace and Shakesperience Productions, students will receive specialized workshops that integrate academic curriculum, current events, and the creative processes of the stage with a collection of poems, narratives and drawings created by children who passed through the Terezin Concentration Camp.

The program addresses the art of poetry through memoir writing and presentation, as it serves to communicate the urgency of embracing the practice of tolerance.  Students will create their own memoirs and poems and give their spoken word, as well as “their word” (ie: their pledge), during a culminating public event.  This paradigm is designed to facilitate prejudice reduction and foster tolerance through literature, poetry, and theater, and will serve as a springboard for ongoing efforts in engendering an understanding and respect for others.

If you are interested to bringing any of these programs to YOUR SCHOOL, or would like more information, please contact Director of Education, Vanessa Logan, at 203-755-8483 x132 or logan@palacetheaterct.org.