For the last 22 years, Art Heals Arizona has partnered with Dance Theater West (DTW) to create DTW’s Storybook Ballet production featuring Art Heals Arizona children and teens. Our beloved partnership continued into September 2023, when twelve Art Heals Arizona children performed alongside DTW dancers at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.
Director Susie Silverman and her dancers worked with the Art Heals Arizona participants, teaching them choreography for their scenes in a spectacular performance of Swan Lake, with a Splash! Admission to the show was free and open to the public. The audience included Art Heals Arizona child welfare partner agencies as well as the performers’ friends and families.
In addition to the ballet itself, Storybook Ballet featured another Art Heals Arizona component: Teaching Artist Frankie Marchi led teens living in a Art Heals Arizona Partner agency through a Professional Artist Series, resulting in the creation of poems themed around hope, magic, and the transformation from dark to light. After writing their pieces, participants recorded their work to be played at the end of the performance while dancers from Storybook Ballet, DTW, and Art Heals Arizona improvised movements to the spoken word.
After the performance, the Dayton Fowler Grafman Atrium featured an art exhibit created in a Art Heals Arizona Professional Artist Series entitled The Inspiration of Life. The exhibit was created by teens who have faced adversity and were residing in a Art Heals Arizona partner agency. The series was led by professional teaching artist Shelly Love. The pieces were photographs sharing participants’ images of self-empowerment, which explored underlying themes from Swan Lake such as movement, and dark versus light. The photographs were displayed in the atrium for the audience members to enjoy.
Audience members were also invited to engage in a multitude of art activities in the atrium, including folding origami swans, stringing colorful beaded Bravery Bracelets, and weaving macramé feathers. Art Heals Arizona volunteer mentors and staff supported children in making each of their creations.
Thank you, Dance Theater West, and Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts for another great year!
