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Latin Dance: Sizzling Salsa Nights

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Salsa Social

My name is Jason Pepin and I proudly hold the title given to me as Green Street Art Center’s “resident Salsero”. I have been teaching Salsa and Latin dance at Green Street for almost a year and a half now. I began as the Latin dance instructor in the after school program and was blown away by the charisma and talent that all of the students in the program have. I am a classroom teacher by profession, and really enjoy working with children beyond the classroom, especially when that work is teaching dance.

I also teach adult group classes and host the very popular Salsa Socials in the evenings, bi-monthly. The adult classes are extremely enjoyable for me. Many times, people come to their first beginner class with no dance experience. Others have lots of experience, only not with Latin rhythms. It is a true blessing to see the transformation that happens to both of these crowds in my group classes. I’m really looking forward to getting started in another session soon!

The Salsa Social is a one-night event where anyone can come to Green Street, get a taste of Salsa with a beginner lesson, and then spend a few hours being immersed in Latin culture. Music videos are projected onto the wall while sultry Latin rhythms fill the space of our beautiful performance studio. Beginners and guests can practice what they learned in the lesson from 7-8 and watch dancers of all levels as the fiesta unfolds. In the past, we have had Salsa CDs for sale from live musicians that teach dancers in attendance about the Latin instruments. It is really an experience that can only adequately be summed up by the feeling of being there. So come by and see for yourself on October 9th or December 11th!

Submitted by Jason Pepin, Green Street Teaching Artist

Salsa Socials
Saturdays, October 9 & December 11 | 7-10 pmJason Pepin
Regular: $8; Members/Family & Friends/Students/Seniors: $5
Green Street’s resident salsero Jason Pepin presents two evenings of hot music, open floor, and the best dance crowd in Connecticut. Beginners welcome for instruction from 7-8 pm (included in price of admission).

Salsa for Beginners & Intermediates
Wednesdays | 6:15-7:15 pm (beginning November 3rd)
Regular: $60; Family & Friends/Students/Seniors: $51; Members: $48
Drop-ins Regular/Family & Friends/Students/Seniors: $10; Members: $8
Explore the roots and rhythms of Salsa music and dance. Learn basic steps and turns as well as individual footwork and trick steps. You will gain an appreciation for the Latin rhythms that make up Salsa music and the confidence to dance socially.

Upcoming Native Arts & Events Series Not to be Missed

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Native Dance

I find that Native American dance is usually misunderstood by the general public, if not entirely overlooked.  Knowing that Green Street offers a number of dance classes and workshops, and that Wesleyan has a vibrant Dance Department, I thought there would be plenty of interest to hold a workshop on Native American dance.  Join Rebecca Perry-Levy (Pequot/Narragansett) and her family in an exploration of a number of different Native American Dance traditions, in full regalia. This workshop includes a question and answer forum, in depth explanation, and teaching of social dances.  Participation is welcome, but not necessary.  Please join us on Saturday, September 25th, 2-4pm whether you want to dance or simply sit back and enjoy!

Be sure to join us for other events in this fantastic series:

File Under Miscellaneous StillThe next event in the series is a special Halloween-themed film screening on Friday, October 29th, at 7pm.  Montreal-based writer and director Jeff Barnaby (Mi’kmaq) will discuss The Colony and his new film, File Under Miscellaneous, both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.  File Under Miscellaneous received a warm reception at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and has been called “a dark SciFi gem” by critic Todd Brown. Barnaby’s psychological thrillers will make you reconsider stereotypes of what Native/First Nations art “should be.”  In addition, there will be a screening of Bruce Curliss’ (Nipmuc) short film Survivor, which deals with the atrocities committed against the Nipmuc at Deer Island.  On October 30, 1675, Native people from what is now South Natick were removed to Deer Island in Boston Harbor.  Without adequate food, clothing, or shelter, the majority of the people—mostly women, children, and elders—perished. (Viewers should note that The Colony and File Under Miscellaneous are not suitable for viewers under the age of 18 without parental accompaniment.)

On Friday, November 12, at 7pm, Green Street will be hosting a panel moderated by anthropologist and UMass Boston professor Amy Den Ouden. Panelists will include Schaghticoke elder Trudie Lamb Richmond and Ruth Garby Torres, also a member of the Schaticoke Nation, and representatives from the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation and the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation. Our knowledgeable panelists will discuss issues facing their tribes, including federal recognition. They will happily answer questions from the audience, with the hope that the event will be an open, informative dialogue.

Submitted by Stephanie Elliott, Friend of Green Street and Publicist at Wesleyan University Press

To reserve your spot for any of these events, call 860-685-7871 or email gsac@wesleyan.edu.Native Dance

Native American Dance Workshop

Saturday, September 25 | 2pm

General: $10; Members/Students/Seniors: $8

This event is co-sponsored by the Wesleyan Dance Department.

File Under Miscellaneous: Short Films

Friday, October 29 | 7 pm

Suggest donation: $5

The State of Native Connecticut

Friday, November 12 | 7 pm

Suggest donation: $5

Keeping the Beat: Green Street Encourages Life-Long Students

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A Note of Thanks

Thank you to everyone who attended our Opening Evening on September 10th; the night was a great success and we enjoyed meeting new friends and seeing familiar faces.  We’d like to thank Michael Roth, Wesleyan University President, Sonia Mañjon, Wesleyan University Vice President for Institutional Partnerships and Chief Diversity Officer, and our incredible Green Street Advisory Board members and Wesleyan Trustees who joined in the festivities and showed their support for GSAC.  We hope you all experienced some of the great offerings, like the salsa workshop, West African Drumming and Dancing, and family art projects.  Green Street is fortunate to have fantastic advocates like you.  Buster and Paola, two of our supporters, have shared their Green Street experience with us below.

Keeping the Beat

Green Street Arts Center is an essential part of our lifelong learning process.  Buster and I are both teachers. He teaches fourth grade at Macdonough School in Middletown and I teach sixth grade at Sunset Ridge Elementary Academy for Arts and World Languages in East Hartford. He is a Middletown native and I live in Glastonbury, which makes for a convenient commute to Green Street for both of us.  Last spring, we participated in the West African Drumming: Djembe Orchestra class led by expert instructors Jocelyn Pleasant and Aaron Greenberg, who teach with humor and patience. We not only practiced drum technique, but also learned about the various rhythms and cultures of West African countries with our diverse, energetic, and good-natured classmates.

In addition to expert instruction and welcoming classmates, another key feature of the Green Street Arts Center is its partnership with the greater Middletown community.  As a culmination to our drumming course, many class members joined the instructors and younger Green Street students to perform at a community festival celebrating the arts open to all.  For a novice musician such as me, performing a public concert for an intergenerational audience was thrilling!

Buster and I always look forward to Green Street’s new course offerings because they stretch our minds and rejuvenate our spirits.  In the future, we hope to explore Salsa dancing, creative writing, martial arts, and of course, more drumming.

Thank you, Green Street Arts Center for helping us stay bright and lively!

Sincerely,

Paola Maina and Buster NelsonFall Catalog Cover
Submitted by Paola Maina and Buster Nelson, Green Street students and After School support staff

If, like Paola and Buster, you are interested in staying bright and lively through one of Green Street’s offerings, view our fall course catalog here.  To become a member and receive great discounts at Green Street and partner organizations around the state, email gsac@wesleyan.edu or call (860) 685-7871.  Click here for all of the membership benefits. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sunday Salon Series: “Days and Knights of the Round Table”

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Come join us to learn about the true story that inspired a legend.

The Arthurian legend is perhaps the most important legend in Western society and is still frequently retold and reinterpreted today in literature and cinema.  Wesleyan Professor Jeff Rider has been studying the legend for over thirty years and will be discussing it in Green Street’s Sunday Salon Series.  Jeff will discuss the origins of the legend in Dark Age Britain along with its early evolution in medieval England and France. Audience members are invited to ask questions about Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, the Grail, and much more.

This informal lecture takes place on Sunday, September 12 from 2-4pm as part of the Sunday Salon Series, Green Street’s monthly discussion series for creative minds and curious individuals hosted by Wesleyan University Chemistry Professor David Beveridge.  Each monthly salon includes plenty of opportunity for socializing as well as a reception with light refreshments.

More about Jeff Rider
As a professor of French and Medieval Studies at Wesleyan University, Rider is an expert on the history and literature of northern Europe during the High Middle Ages.  He received his bachelor’s degree in French and English from Yale University, a diploma of Medieval Studies from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), and a MA and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago.

Rider is the author of twenty-three published articles and six books, editions, or translations devoted medieval subjects.  He has given numerous lectures about the Arthurian legend in the United States, England, France, Belgium, Holland, Hungary, Romania, and Peru.

He teaches French language and medieval literature and history courses to undergrads, and recently taught a course on “Chivalry, Courtliness, and Courtly Love in the Middle Ages” to students enrolled in Wesleyan’s Graduate Liberal Studies Program.  He will be teaching a GLSP class this fall on “Days and Knights of the Round Table”.  Much like his Sunday Salon discussion, it will look at the way the various developments of the legend were rooted in specific historical circumstances and yet contributed to the elaboration of a rich and complex narrative that has been appropriated in different ways by each succeeding period of western European culture.

Days and Knights of the Round Table with Professor Jeff Rider
A Sunday Salon & Graduate Liberal Studies Open House
Sunday, September 12 | 2:00-4:00 pm
Suggested donation: $5

Co-sponsored by Green Street Arts Center and Graduate Liberal Studies at Wesleyan, this event will be followed by an information session about Wesleyan’s Graduate Liberal Studies Program.

For a complete list of events at Green Street, click here.

East Berlin to Essex

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Internationally-Recognized Artist Shares Story and Talents with Green Street

Edeltraud Huller is not only a Green Street teaching artist, she is also an internationally-recognized artist and talented musician. Two years ago, in an effort to fill a void, Edeltraud walked into Green Street and said “I need to volunteer”. From there she was invited to teach drawing to our After School program and Evening & Weekend students.

Teaching has always been a passion of Huller’s, “to see the students’ completed work with such depth and technique that they basically went into the soul, to me that is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.” She also marvels at the natural instinct in the children she teaches, citing their spontaneity as one of their best artistic features.

Edeltraud Huller’s story is an inspirational one.  As a young girl growing up in East Berlin, Germany Edeltraud was curious, devious, and artistic.  Drawing from an early age, she remembers using the revolutionary image of Donald Duck as one of the first examples of graffiti in her neighborhood and on every blackboard in her school.  For Huller, art has always been a way to transcend the problems of divided Berlin, and she recalls escaping to museums of Eastern Berlin to immerse herself in the art and culture.

Edeltraud Huller's 1945 - 9/11/01Much of Edeltraud’s art reflects her surrounding, whether immediate or past.  In her own words, “I am influenced by the converging environments around me, whether it be the richness of nature, the beauty created by endeavors of the human mind, or the architectural destruction and human wreckage of war.” A powerful piece titled “1945 – 9/11/2001” juxtaposes world history with recent American history (see left).  The upper left depicts the war-torn Berlin in which the artist lived while the right side shows the events of September 11th, a time when New York City experienced a concentrated war-zone.  The hints of vibrant color in the center represent the hope that comes with rebuilding Ground Zero.  Huller notes that, though this painting represents two specific time periods, it could depict any world or natural disaster.

Huller move to Old Lyme, CT in 1984 to live the life of an artist and this time also greatly influenced her art.   After operating the Essex ferry for two years, she was inspired by the bulkheads between the low and high tides.  Manipulating linen and using acrylic for depth, the artist was able to recreate her interpretation of the image of low tide (see painting below).  Surely one thing that stands out about Edeltraud Huller is her vision.  “It takes the gift of a child’s mind,” she says, laughing, “and I hope never to lose that.”

Submitted by Lisa Bruno, Development Assistant

If you are inspired by Edeltraud’s story and want to learn more, you can participate in her upcoming fall class:

Drawing for Adults
Wednesdays | 6:30-8:30 pm | Session 2
Regular: $150 | Family/Friends/Student/Seniors: $130 | Members: $120
Expand your drawing skills through close observation, using realistic and expressionistic drawing techniques.  Explore dynamic compositions with three-dimensional objects, props, and lighting, and draw your own interpretations.  Investigate and create the illusion of form, value, space, and texture with materials such as charcoal, pencil, pen, and ink. Materials are included in class cost.

To register for this or any of Green Street’s  fall offerings click here or call (860) 685-7871.

Future Animators Shaped At Green Street

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“Working at Green Street, in the After School program, has given me the chance to show our students how current technology can be a creative tool that they can use to express themselves.  I try to help them see how relatively easy it is for them to create sophisticated content, and put it out into the community and further into the world. In some sense, I want to convert them from passive consumers of online content into creative producers.” -Shawn Hill

For the past few years I’ve been teaching Digital Video Animation to Green Street’s After School students and helping them create animated shorts (cartoons).  Students draw images on the computer and then move those images to a new location on the screen.  The computer then infills the motion necessary to move from the initial location to the new one, and creates the sense of motion over time.Student Animator

Animating in this way gives the students immediate feedback on their drawings and brings them to life through motion.  Each student is typically able to create a short animated section of about 3-6 seconds in length during an hour-long class.  And, while spending an hour to create 5 seconds of a cartoon may sound like a lot of time, when you consider that 5 seconds represents 120 frames, you can imagine how much time it would have taken even the most talented classic Disney animators to draw 120 subtly different drawings in order to add up to 5 seconds of final film!

Each semester our class settles on a theme – over the years we’ve done global warming, exercising, Middletown, and science.  In each class I introduce and demonstrate a new skill or technique in Anime Studio.  The students then go off to their own computer to draw, and then animate some part of the semester’s theme, using the new skill/technique.

Each week the students create their clips independently, and the beginning of the following class is often a great chance for them to see the creativity and skill of their peers By mid-semester we begin to assemble the best clips into a class video.  We work on titles and credits, and typically end-up with a final class video of about 6 minutes in length.  Students in Green Street’s Sound Recording class then create soundtracks that we add to the final cartoon.

Submitted by Shawn Hill, Wesleyan Staff & Green Street teaching artist

Here is a video students made called “Go Out and Play”.  Click here to see more videos and get a sense of the great work our After School students have created.

A little bit about After School:
Green Street’s After School Arts and Science Program offers outstanding classes with published writers, professional dancers and visual artists that represent the diversity of our community and the breadth of our experience.  Classes are offered for grades 1-9, Monday through Thursday and grades K-5 on Fridays.  Students can take classes in digital animation, African drumming, comic book creation, breakdance, sound recording and more.  Our After School Program begins on September 13, 2010.

Registration closes at noon on September 8th, or once the program has reached maximum enrollment, so don’t wait!  In order to enroll in the program, you and your child must register with us in person to sign our Parent Handbook, complete financial aid paperwork, and/or make payments. Please call ahead – (860) 685-7871 – to schedule an appointment; drop-ins will only be seen on a first-come, first-served basis.  Registration appointments are currently being scheduled at the following times:

Monday, August 30th and Tuesday August 31st – 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Wednesday, September 1st and Friday, September 3rd – 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Thursday, September 2nd and Tuesday, September 7th – 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Diffraction “Rainbow” Glasses at the Art & Science Summer Academy

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Last week fourth and fifth graders participating in Green Street’s Summer Arts & Science Academy created their very own Diffraction “Rainbow” Glasses.  Each student’s creativity shone through their designs resembling a cat, a butterfly, an elephant, a blue bunny, the United States flag, imaginary monsters, and more!  These students have been learning about topics related to light and vision with teacher Mariah Reisner.  Overall 12 teachers and teaching assistants are sharing their time and talent with the 37 Summer Academy students in grades 1-5.  This pilot program at Green Street included classes in visual art, music, dance, experimentation, and community science, and it already is being deemed a success!

Click here to view this educational art project that the students enjoyed:  Diffraction Rainbow Glasses.

Submitted by Mariah Reisner, Teaching Artist

For more great images of our summer programs, check out our Facebook page and be sure to become our fan!

Write of Passage

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Al Bower and friends at an event for writers

A 28-year resident of Middletown’s North End, I retired from full-timework to become a writer in 2006.  My Green Street Arts Center experience began when I took a writers workshop with Dan Pope, which provided the work atmosphere and critiquing I needed.  I was new to critically viewing works and hadn’t been in a classroom in decades, so this was a refresher course that provided new information.  Dan gave us relevant feedback, with lectures on how to critique and handouts of examples.  During this course an editor accepted my first short story.  What a rush!  “Synesthetics” hit print April, 2007 and is online at scars.tv.  Two others have been added there since.

Having whetted my writing appetite, the next year I workshopped with Sari Rosenblatt, who challenged us with “quickie” in-class assignments.  She’d hand out random photographs to each of us, then give us 5-10 minutes to compose a story about the picture.  I’d never dabbled in “flash fiction” before, but the exercises produced some fairly good material, which stunned me.  Two of the eleven stories I’ve published are flash pieces.  Later that year a one-day workshop with Jamie Cat Callan presented similar challenges; we composed five-minute works, again with positive results.

Adult Reader
Writing student reading work at a GSAC event

Since Writers Out Loud began in 2008, I’ve attended every month, mainly because reading aloud shows where faults lie and aids the rewriting process.  The primary side benefit has been meeting many delightful prose people, who’ve become friends, literary influences, and indispensable sources of feedback.  The Writers Out Loud ambience is relaxed; attendees bring cheese and crackers, soda, and home-made sweets to enjoy.  The first half hour gives us time to socialize and catch up on prior conversations.  I normally do a short reading, leading into Cocomo’s announcements and introduction of the evening’s readers.  After each person’s oration, the group acknowledges strengths and weaknesses.  One reading that moved me especially was Piyar Delerme’s, “Cornflower Blue,” which she’ll read this Thursday.  It’s a touching and delicately-phrased description of a brutal situation that made my arm hairs stand at attention.

As a resident of Middletown, I believe in supporting the community and its artistic folks and I am forever grateful for the opportunities Green Street provides.  Writers Out Loud has provided prose writers the chance to give voice to their fictions, their memories, their lives; I relish creating characters and situations but have also read memoirs about key friends in my life.  Most of all, though, I’ve enjoyed writing about my wife, Carol, in some 18 efforts, both fictional and non-fictional.  A few Writers Out Loud attendees have told me they want to meet her based on my readings.  Apparently, I’m developing the ability to touch people. That is my goal.

Submitted by Al Bower, Middletown resident and Green Street participant

Writers Out Loud: Cream of the Crop
Thursday, July 29, 2010 | 7pm
Regular Price $8; Member Price $5
For reservations call (860) 685-7871 or email gsac@wesleyan.edu.

Join the creative cast of Writers Out Loud in an evening of hand-picked readings by Middletown’s freshest up-and-coming prose authors.  The evening will culminate in the presentation of the Golden Kiss Award—make sure your vote is counted!  This event is dedicated to the memory of Janice M. Albert in celebration of her life and contributions to our creative community.

Green Street’s New Mural Brings The Community Together

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“It’s fun.  It’s different.  We’re starting with nothing and making something beautiful.” – Gary Cain, volunteer

Green Street is surrounded by revitalization this summer.  More than 5 neighboring houses are being remodeled, gardens are being planted, and across the street at St. Vincent DePaul Place, the community is coming together to bring color and meaning to the North End.

In 2009, Green Street partnered with Citizen’s Bank to put a mural on the corner of Green and Main Street.  With this success, Green Street and mural artist Marela Zacarias were eager to continue beautifying the community.  When Ron Krum of St. Vincent DePaul Place expressed interest in the project, funding was secured from Lego’s Children Fund and the design process began.

In preparation for the project, Marela held four educational workshops for Green Street students in which she discussed the importance of murals.  Ron then gave the kids the background of St. Vincent DePaul Place and its impact on the community.  It was obvious that the students had been inspired; at the next mural meeting, there were dozens of design ideas.  The final mural design is a culmination of Green Street student drawings, St. Vincent DePaul Place’s vision, and Marela’s artistic guidance.

It’s not just the familiar images of North End landmarks that make this mural a community collaboration; St. Vincent de Paul volunteers Gary, Bill, and John have been working tirelessly alongside Marela throughout the painting process.  These three men, all with their own story, have come together to give something back to the community and, in doing so, have formed friendships.  This dedication has inspired Marela to include their faces in the mural to give the community a stronger sense of ownership.

Marela sees the Community Mural Project as an act of kindness, something to show community support.  “That corner is the corner where hardship lives,” she says, “and the fact that we’re making that corner, specifically, beautiful and colorful and full of hope, is bringing healing to the community.”

If you are interested in supporting and helping our community revitalization efforts please contact us at (860) 685-7871 or gsac@wesleyan.edu

Submitted by Lisa Bruno, Development Assistant

Exploring Opportunities: When Work Becomes Play

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Being the Financial Coordinator and Registrar at Wesleyan’s Green Street Arts Center has many rewards.  I am able to meet many wonderful people, as the diversity of this Center is truly amazing.  I work with our teaching artists on a daily basis, and after getting to know these dynamic people I am always curious to see what their classes are like.  I took my first class at Green Street two years ago and continue to take advantage of some of the great offerings each year.

Leah's Hip-Hop ClassAfter the success of Beginning Drawing, my first Green Street class, I was inspired to continue exploring what Green Street had to offer from a student’s perspective.  Being a woman in my mid-forties, and having a sedentary job, I wanted to incorporate more activity into my life.  Leah’s Hip-Hop Aerobics class seemed like the perfect fit.

When I showed up for the first class, I could tell that I was the oldest of the 10 students.  I wasn’t discouraged- quite the opposite, actually.  I grabbed my water bottle and the determination to make it through the first class.  After 55 minutes of great music, a few simple dance moves, and stretches, I had clearly gotten a complete aerobic workout.  It was so much fun, that it was hard to think of the class as exercise.  Driving home, I felt energized and was hooked.

Like all of Green Street’s teaching artists, Leah has a way of making Hip-Hop Aerobics equally enjoyable for both beginners and experienced dancers.  She is energetic and kindly encourages all students to make the most of the experience.

After taking Hip-Hop Aerobics, I have not only have I gotten in better shape, but have also proved to myself that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.  I gave the class a chance, and I am excited to try others at Green Street again soon.

If you’re interested in attending Hip-Hop Aerobics or want more information about other classes and events at Green Street, call (860) 685-7871, email gsac@wesleyan.edu, or visit our website. Still not sure what to take?  Many classes welcome drop-ins!

Submitted by Claudia Foerstel, Financial Coordinator & Registrar and Green Street student