Keep The Arts Alive.

After working on hours of homework the clock strikes five and there’s a stampede of fifteen children endlessly running with excitement like chasing an ice cream truck on the first days of summer. The empty basketball gymnasium is loaded with energy that is so dense there’s anticipation for it to pop. All this vitality is for their weekly dance class with Dynamic Force Dance as a part of their enrichment program at Hyde Park Neighborhood Club (HPNC).

“I like to dance because it’s like gymnastics but you get to move your hips and stuff… that’s more fun. My legs are a weapon,” said Olivia, 7, aftercare student. 

The dance instructor of the day was Joel Villaruel, who taught a session of breakdancing for the five to seven age group. Villaruel always knew that he wanted to teach and bring a positive attitude to the youth to help them discover who they are or going to become. In the hour class there were constant screams of “Watch Me! Watch Me!” and “I can do it! I can do it!” The kids were fearless.

“It’s all about nurturing and culturing hip-hop and so after learning that, I wanted to do the same. I’m reaching the point where I’m the mid-generation so I should be teaching the young generation as they did me.”

Dynamic Force Dance (DFD) is a performance program that gives kids the chance to express themselves through the arts by uniting youth from different race, religion and soci-economic backgrounds. They encourage kids to intuitively free their mind and build creativity, confidence, coordination and communication skills. The owners share an intense passion to inspire today’s dance talent by teaching through partnerships. Partnerships are after-school programs that allow their company to teach dance for free or at a fractioned price to the kids in their enrichment organization. Their goal is to open up a new world for children who never or will never be exposed to dance in their lifetime.

Sheena Baskerville, CEO and Founder of Dynamic Force Dance, said, “We are big for non-for-profit we’re big on diversity and soci-economic areas, we want to bring everyone together we felt if we went the route of partnerships that would expand us to all these different neighborhoods with all this diversity instead of being molded into this stereotype.”

Baskerville runs the company with Lisa Soloman, CFO, co-founder and psychology graduate of DePaul University. Once this pair met they knew they were going to be best friends, now their relationship is more like sisters. While talking to them inside-joke intertwine constantly with A.D.D. subject changes. As we got to the core of the topic after rambling about Baskerville’s father being the weatherman of CBS-2, Starbucks lines, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, a yogi friend’s pregnancy and the valet off Hubbard Street crashing her car, it clicked…they saw everything eye-to-eye…everything.

Obviously this is what can make a business crash or succeed. However, they’re in a positive place.

“We are usually on the same track that’s why we are great partners…when I went to college I knew I wanted to work with children and I kinda stopped dancing. Then Sheena and I met and we knew that’s what we had in common. I miss it, it’s the one thing I wish I never gave up, but I felt like I could fix that. This is the perfect time. This is the right time in our lives where we can make a change and to give kids that chance,” said Soloman.

 

Cultural programs like Hyde Park Neighborhood Club want to dedicate time to extracurricular activities, which is the focus of DFD. The kids always look forward to seeing Baskerville and Soloman because they get to experience something different.

“I love little kids they’re so honest they’re so real…if you catch them at their young age they’re not forced, they have that innocence of if they like it or if they don’t, you know you’re not forcing anything, its just happiness of what they choose to like,” said Baskerville. 

Hamzeh Jabber, youth counselor at HPNC, said, “Just because someone wants to come here and work with these kids doesn’t necessarily mean that they know what they’re doing with kids. But it is also the feeling they got the moment they met all the kids. The kids asked about them the next day, they look forward to seeing them and building that relationship, it’s awesome.” 

For an after school program this is valuable because they see how dance is affecting their physical and mental energy. Jabber discussed how parents were not keen on having their child dance and wanted them to focus more on homework. He explained that doing homework for three-hours straight will burn the brain and there needs to be an alternative break to make the brain pliable.

“I mean, some of our parents initially, they were really bent at not stopping homework…they didn’t want us to take their kids to the enrichment programs. Then they realized how lethargic their kids looked afterwards and how some of them were upset that they weren’t allowed to participate in the activities…and I think that’s when parents sat in these classes and saw how happy their kids were.”

DFD began their fourth partnership and hired a few new teachers to get ready for the new year with potential to add two new partnerships. As for a long-term goal for 2014, talking about the future brought up giddy jitters giving them hesitation to share or not share some news. They hinted at saying one of the partnerships will be “a big deal…a huge deal” and ended with the hopes of opening a storefront studio. 

“It is so disappointing to me when a child comes up to us and they know that they can’t afford it and we don’t want that to stop them because we want to show them something that will open up opportunities for them for their future, in their life, I believe that is something that they shouldn’t be denied,” said Soloman. 

To keep kids from all economic backgrounds around they provide scholarships with the Chicago park district. Eventually when the open their own storefront studio, they will be true to their word and keep these scholarships around. They want to make sure the demographic they are connecting currently will stick with them to continue learning and discovering a passion for the arts.

Dynamic Force Dance teaches through technique training, social workshops, performances and camp programs based around ballet, jazz, hip hop and breakdancing.  They work with social media to keep connected with their students and parents via Instagram (@dynamicforcedance) and Facebook. Updates and reminders for when to register for classes or workshops are posted monthly. For the rest of the fall season, Dynamic Force Dance will be at Hyde Park Neighborhood Club on Tuesdays and Fridays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“The arts bring out creativity, self-esteem, confidence, discipline, its one thing to learn something to have it or not, but with the arts you can absorb the skill that can take you farther in life.”

It's My Time.

Amy Rose Ramenili is a public relations/advertising and English creative writing senior at DePaul University. She has been a part of the Cosby Sweaters, a DePaul improv team, since she was a freshman. It all started when she saw a flyer for auditions and her acting career rocketed from there. Thanks to the people she has met, she was able to connect with people in DePaul’s Theatre School through the DePaul Theatre Union which gives non-theatre school students the chance to express their art. Within the past four years, she has been a part of Second City’s conservatory for comedy and music and been claimed as an accredited writer for “Same Sex, Different Gays” which was featured in the Red-Eye. Her next goal is to continue writing projects through the image of being a strong female comedian. 

Currently, she is in a performance group called Lady Lab, “We’re a team of all ladies that uses sketch and improve to explore our place as a twenty something in this world: not a girl, not yet a woman, not yet a khaleesi.”

The last show is November 9 at Donny’s Skybox at midnight. Tickets are $12.

Q: How did you get started with doing improv?

A: I am from the South suburbs of Chicago so a lot of my teachers were Second City people themselves who went through course, because of that they started an improv team at my high school.

Q: Was it a style like Comedy Sportz (shortform comedy troupes)?

A: Ya. We were called Improv Army and it was short form (comedy.) I never even heard of imrpov before that. I knew Chicago was the city and it meant something in comedy in terms of SNL, but I didn’t know what it meant. It turns out that the big chunk is about taking improv classes, doing shows and being a part of this really big community. This opened up my world of theatre.

Q: Now that you’ve been exposed to this Chicago theatre world, do you study other people by watching theatre or want to explore more script study?

A: I didn’t know any of the theatres like Neo-Futurists and Steppenwolf and acting programs. My next step is to take acting more seriously. I want to start studying more acting (than improv). I’m really interested in taking classes at Steppenwolf. Ideally I can do that after I finish school, after I’m done with all my other projects.

Q: So you enjoy the spontaneous-ness?

A: Oh man, it’s awesome! I’m in class from 3 P.M. to 6 P.M. Our teacher had us do five scenes, four black-outs and you have to perform at the end of class. I was so excited because first of all it removes the pressure…’cuz ‘look this is hard everyone, lets not beat ourselves up, were set up to fail so just have fun.’ And I don’t know…if you do really want to do this, it’s fast pace work, you got to thrive and enjoy that.

Q: Do you write your own work or rather be handed an idea?

A: I write stand-up, but I don’t do it as much as I’d like to. I like writing, as a real foundational level because it feeds into improv and many people argue that improv is just a thing to make written sketch.  I love writing sketch, fiction, stand-up. I love writing. I’m trying to teach myself to write screenplays and write treatment. At the base of it I’d like to be a writer in the end.

Q: Since, you really like writing, would you consider writing sitcoms and television versus stage?

A: I would love to write something like 30 Rock or Parks and Rec. Or even SNL. I’d be super happy. I’d be done.  In the meantime, I would really like to get involved with grant writing at Second City, it’s a diversity outreach program. As I’m pursuing this arts sort of entertainment writing I like having a base in English and Communications to make it worth something pretty useful and meaningful.

Q: Do you think that discovering the arts at a young age benefits you in your overall lifetime?

A: They were taking away the arts at my high school and it was awful. I think it’s beneficial because I feel that a lot of my peers that are graduating are still figuring out that question… what do I love doing? What do I feel is fulfilling and good? I think that when you’re encouraged to do something more creative, you figure out that passion earlier. I think you should take it seriously and get the opportunity to find that. I’m not saying its acting for everyone or music for everyone. My brother is a trader and he can geek out as had on economics as hard as I do about improv.  The earlier you find it the better because it is already this daunting thing and it gives you courage.

Q: Who is your role model?

A: I admire Sarah Silverman’s attitude and boldness. In the past year or so I haven’t really met a women in my world that wasn’t someone I saw on television. Then teachers I had this year, like Holly Lawrence were people that I see as super inspirational. I look at them and say I want a career like that. I see them doing the work right in front of me. It’s cool to see women doing this in my world.

Q: Do you like targeting toward the women demographic?

A: I just like working with women. There are a lot of women in my classes right now, but how many women are going to step up? I just like the comradery about it. It’s kinda cool to be like, you had that one scene too when you were the mother or the girlfriend. It’s also cool to be something else than that and talks to dude improvists and ask are you aware of this, do you understand? It’s an exciting time to be a woman in comedy.

SHIFT: A NEW MEDIA EXHIBIT

Chicago-based artist Luftwerk, who illuminated Chicago's landmark, The Bean, last winter, has a new exhibit in Chicago Cultural Center’s Chicago Room. Located on the north side of the 2^nd floor are three rooms: Spectrum, Synthesis and Threshold. Each room integrates color, light and material through video projection. The concept of how light creates imagery based on how it is placed and reflects on is fascinating. The exhibit looks very simple, but sometimes simplicity shows off its complexity and beauty.

The first room is called spectrum. By entering the doorway it is unclear if it’s an entrance to the exhibit or a part of the exhibit. Music plays to set the mood similar to a séance room. The music brings out emotions of relaxation and peace. It is very soothing. At the same time the music is playing, there is a light show on the wall. It looks like a wall of paint swatches of all shades of the rainbow molding into a mosaic. The movement of the images moves fast enough that the squares blend into a blob. The blob goes from colorful to dark. It is very swift, giving of a meaning that could mean renewal or rebirth from the pureness of light to the darkness to light again.

The second room is Synthesis. Three projections from three angles of the room hit a white floor. The space is open making the visitors that walk on the floor the object of the art piece. Visitors become the piece of art by the light reflecting off making the shadows colorful. Luftwerk’s idea of working with light makes the visitor feel intrigued because being the art piece makes it personal. Many visitors were taking photos on their smartphones of the result of their shadows color and size.

The third room is Threshold. This is what makes the exhibit look the most simple. The room is black and white lines. The way it is set up is an illusion keeping the thought that there is another room, but there is not. The lines may make visitors feel a bit dizzy, but the simplicity gives the option of analysis or boring. When there’s analysis it can be viewed for the basics. Black and white are the main colors to make colors; therefore, how simple it looks is enlightening. Everything started black and white from television to point of views, everything in life has a positive and negative. In this room reflection may be its key meaning, exactly like the first room, spectrum. Like all art, the meaning comes from the viewer’s embracement to what can guide the artwork to be historic.

All three rooms, loop in a circle because to exit the exhibit the visitors have to go through all the other rooms again. It starts with a positive and colorful image and lead in a different direction then goes back to the colors. This exhibit is enlightening because it gives visitors the opportunity to reflect when letting the space speak.

SHIFT: A New Media Exhibit by Luftwerk, will be at the Chicago Cultural Center until January 5^th, 2014. Admission is free and open 7-days a week, except holidays.