The air tingled with excitement at the Show and Tell performance on Friday afternoon. The showing focused on a “day in the life” of a YAP student, which gave the audience members a glimpse into the students’ experiences throughout these past three weeks. This performance did not include any of the choreography that was shown in the Festival Finale on Saturday evening, but was breathtaking nevertheless.

Musicians Terrence Karn and Rob Flax started the show off with their creative music classes. The “tick tocks,” YAP’s youngest students, began by sitting cross-legged on stage following Terrence in a fun body percussion sequence and sang along with Rob. Next, the “middle ages,” showed their new knowledge of time measures through clapping, hitting the stage, and counting along with their teachers. The “senior citizens,” YAP’s oldest students, then performed one of their favorite songs, “Wild Things” by Alessia Cara. The audience watched with huge smiles on their faces as the students gathered in a half circle and sang the lyrics and clapped.

Following the music portion, theater teacher and assistant to YAP director, Annalyn Lehnig, led the teens in a theater exercise in which they interpreted one of their peer’s walking patterns. Next, the “tick tocks” ran to the stage to demonstrate their new dancing skills with teachers Patrick Ferreri and Rose Leach. Patrick had the “Yappers” speed up and slow down their movements to add even more creativity to their dancing. Not to be outdone, Patrik then began a warm up with the “middle ages,” complete with yoga poses, planks, and handstands. The show continued with hip-hop and other demonstrations that highlighted the students’ originality and talent.

Only a little over 24 hours later, our “Funky Timers” geared up for another beautiful performance. They participated in the Bates Dance Festival Festival Finale that included pieces choreographed by professional artists and performed by students of the Professional Training Program. They had the opportunity to show their families and friends their choreographed music, dance, and theater pieces and also had the chance to watch the older dancers perform. The YAP students’ artwork, which included self-portraits, drawings, and their tree designs, was also displayed beautifully in the Alumni Gym.

The YAP section of the festival finale was titled “It’s About Time.” The “Funky Timers” wore black bottoms with white t-shirts painted with “YAP EST ’95.” The performance was separated into sections by different lines of the quote about time by Harry Van Dyke: “Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.”

The YAP Festival Finale began with the students’ voices stating what day and what time they were born. Annalyn and Rob added a soundscape on top of the voices, creating a nostalgic and beautiful beginning. As the “Yappers” sat in a meditative pose, one of the students displayed the quote; “Time is too slow for those who wait…” The “tick tocks” and “middle ages” exited, and the teens performed a stunning dance piece to “From Eden” by Hozier.

The “tick tocks” re-entered to the sound of a clock ticking, and followed their intern Jazmine in a song and clapping sequence. Next, the “senior citizens” danced in two diagonal lines along to traditionally soulful music performed by Rob Flax and Jesse Manno. After, the “middle ages” performed their hip-hop piece, complete with partnering, lifts, and lots of fancy footwork.

A YAP student crossed the stage with the next line of the quote, “…too long for those who grieve,” while Rob and a student played a violin duet, signaling another section of the performance. The “middle ages” then formed a semi circle around one student, and the teens joined singing “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by Green Day. In an extremely heartwarming moment, the older students exited and the “tick tocks” were revealed holding hands in a circle. They moved from the circle to jam out and show off their new dance skills.

Next, the “middle ages” demonstrated their musical talent with a full orchestral performance including a flute and a violin solo. The music demonstration lead into an upbeat, modern dance to a remix of “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper, performed by the teens. The next quote “… too short for those who rejoice…” along with another beautiful violin sequence cued the “tick tocks” to begin their original song about time. Their song transitioned into a funky dance with headstands and even splits. The “senior citizens” then really showed their “age” and broke out some fancy dance moves despite their need for canes.

The final line of the quote “… but for those who love, time is eternity,” introduced the finale of the YAP show. An emotional version of “Let it Be” sung by one of the “Funky Timers” left goose bumps on the audiences’ arms. This progressed into two students standing side by side holding hands in a circle made by the other “Yappers.”

The students closed out the showing with a breathtaking infinity sign made through a walking pattern, overlapped with the students’ voices saying; “For those who love, time is eternity.”

The YAP faculty and staff is truly proud of the “Funky Timers,” and their hard work was evident in their beautiful final performance. At the final bow, the audience went absolutely wild. Everyone was clearly very touched by the young artists’ creativity and talent. Bates Dance Festival is thankful to host this exceptional program each year.

This post was written by Sydney Burrows. Sydney is the BDF Social Media Intern for the 2016 summer.

Photography by BDF Intern Blake Caple

Love Is Eternity

As the Festival Finale creeps closer and closer, the Youth Arts Program faculty and staff have begun shaping and finalizing their ideas. On Monday, the students gathered together to show their peers the pieces they have developed throughout the last two weeks. Some of the dances include handstands and spinning on the ground, while others focus on smooth, slow movement and meditation. The music is upbeat and energetic in some pieces, and instrumental and peaceful in others. The students are often dancing in pairs, which gives them the opportunity to learn partnering, cooperation, and balance.

Monday evening, the YAP faculty met to finalize the order of the Festival Finale and discuss transitions and themes. Today the students will run through the first half of the show, and will continue through the second part tomorrow. The YAP staff enjoyed their meeting and even sang through some of the songs. The faculty always makes sure that having fun is a priority at YAP, even at weekly staff meetings.

The staff discussed transitions, which are important for physical blocking of the show, and also for the smoothness and arc of the piece. For this year’s Festival Finale, the students will begin with quiet, slow movement. They will then build to a more energetic middle, and decline again to a soft, serene ending.

Although the YAP staff began with the solidified theme of time in mind, they have transitioned this idea to include a strong sense of mindfulness and being in the moment. The students have been learning to be mindful and present every day in order to make each moment special. Keeping with this idea of time and being present, the students will end the show with an infinity sign made of moving bodies. The show will close with the students’ voices saying, “Love is Eternity.”

This statement was inspired by a quote Henry Van Dyke: “Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” The YAP staff feels that this quote really embodies the meaning of this year’s show and the supporting community created by our students.

The staff has decided that the “Yappers” will wear white t-shirts that they will paint themselves in art class for the final showing. Their outfits as well as their movements will emphasize the students’ unique qualities and personalities. The students’ voices will be used to accompany their movement, as well as songs that they have created and centered on time.

Everyone is excited and looking forward to the beautiful moments that will happen throughout this week and in the Festival Finale. The students are enjoying watching each others pieces and are influenced by their talented peers and teachers every day. They cannot wait to show off everything that they have been working on in these past few weeks to their family and friends.

This post was written by Sydney Burrows. Sydney is the BDF Social Media Intern for the 2016 summer.

Photography by BDF Intern Blake Caple

Although the Youth Arts Program only began on Monday, the YAP faculty are already feeling inspired and are exploring ideas for the final showing. This year’s “Yappers” have decided to call themselves “The Funky Timers,” as the theme for this year is time. The littles (grades 2-3) have chosen to be called “Tick Tocks,” the middles (grades 4-6) “Middle Agers,” and the teens (grades 7-11) “Senior Citizens.”

On Wednesday evening, the YAP staff met to discuss ideas to develop as the program continues. At the end of the third day, they had already begun to see sparks of brilliance from the kids and were learning how best to work with this year’s group.

Immediately, faculty began spouting ideas for the final showing. Annalyn Lehnig, YAP’s theatre teacher and assistant to YAP director, suggested recording the kids stating where and when they were born, and staggering the statements with music. Annalyn thought that it would be a great way to support the theme of time through background music.

Patrick Ferreri, one of YAP’s dance instructors, enthusiastically described an accompanying movement of two figures in the center of a revolving circle of others. He imagined the couple constantly switching in and out with other dancers. Patrick saw it as a representation of change and time passing, and also imagined it resembling the circular rotation of a clock. In class, Patrick has been working with the teens and the concept of age. They have been investigating the development of life in relation to movement. He asked them to imagine themselves as babies, toddlers, and their current age. At each stage, the teens created a movement to represent that time. The students loved this assignment and have created many fun and inventive gestures.

Rose Leach, another YAP dance instructor, has been working on meditation in her classes. The students are learning to pause every so often and take a breath. She suggested that the final showing express these pauses. The faculty may play with stopping and starting accompanied by a gong, alarm clock, or other sounds that people associate with time.

In music class with Terrence Karn and Rob Flax, the students are becoming fluent with time signatures. They are even learning complicated timing including counting in fives and sevens. The YAP staff is extremely impressed with the students’ talent and how quickly they have absorbed new information.

Another theme that YAP may explore is the concept of seasons, which Priscilla Rivas, YAP’s acting director and dance and visual arts instructor, will be studying in art class. Priscilla has also been working with the students and creating timelines of their lives, including their past, present and future. In this way, they have been able to express what they hope will happen in their lives, as well as what they have already experienced. Priscilla is considering giving the students an assignment of painting their own version of Salvador Dali’s painting of melting clocks, “The Persistence of Memory.”

This year’s “Yappers” are enthusiastic and hard working. The YAP faculty cannot help but be inspired by their infectious happiness. They are looking forward to developing these ideas and watching as they grow into a beautiful final showcase of the students’ work.

This post was written by Sydney Burrows. Sydney is the BDF Social Media Intern for the 2016 summer.