The West Virginia Dance Teacher Institute, a partnership between Appalachian Education Initiative and Goose Route Arts Collaborative, is a 5-day interactive program open to teachers and teaching artists interested in dance in school settings.

 
In its second year, The Institute will provide teachers an opportunity to explore the fundamentals of contemporary modern dance.  Participants will participate in master classes and workshops led by contemporary dance artists.  In addition, participants will attend the lectures and performances of The Goose Route Dance Festival. At the close of the Institute, participants will be given a resource notebook to assist them in implementing what they have learned in their classrooms and dance programs. 

 
AEI is providing the necessary funding for selected West Virginia teachers and teaching artists to attend the 2008 Dance Teacher Institute.  AEI is covering the program fees, lodging and meal expenses. A limited number of travel stipends are available. Out-of-state residents are welcome to participate in the Institute but are responsible for all program costs.

 
AEI is accepting applications for the 2008 West Virginia Dance Teacher Institute.  If you or someone you know would like to become more proficient in dance education, or if you or someone you know simply wants to make use of dance concepts in the regular classroom, we encourage you to submit your  application to AEI by mail at 111 High Street, Morgantown, WV 26505, by fax at 304-225-0102 or by e-mail at lkaras@aeiarts.org.  For additional information, please call Lou Karas, Executive Director, at 304/225-0101 or lkaras@aeiarts.org. Applications are available on-line at www.aeiarts.org.

About The Partners:

The Appalachian Education Initiative – AEI’s mission is to promote students’ personal development, academic performance and 21^st century workforce preparation by ensuring the availability of quality arts education in West Virginia public schools.  With primary areas of focus on Advocacy, Research & Information Dissemination and Professional Development, AEI’s founding premise has been that quality arts education, regardless of specific aesthetic or education philosophy, and whether it be arts classes or arts integration across the curriculum, should be a central part of the education of every public school student in West Virginia.

Goose Route Arts Collaborative – The Collaborative is a creating, presenting, and educational arts organization based in Shepherdstown, WV, long known to be a migration route for the Canada Goose. Paying homage to place and tradition, while also recognizing the inherent movement in contemporary art, Goose Route Arts Collaborative is named for the flyway of the Canada Goose. GRAC’s mission is to collaborate with artists – both urban and non-urban – to create and present new performance pieces; to cultivate in audiences an appreciation of dance, music, and other art forms; and to provide communities with meaningful artistic experiences. The Goose Route Dance Festival is a project of the Goose Route Arts Collaborative. The GRDF showcases the talents of contemporary dance artists whose work continues in the spirit of this dynamic and quintessentially American art form. Over the course of two weekends, dance artists from a variety of geographic locations perform in historic Shepherdstown, WV, and help to increase public awareness of contemporary modern dance.    www.gooseroute.org