March 3-8, 2013
Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, Washington
Tuition, room, and board for the week are $495; financial aid is available; scholarship deadline is January 14, 2013.
“One highlight of this week was trying different things. I have never played taiko (now I do), gone on stage to perform and drawn with my non-dominant hand. Plus I learned what an erasure is in writing class.”
~ 2012 Explorations Participant
Centrum’s “Explorations” middle-school workshop, in partnership with The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, is a week-long total-immersion residential experience. It’s a chance to converse, draw, sculpt, paint, dance, perform, and write in an intense, fun-filled time of learning. Explorations offers a wide variety of artistic genres. The goal is to expose students to visual and performing art from other cultures, widen their horizons and honor diversity in the creative culture of Washington State.
Work with gifted professional artist-faculty in the world of arts and ideas, creative risk-taking, and professional practices. Each day is divided into four workshop sessions. Choose your main interest as your core subject, and explore by learning about other art forms in your other three classes. Throughout the week, there is time in the schedule to connect with nature and explore the trails, beaches and historic monuments at Fort Worden State Park.
“The final student showcase truly gave me goose bumps. The amount students learned in one week, the professionalism of their performances and the creativity was stellar.”
~ 2012 Explorations Chaperone
Each evening, the artist faculty show and talk about the work they do; these presentations are followed by snacks and hang-out time in the dorm. On Thursday night, the student showcase takes the stage, with friends and family invited to see your work!
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CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
West African Dance and Drumming (Etienne Cakpo and Yawo Amponsah)
Learn basic dance moves and drum rhythms from the Benin-Ghana coastal region of West Africa. This class is appropriate for boys and girls of all experience levels. The drum-beats are accompanied by shaker and bell parts, and the dances have graceful and strong movements that require undulation of the back and bending of the knees. Dances integrate both traditional social and spiritual dances as well as modern movements commonly found across West African countries.
El Mundo Grafico: The Graphic World (John Hillmer)
As America’s foremost graphic designer Milton Glaser once said, “Graphic design’s function is to inform and delight”. Such will be our attempt as we jump into the “the basics” of graphic design. This class explores how good graphic design exists everywhere, at the intersection of art, language, and technology. We will get in the box (fast and clean computers) and out of the box (slow and messy art) and assemble dynamic graphic works. With our neighbors in other classes as clients, we will work to create poster designs that celebrate our collaborative creative campaign.
Hip Hop Dance (Rex Kinney)
Returning by popular demand, this energetic urban dance style incorporates several different styles and techniques into a fun hip hop routine. As a great cardio and conditioning work-out, learn some basic to advanced moves and dance combinations. Come challenge yourself and build your dance repertoire or just have fun!
Japanese Taiko Drumming (One World Taiko)
Teachers Nancy Ozaki and Gary Tsujimoto of One World Taiko introduce you to Japanese culture through the study of Japanese drumming. Learn the history of taiko in Japan and the United States as they teach the intricacies of Japanese drumming. Learn from their drumming style, which is energetic and athletic with a mix of modern and traditional rhythms and whole body movements similar to the martial arts.
SERIOUS FUN: Theater Improv (Samantha Rund)
What does Samantha Rund have in common with Steve Carrell, Tina Fey, and Amy Pohler? All trained at Second City! In this class, you will learn some of the same games and scene building strategies used by some of America’s best-loved comedic actors. Improvisation teaches you to find the inspiration to create characters at a moment’s notice. Gain the confidence to manage every situation on -and even off- stage. Get ready to take on the world as you stretch your imagination with your new found improv skills.
Spoken Word (Nicco Annan)
Sharing your thoughts and ideas through Spoken Word might be just the creative outlet for you! This workshop fits all those who want to express the power of words and get behind the mic to make magic happen.
Spoken Word is a combined expression of poetry and theatre. Bring words to life through your imagination and/or observations of the world around you. Using the art and skills of Spoken Word is a lot like riding a roller coaster of emotions. It takes you through the high points, loop-de-loops, and fast drops of life. Both your writing and performing skills will be sharpened by this workshop.
Surrealism (Britt Rynearson)
Use realistic drawing skills to create a new reality. Surrealism, an art movement from the 1920′s, includes artists such as Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte. We will examine their work and learn to create an alternative reality, one where you make the rules. Imagine roots sticking up out of the ground and plants growing down, jellyfish swimming in the sky or six moons in the earth – there’s no limit in the surreal world. Our class includes making a series of finished paintings and drawings exploring your imagination.
Writing True: Journalism (Jen Graves)
You’ve heard the phrase “Truth is stranger than fiction,” and it’s, well, true. (Strangely.) In honor of journalism and nonfiction writing as art forms, we are going to practice writing the truth right on the grounds of Fort Worden. We’ll talk about ways to express the truth creatively without bending it, in addition to creating our own group blog. Plus, we’ll look at current-events media — to test our radar for whether we think they are telling us the truth!
FACULTY
Yawo Amponsah is a master percussionist from Ghana. A versatile player, Yaw can play many styles of music from Ghana including Highlife, Agbadja, Kpanlogo and more.
His specialty is the music of the multi-part percussion ensembles of the Ashanti people, which include as many as eight independent percussion parts. He is the leader of Anokye Agofomma and a member of Manghis Khan Quartet.
Nicco Annan is an award winning director and choreographer whose work spans the worlds of theater, dance, and music. Nicco has been involved with New York City’s Hip Hop Theatre Festival, Rita Dove’s ‘Thomas & Beulah’ with the Poetry Society of America, as well as big productions including 5 Guys Named Moe, and the Respect Project (with Tony Award winner George Faison).
He has also worked on numerous on and off-Broadway shows such as “Dreamgirls.” Nicco was a resident director/choreographer at NY Live Arts (formally known as Dance Theater Workshop). Nicco considers it an honor “to be able to work with artists with integrity, who continue to tell the truth to change a life.”
Etienne Cakpo is a professional dancer, choreographer and musician from Benin, West Africa. He teaches and performs traditional African dance from Benin as well as contemporary African dance styles.
Currently the director and lead choreographer of Gansango Music and Dance based in Seattle, Etienne performs in solo events and group shows.
Jen Graves has been writing for newspapers for 15 years—first at dailies, starting in Texas and Tacoma, and then, beginning in 2005, for the Seattle weekly newspaper The Stranger.
Her writing has been in Art in America, Newsday, The Believer, Variety, ArtNews, ARCADE, and American Book Review, and the Warhol Foundation has given her some money to get lost in land art.
John Hillmer’s large acrylic stage murals have made appearances with artists such as Ray Charles, Keb’ Mo’, and Maya Angelou. His clients have included the NRDC, MGM, Paramount Pictures, the Seattle Children’s Museum, and Seattle-based Committee for Children, whose social and emotional based curriculum has placed Hillmer’s colorful illustrations in some 75,000 schools around the world.
He earned his Master’s Degree in International Education while working as both a teacher and publications director at the American School Foundation of Guadalajara.
Rex Kinney is currently the director and choreographer for the Shorecrest High School Dance Team, who he has led to seven straight District Titles, three WIAA State Dance/Drill Championships, and three National Titles.
Rex has danced with several Seattle-based hip hop groups and is an instructor through UW Experimental College, an adjunct instructor at Cornish College of Arts in Seattle, “Dance This” Workshop, and Backstage Dance.
One World Taiko is a professional Japanese drum ensemble that captivates audiences with their heart pounding beats, dynamic movement and rhythmic grooves.
Founded in San Francisco, CA, One World Taiko is led by Gary Tsujimoto and Nancy Ozaki. Their repertoire includes arrangements of traditional pieces and original compositions, which are infused with contemporary rhythms.
Britt Rynearson has taught fine art for 12 years, beginning directly after graduating from Scripps College. In her early twenties, she began a parallel career as a professional artist.
She now designs a line of textiles sold nationwide, serves part time on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts, Gage Academy and Coyote Central, and others. Her course offerings range from traditional drawing and painting to surface design and pattern making.
Samantha Rund currently studies improvisation at the Second City Conservatory in L.A. She has performed in over thirty staged productions.
Samantha received her undergraduate degree in theater from Northwestern University and her M.F.A from the University of Washington’s prestigious Professional Actor Training Program (PATP).
CHAPERONES
For this program, student groups of four to six sign up with an adult chaperone. Groups may come from school districts, with teachers and school staff chaperoning, or they may be formed by parent committees looking for extra opportunities in the arts and sciences for their children. Tuition, room and board is free for chaperones.
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This program is generously funded by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Additional sponsors include the Washington State Arts Commission, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, The Baker Foundation, The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, The Forest Foundation, The Peach Foundation, Rayonier Foundation, the Congdon Hanson Family, and nearly a thousand individual donors whose generosity celebrates the power of creativity to change lives.
