HSD Videoconferencing

Dance students learn hip hop movements.

Mrs. Kautter participates in class.

Mrs. Kautter’s first group of dance students enjoyed the Hip Hop and Conflict Resolution videoconference offered through MAGPI in December so she scheduled another event for a second group of dance students! On March 10th, Hempfield High School students had the opportunity to learn some of the history of Hip Hop and were given instruction on the basic dance moves by Dan, one of ArcheDream’s teaching artists. Dan demonstrated locking, popping, up-rock & b-boy styles of break dancing. Students had an opportunity to showcase their freestyle dance moves! Our high school dancers were excited to participate in this interactive event and are interested in exploring future videoconference opportunities.

On December 9th, Mrs. Kautter’s dance class participated in a video conference on Hip Hop run by ArcheDream for Humankind, a dance company from the Philadelphia area. Hempfield High School joined two other schools for an hour and a half program. Students learned some of the history of Hip Hop and were given instruction on some basic dance moves by instructors at ArcheDream. At the end of the conference, students at each school were given the chance to freestyle and show off their own moves for the other participants.

The conference presented some unique challenges. Audio is a key part of dance, and can be one of the most difficult parts of a video conference to get right. While there were some problems with both the sending and receiving of audio, the students adapted and were able to successfully participate. The lessons learned with this conference will be useful as Hempfield attempts more performance oriented student video conferences.

We have two upcoming videoconferences planned for December. On Dec 4 students will be participating in a panel discussion with PEWS Fellows for Music Composition sponsored by MAGPI. Then on December 9 Mrs. Pat Kautter’s theater students will participate in a hip hop videoconference with ArceDream. A brief description of this IVC is below. We are very excited to offer this opportunity to our students through MAGPI.

” How can hip hop movement and break dancing contribute to conflict resolution? Join us for this engaging demonstration and virtual student workshop aimed at exploring the use of dance toward conflict resolution. The videoconference agenda will include a brief history of hip hop and ADHK artists will demonstrate locking, popping, up-rock & b-boy styles of break dancing. Participants will practice step-by-step breakdowns of the movements. “

On Thursday November 20 three Hempfield High School students participated in a MAGPI sponsored event that explored dance styles with the 2007 Pew Fellows in Choreography. The format of the event was a showcase documentary of each choreographer’s work, Charles O. Anderson, Dorothy Gordon Wilkie and Kate Watson-Wallace, followed by a panel discussion. Our students appreciated the opportunity to interact with these artists and look forward to more videoconferencing events that focus on dance and choreography.

Link for 2007 Pew Fellows Documenaries