Approximately 25 students in Lanette Chastain’s second-grade class at Westbrook Elementary School sat quietly on the floor of the music room in anticipation of learning about “the Egyptian Cinderella.”
Professional ballet dancer Kathleen Marleneanu of Maumelle was there to show the students how to express the story through dance instead of words. Marleneanu is one of several teaching artists working in area schools with the Arkansas Learning Through the Arts program, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the national Young Audiences Arts for Learning network.
Craig Welle of Hot Springs Village, ALTTA executive director, said the second-graders were studying a unit on Cinderellas Around the World.
“They are reading the story of the Egyptian Cinderella, Rhodopis,” Welle said. “They are keeping a journal, learning new vocabulary words and will write a report on the different Cinderellas, choosing which version they like best.”
Before beginning to demonstrate her dance forms, Marleneanu told her young audience: “I want you to remember three things that will make this fun and let you learn as much as possible: You need to respect yourself, respect each other and respect your space — listen with your ears and eyes.
“Dance is about moving your body. That’s body language. Put a smile on your face. You are going to have an awesome time today.”
With that said, Marleneanu started the music and presented three dances to represent three versions of the Cinderella character — the European Cinderella, the Egyptian Cinderella and the Chinese Cinderella. She encouraged the students to perform dance movements as well.
“Some of these kids have never seen a dancer,” said Welle as he observed not only the dancer but also the students. “These kids will remember the Egyptian Cinderella because of this experience.”
Marleneanu, who dances professionally with the New Creation Dance Co. in Little Rock, also explained how music can reflect emotions and how music can help tell a story.
Chastain said Marleneanu also visited Westbrook Elementary School last year.
“She’s really good,” Chastain said. “We read and talked about the Egyptian Cinderella.
“We’ve read Dogerella, too,” she said, smiling. “They usually like that version best. They will write something in a few weeks, comparing and contrasting the versions.”
Meghann Donaldson, principal at Westbrook Elementary School, said she is glad the Harmony Grove School District is participating in the Arkansas Learning Through the Arts program.
“This is a fun and unique way for students to learn,” Donaldson said. “Our students are having fun with what they are learning. This is our third year to host them here.
“As a principal, I feel it is important to present the arts to students. Otherwise, many of them might not get [exposure to the arts] any other way.”
Welle said the Arkansas Learning Through the Arts program “offers literacy arts-focused workshops that integrate language arts, social studies, and art and music learning standards that are taught in specific curriculum units throughout the school year.
“We will see almost 7,000 kids this year. We have 6,500 scheduled now and are still scheduling. We are in Garland, Saline and Pope counties and have nine artists who present workshops and residencies at the local schools. We are looking at expanding into other counties.”
Welle said the schools pay a matching fee for the workshops.
“The target for ALTTA is to provide external funding to defray half the cost,” he said, adding that the cost per workshop can vary from $80 to $100 per classroom session, generally for 25 students. “Donations and sponsorships are always welcome.”
For more information, contact Welle at (214) 676-0222 or cmwelle2@gmail.com,
or Martha Smither, president of the ALTTA board of directors, at (501) 922-2743 or marthasmither@aol.com. Information is also available online at altta.org.