Celebrate the Beat
How is your organization strengthening our community?
Celebrate the Beat has made an enormous commitment to help strengthen the community of the North Fork. Instead of serving one school with one program, CTB is reaching out to multiple schools throughout the valley. The live performance the students put on at the end of the residency this year was more than just a great show. It was a great community event. CTB brought five schools with five very diverse communities together to share in a common experience celebrating the arts and our children. This is no small feat for our valley. It was chance for these diverse communities to see each other in such a positive light. This program has started a tradition of celebrating our children together no matter where they go to school…all through the arts. Anyone who attended the show took note of the diverse community in attendance, and the appreciation from all was obvious. There were unanimous feelings from all of the school principals that this was a terrific way to bring the students together, and we should do all we can to expand the program. Indeed, it is dance that has helped our schools find common ground and bring the community together.
In addition, the Celebrate the Beat residency in 2012 will bring in well over $7,000 of outside funding into the community, giving the local economy an extra boost. While local funding for the program is essential, CTB also works hard to bring outside support.
In what ways does your organization work to empower individuals to serve their community?
A CTB residency is always a community effort. Only through a collaboration of students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members can CTB be successful. The 2012 residency will serve approximately 200 students from Hotchkiss Elementary, Crawford Elementary, Paonia Elementary, the North Fork Community Montessori School, and Vision. In addition to student participation, 10 to 15 teachers will also participate, as well as up to 20 or more parents. All of those involved are getting a chance to strengthen arts education in their schools. This program is not generated by the schools themselves. They do not have the ability to provide for such a high quality program in the face of serious budget cuts. Instead, they are providing the opportunity for community members to come together to work to make it happen. Students, parents, teachers, and community members are all being empowered to take arts education into their own hands and make it happen. Celebrate the Beat provides the vehicle for that empowerment.
Celebrate the Beat has now generated a small army of community member volunteers dedicated to making this residency a success. This group helps CTB to organize the residency, provide daily support for the classes, provide housing for the staff, and put on the live show. Some 20 to 30 parents help to make up this group, and teachers and students are also giving their own time to make it happen.
How does your organization serve to build bridges between different people and groups in the community?
As mentioned in Question 1, CTB has made huge strides in bringing the local elementary schools together. These are schools that rarely participate in common activities. The heads of these schools have few interactions, if any at all. When schools typically get together it is usually for a sports event, where there is often a winner and a loser. Bring in CTB…the whole dynamic changes. Through the arts, specifically dance and music, students are brought together in a non-competitive format to celebrate the joy of performing, the joy of dancing, and the joy of sharing in common goal. There are no losers, only winners. CTB is building bridges through the arts and through our children. These are two avenues that have potential to have lasting impacts on the community…bridges that can help overcome the divides permanently.
Celebrate the Beat has made an enormous commitment to help strengthen the community of the North Fork. Instead of serving one school with one program, CTB is reaching out to multiple schools throughout the valley. The live performance the students put on at the end of the residency this year was more than just a great show. It was a great community event. CTB brought five schools with five very diverse communities together to share in a common experience celebrating the arts and our children. This is no small feat for our valley. It was chance for these diverse communities to see each other in such a positive light. This program has started a tradition of celebrating our children together no matter where they go to school…all through the arts. Anyone who attended the show took note of the diverse community in attendance, and the appreciation from all was obvious. There were unanimous feelings from all of the school principals that this was a terrific way to bring the students together, and we should do all we can to expand the program. Indeed, it is dance that has helped our schools find common ground and bring the community together.
In addition, the Celebrate the Beat residency in 2012 will bring in well over $7,000 of outside funding into the community, giving the local economy an extra boost. While local funding for the program is essential, CTB also works hard to bring outside support.
In what ways does your organization work to empower individuals to serve their community?
A CTB residency is always a community effort. Only through a collaboration of students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members can CTB be successful. The 2012 residency will serve approximately 200 students from Hotchkiss Elementary, Crawford Elementary, Paonia Elementary, the North Fork Community Montessori School, and Vision. In addition to student participation, 10 to 15 teachers will also participate, as well as up to 20 or more parents. All of those involved are getting a chance to strengthen arts education in their schools. This program is not generated by the schools themselves. They do not have the ability to provide for such a high quality program in the face of serious budget cuts. Instead, they are providing the opportunity for community members to come together to work to make it happen. Students, parents, teachers, and community members are all being empowered to take arts education into their own hands and make it happen. Celebrate the Beat provides the vehicle for that empowerment.
Celebrate the Beat has now generated a small army of community member volunteers dedicated to making this residency a success. This group helps CTB to organize the residency, provide daily support for the classes, provide housing for the staff, and put on the live show. Some 20 to 30 parents help to make up this group, and teachers and students are also giving their own time to make it happen.
How does your organization serve to build bridges between different people and groups in the community?
As mentioned in Question 1, CTB has made huge strides in bringing the local elementary schools together. These are schools that rarely participate in common activities. The heads of these schools have few interactions, if any at all. When schools typically get together it is usually for a sports event, where there is often a winner and a loser. Bring in CTB…the whole dynamic changes. Through the arts, specifically dance and music, students are brought together in a non-competitive format to celebrate the joy of performing, the joy of dancing, and the joy of sharing in common goal. There are no losers, only winners. CTB is building bridges through the arts and through our children. These are two avenues that have potential to have lasting impacts on the community…bridges that can help overcome the divides permanently.
