The Kistenbroker Family Artist-in-Residence Program is coming back from 2022, after taking a one year break upon returning from the pandemic at a smaller scale, and for the first time the program will focus on dance.
The program started in the 2017-18 school year and is funded by the Kistenbroker family.
Sonia Perez, a lower school Spanish teacher who is one of the coordinators for this year’s program, shared her excitement about the dance focus for the event.
“It’s exciting to bring dance because we don’t have a dance program at Lab. I’m excited because I’m a dancer,” Ms. Perez said. “The fact that we can bring dance to Lab students, I think, is what I’m really excited about.”
Currently, the organizing committee members are working hard to seek dancers from South Side dance schools.
Ms. Perez shared her high hopes of forming a stronger community through this year’s program.
“We plan to focus on the themes of connection and community through professional development experiences for staff and faculty, dance workshops for students, and a culminating end-of-year dance celebration with the goal of helping us connect to ourselves, each other, and the wider community through the power of dance and movement,” she said.
Carla Ellis, Laboratory Schools associate director and who oversaw the event for several years, agreed with Ms. Perez.
“The scope that I asked them to look at was that we would try to engage artists, dance companies, dance experiences that are from the south side. Not limited to that, but to also include either cell side resources, and that the different experiences should engage students across the schools, as well as engage employees and families and the community,” Dr. Ellis said.
