VIEWPOINTS: Creating character through the body, PART 3 WHO:  Mickey Lonsdale, is an internationally known, award winning physical theatre actor and dancer. He originally hails from Ramer, Alabama. He began his dance training at Alabama Dance Theatre and has a B.A. in Theatre from Auburn Montgomery. While in college, he became the emcee for the Montgomery Biscuits, entertaining 7000 fans nightly. After graduating, Mickey moved to Italy to pursue an M.F.A. in Physical Theatre at the Accademia del’Arte. He received training in Commedia Dell’Arte, Clown, Dance, Choreography, and Acting.  During this time, he attended Flic Scoula di Circo, Circus School, where he trained in acrobatics, acro dance, Chinese pole, walking globe, and various other circus skills. While in Europe, he performed with companies such as Familie Floz in Germany, Divaldo Continuo in the Czech Republic, and Red Dot Theatre in Italy and Turkey. After receiving his M.F.A., Mickey moved to the NYC area where has starred in several independent films, commercials, TV shows, and works as a free-lance dancer. He… Read More »VIEWPOINTS: Creating character through the body, PART 3

WHO: CELESTE MILLER, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Grinnell College in a position that allows her to combine her love for teaching with her investigation of dance as a performing art, cultural practice, political act and a method for the embodiment of ideas and beliefs.  She is also the co-founder and director of Big If Dance Experiments – an open collective of dancers, actors, movers, musicians and other artists. The name   ”Big If” comes from Charles Darwin.  In a letter to Joseph D. Hooker in 1871 Darwin wrote, “It is often said that all the conditions necessary for the first production of a living being are now present.  But if (and oh, what a big if)….” Celeste was the director of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival’s Choreographer’s Lab focusing on dance and community engagement from 1993-2005; and has been the co-founder and director of Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion since 1993. WHEN:  FRIDAY, January 12, 2018 9:00-3:00 WHERE:  1715 27th Court South, Birmingham AL 35209    … Read More »Curriculum in Motion®: Using Creative Movement and the Kinesthetic Mode to Enhance Learning

JANUARY 20 CONTRA-TIEMPO Dance for Schools w/ Rebecca Renard-Wilson  and Diana Toledo partnership with AL Dance Council (Birmingham) Discover the place of movement as a catalyst for writing and storytelling in this workshop. The presenters from the California-based company will lead participants in community-building exercises, movement/text exploration, and process reflection.   FEBRUARY 4 Monet:  Art in Nature/Nature in Art. w/ Durinda Cheek French Impressionist painter Claude Monet was known for his paintings of his water garden.  He was also a master gardener who designed and oversaw the garden.  Monet said, “I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.” Adaptable to Life Science in all grades, we will explore the ecosystem and habitat of the water garden and life cycles of the creatures who exist there.  We will create our own Impressionist works with different media such as model magic, paint, and printmaking.  Come away with lots of ideas for using Monet in the classroom for Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science. FEBRUARY 25 A Pedagogy of Questioning w/ Ivan… Read More »Coming Soon! – SUPERDAYS 2017

Alabama Institute for Education in the Arts is pleased to offer this special workshop for our participating schools and teachers. Come join us for an exciting time and a unique opportunity! Welcome to South Korea: Exploring Culture with Bee Lee Tullos WHO: Bee Lee Tullos has been an elementary art teacher at Montgomery Academy in Montgomery, AL for 23 years. Prior to that, she taught in Montgomery Public Schools.  She received her M.Ed. from Troy State University in 1989. During summers, she travels internationally to learn the culture and art of the countries that she visits, and upon returning to the United States, she designs interdisciplinary curriculum to teach the art and culture of these nations. She has traveled extensively through the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and will be visiting in Africa this summer. WHEN: February 27, 2016 – 10:00 – 3:00 WHERE: Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, Studio 2 WHY: Come join us for an exciting time and this unique opportunity—explore the arts and culture of South Korea, and create art… Read More »Welcome to South Korea with Bee Lee Tullos

Come join Lottie for The Second Annual Holiday Homecoming Concert, benefitting The Alabama Institute for Education in the Arts (AIEA), live at The Sanctuary, Tuesday, December 22nd at 7 o’clock pm. She’ll serenade you with your favorite old Lottie originals, some of her brand new original tunes, and a handful of holiday classics, all sure to impress. Doors open at 6 pm, music starts at 7 pm. Merchandise and CDs available for purchase after the show. *A percentage of all proceeds will be donated to The Alabama Institute for Education in the Arts (AIEA). http://artseducation.org/ Tickets available for purchase now on the SHOP page at: http://www.MoreLottie.com/   The Sanctuary 432 S Goldthwaite St, Montgomery, Alabama 36104  

Alabama Institute for Education in the Arts is pleased to offer this special workshop for our participating schools and teachers. Come join us for an exciting time and a unique opportunity! Learn in Rhythm: Concept-based, rhythm-infused lessons for the classroom with John Scalici and Hilary McKinney WHO: John Scalici is an award-winning teaching artist, author, musician, master drum circle facilitator, and professional speaker. He began his teaching artist career in Memphis, Tennessee. Under the guidance of the Memphis Arts Council, John received extensive training in the Lincoln Center Aesthetic Education methodology, learning to integrate the arts into core curriculum. As a result, he began documenting his rhythm-based activites to integrate arts into core aubjects. Fast forward about 12 years to a chance meeting with gifted education teacher and musician, Hilary McKinney. John needed someone to help craft these activities into a teacher resource book that would address the core subjects through rhythm and be accessible to classroom teachers. After a year of additional writing and collaboration, the book Learn in… Read More »Learn in Rhythm: Concept-based, rhythm-infused lessons for the classroom

Alabama Institute for Education in the Arts and Alabama Dance Council are pleased to offer this special workshop for our participating schools and teachers. Come join us for an exciting time and a unique opportunity! Dance and Literacy: Using Text as Inspiration for Original Movement and Choreography with Susan McGreevy-Nichols   WHO: Susan McGreevy-Nichols is the Executive Director of the National Dance Education Organization. Previous to becoming executive director she taught part-time at Loyola Marymount University and was a national consultant on Arts Education. Susan’s consulting work involved coaching districts in Los Angeles County as part of the Arts for All initiative and in Northern California in Alameda County as a part of that county’s initiative Revitalizing Classrooms Through Arts Learning: Strategic Plan. As a teacher at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence, Rhode Island from 1974-2002, Susan founded and developed that institution’s nationally renowned middle school dance program. She is the developer of a cutting edge reading comprehension strategy that uses text as inspiration for original choreography created by children. This literacy-based… Read More »Dance and Literacy: Using Text as Inspiration for Original Movement and Choreography

We Are Like Rivers, We Are Rivers: Movement, Action and Art Through Metaphor and Simile with Peter DiMuro WHO: Peter DiMuro is the Executive Director of The Dance Complex in Boston, where his first professional performance was with Gerri Houlihan’s Boston Dance Project at The Dance Complex of Cambridge. Ruth Birnberg, Susan Rose and Concert Dance Company (dancing the works of Deborah Wolf, Bebe Miller, Lucinda Childs, Wendy Perron, Keith Terry and many others) also provided Peter mentorship early in his career. He received an MFA in Dance from Connecticut College under Martha Myers; a BFA in Theatre from Drake University, early study with Sally Garfield, and continued study in New York, Boston and at the American Dance Festival. WHEN:  FRIDAY, January 09, 2014                         8:30-3:30 WHERE:  Children’s Dance Foundation 1715 27th Court South Birmingham, AL 3520 http://childrensdancefoundation.com/WhoWeAre/Directions.aspx WHY:   Participants will work with simile and metaphor – and related lessons stemming from them – in two parallel ways. In the first “doing” way,  we will create mini-dances based on simile… Read More »Dance Festival – January 2015

WHO:  John Scalici is an award winning teaching artist, internationally recognized drum circle facilitator, musician, and speaker. He uses experiential learning to Inspire, Motivate, and Empower all people through the universal language of rhythm.  One of John’s objectives is to open your senses and empower you to think, act, and play more rhythmically. As anyone who has ever met John knows, this will be a fun and powerful learning experience! WHEN:  April 4, 2014 (FRIDAY)      1:00-7:30  WHERE:  TBD (depending on number of participants)  WHY:   This workshop will teach 1) basic rhythmic foundations, 2) WHOLE body approach to rhythm, 3) learning universal patterns 4) learning creative concepts 5) learning how to improvise on the drum 6) learning how to be creative “in the moment,” 7) Producing the basic tones of the drum consistently and 8) how to apply universal rhythmic concepts.   DETAILS:         FREE                            Light supper is furnished. Dress comfortably—you’re going to be working! ENROLLMENT IS LIMITED TO 30 PARTICIPANTS. Download: Realize Your Rhythm Flyer Apr 2014

WHO:  Frank Fleming is an award winning Alabama sculptor who makes his home in Birmingham. Fleming draws upon his childhood and upbringing to create a world of wonderful creatures. Raised in rural Alabama, he developed a deep kinship with wild creatures and a refined eye for forms in nature. The easy combination of animal and human elements comes not from antiquity and polytheistic beliefs but from observations that reveal the kinship between animal and human behavior. This combined with an incisively whimsical sense of humor, produces works that appeal to everyone fascinated with things of this world. His work is on display throughout the country.  For more information, go to his web page www.frankflemingart.com. WHEN:  February 08, 2014                                    10:00-2:30 WHERE:  Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, Studio 2 Blount Cultural Park (Call if you need directions) WHY:   Come join us for an exciting time and a unique opportunity—spending time with Frank and learning about clay sculpture! Hands-on is the way to get over your fear of using clay (or… Read More »The Great Clay Adventure: Clay Sculpture with Frank Fleming