InsideOut

*Inspire girls to dream big
*Challenge girls to achieve excellence
*Empower girls through knowledge and accomplishment

Remarkable Girls, a unique theatre program for ages 9-18, provides classes, workshops, and performance opportunities designed to promote growth, creativity, and artistry.

In addition to her all-girl program, Jan Downing continues to offer coed musical theatre and drama classes to schools and community organizations.

 

The San Francisco Children's Art Center is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower children and foster their sense of self through artistic exploration. Our focus is on a process-oriented art experience. While providing instruction in the use of art materials and techniques, our teachers guide students through the creative process in an effort to support each child's individual style of expression. We offer a full range of classes in our Fort Mason studio, for children ages 22 months to 12 years of age, as well as Family Workshops and Birthday Parties on Sundays. Big Kid Weekly Workshops during the summer allow kids to explore more complex topics and materials. Visit www.childrensartcenter.org for more information.

MISSION: Performing Arts Workshop is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young people develop critical thinking, creative expression, and basic learning skills through the arts.

HISTORY: Performing Arts Workshop (the Workshop) began in 1959, providing classes in dance and theater at community centers in low-income neighborhoods of North Beach and the Western Addition of San Francisco. In 1974, the Workshop launched its core program, Artists-in-Schools (AIS), and became one of the first nonprofit arts organizations in San Francisco to place trained artists as specialists in public schools.

Today, the Workshop offers art residencies to over 5,000 children in public schools, county community/day schools, community centers, and transitional housing facilities throughout the Bay Area (San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties).

Over 60% of all AIS residencies serve “special needs” students, including the economically/educationally disadvantaged, limited English, and the physically and/or learning disabled.

Our other programs include: Professional Development Program which provides workshops and on-site training to school teachers, principals and artists, on integrating the arts into classroom curricula; and, Artists-in-Communities, in which the Workshop has formed partnerships with city agencies and neighborhood organizations to provide arts education to economically and educationally disadvantaged youth throughout the city.

People Like Me, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival's arts education program, presents a 1-hour performance at theaters in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose in March each year. PLM features five diverse ethnic dance and music styles in an interactive theatrical format format for grades K-8. Each year's program embeds a theme and curriculum topics connected to the California Visual and Performing Arts Framework  (dance, music, theatre, visual arts) and to the California State Standards (literary arts, science, history, geography, social studies, math), and highlight the diversity of cultural expression and language. PLM is connected to the highly acclaimed San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. Professional development workshops and residencies in dance and movement are available. Each June, under the direction of Executive Director, Julie Mushet, the SF Ethnic Dance Festival showcases a dynamic and diverse cast of 35 professional world music and dance companies from Northern California. Events include dance performances, family matinees, children's programming, master classes, and community events.

AXIS Dance Company's mission is to create and perform high quality contemporary dance that is developed through the collaboration of dancers with and without disabilities. AXIS teaches dance and educates about collaboration and disability through community outreach and education programs. AXIS is committed to promoting and supporting physically integrated dance, locally, nationally and internationally.

 

AXIS' extensive community education/outreach program, Dance Access and its youth component Dance Access/KIDS! offers classes and workshops for adults and youth of all abilities, school assemblies, presentations, lecture demonstrations, and residencies locally and abroad. Dance Access is a model program that was presented in the Kennedy Center's national Imagination Celebration at the 2002 Olympic Arts Festival, received the CA Arts Council Exemplary Arts award in 2002, is currently on the roster of Young Audiences Northern California, and is featured on the Young Audience's national Arts4Learning website.