Emotion in Motion

(Teaching Artists: Erica Buechner, Katie Griffin, Julianne O'Brien Pedersen)

Malashock Dance's Emotion in Motion program is a component of the San Diego City Schools' extraordinary Balboa Park Program, a multi-cultural integration and enrichment program which brings together fifth grade students from all of San Diego's neighborhoods for a week to experience culture in a "hands-on" way. Students discover and create new ways of communicating while working together towards their goals.  By the end of each class, students have participated as a dancer, choreographer, performer, and observer.  Avoiding the frustrations of language, the Emotion in Motion program helps children express themselves and discover their creative powers and the expressive possibilities in their bodies.

Congresswoman Susan Davis, after visiting a morning session of Emotion in Motion, had this to say, "Malashock Dance provides a priceless contribution to our San Diego youth through their involvement in the Balboa Park Program. It was wonderful to see students having fun with art and learning that anyone, no matter what your age or your background, can learn to dance."

Malashock Dance was chosen to participate in the Balboa Park Program due to its history of excellence in dance and its experience in teaching. After the program's first full year, in June 1995, the Balboa Park Program Administrator described Emotion in Motion as "the best thing to happen for our kids since we began the Balboa Park Program." And that's quite an endorsement, given that the other components of the Program include the Zoo, art museums, and science and humanities centers in the Park.