Education of Maren Cummings, Assistant Operations Director at Urban Artistry

I have always loved learning; from staying late to sharpen pencils in fourth grade to drawing mental maps to connect texts in grad school (I’m dorky, I know).

… yes, that’s me on the far right with my 4^th grade Urkel glasses

So, it was a particularly hard decision for me to leave grad school in 2008 to dance. It was an emotional decision to leave the ivory tower, but as much as I tried to infuse dance into my studies (I did learn a lot from those Performance Studies books) and my schedule, I couldn’t do both and keep my sanity. And I knew that I needed dance in my life.

… my first year of college… minus the Urkel glasses

The tipping point for my decision – what made my choice stick was truly thinking about how Urban Artistry teaches. I was used to dance classes, but Urban Artistry’s teaching goes above and beyond classroom teaching. It’s not about teaching choreography, although that does happen; it’s about learning the history of the movements and the music, learning to apply concepts in your own way, learning from everyone in the class, and creating a space that’s safe enough to freely explore movement, but directed enough to make that movement dynamic.

Some of the most important lessons I have learned from Urban Artistry have happened outside of the dance studio. Urban Artistry encouraged me to get into my first cypher after 10 years of studio dancing and lurking on the sidelines (Thanks House!) Urban Artistry showed me how to build deeper friendships and how to truly push through character flaws to become the person I want to be (I’m still working on this .. but thanks for the guidance, Em).

Urban Artistry teaches me every day to be a student who is ready to learn. Those all-nighters from college turn into almost-all nighters in cyphers… riding the fumes of that inspiration to work a few hours later.

The research and thesis papers I wrote have paved the way for me to contribute to art grant proposals. My desire to learn to teach has been enhanced by being a student to such giving and patient artistic and operations directors.

I realize that I have surrounded myself with a dream team of educators to learn from and give back with- from music teachers, to SPED teachers, to life coaches and cultural ambassadors. Most recently, I realized how many layers of learning I was able to touch when I asked Urban Artistry to teach dance in my after-school program. I am used to doing homework help, art projects, and science projects with our youth, but to see them dance brings out a whole new side of them. Where they may hesitate to raise their hand to give an answer, they will raise it in a second to start a body wave. While they have down pat the dougie and the jerk, they had to learn to push themselves to learn old school hip hop moves. While they trust and test each other in the classroom, they had to re-explore that trust to get down with each other in cypher.

I am thankful everyday for having so many positive teaching role models and for being able to always be a student. Embrace all of who you are!

2010 DMV Soul Exchange 9/11 & 9/12

A big thanks to Kim Talley for taking these great photos of the event and to The Zulu Nation Chapter, The Mambo Room and Urban Artistry's great instructors!

Rizqi Rachmat joins the faculty at The Dance Institute of Washington for the Fall 2009/Spring 2010 season!

www.danceinstitute.org

The Dance Institute of Washington
202-371-9656
Located at 3400 14th Street,
NW Washington, DC 20010.
Conveniently located and Metro accessible in the revitalized Columbia Heights section of Washington, DC.

Join Rizqi Rachmat (Urban Artistry, Assassins Crew)

Saturdays for Youth Hip Hop Classes

12:45pm and 2:30pm (Fall 2009- Spring 2010)

Rizqi is in high demand as a dance educator who combines years of urban dance, freestyle/fusion hip hop, performance choreography and competitive martial arts study into his classes for a fun, eclectic and original style. He has extensive experience as a youth dance educator and choreographer from his years as the Director for Future Shock, DC and has created countless performance choreographies for local classes and companies in the DC Metro Area. As a founding member of Urban Artistry and an active member of the International Assassins Crew, Rizqi has found himself competing, performing and judging all over the world with his unique and memorable style. He recently directed the Urban Artistry Youth Performers in the Cozza Connection Project DC for DJ Basnectars Fall 2009 tour, along with apprentice Artistic Directors Desmond Howard and Gabe Galbraith and has played a major role alongside the other talented Urban Artistry Artistic Directors, in the development of the performance "Time to Come Home: A Tribute" with Coyaba Dance Theater winner of the Metro DC Dances Award for Emerging Performer or Group in 2009. When he is not practicing various form of movement, he is traveling or studying an array of topics in the field of Economics, Culture, Education and Peace in the Middle East both locally and abroad. Join him on Saturday's at the Dance Institute of Washington or for other special workshops throughout the DC Metro Area.

COZZA CONNECTION DC a collaboration with DJ Bassnectar, Urban Artistry and Hip Hop Education- Thursday Nov 12th 2009 at the 9:30 Club

A Cozza Connection community service spotlight on Hip Hop Education and Urban Artistry.

Hip Hop Education is a DC-area organization dedicated to "keeping it street" by providing real, empowering, and positive lyrics for area children to perform and listen to.

http://Hiphopeducation.us/

Urban Artistry is an internationally known, multigenerational performance organization that spans the spectrum of performance styles. Urban Artistry has incredible knowledge of the capacity of our bodies, and respects the value of movement for everyone. Because of this respect, much of the funds they raise and the work they do is contributed to provide prosthetic limbs to child amputees in partnership with Kicking for Kids Who Can't, because nothing should slow these kids down.

http://urbanartistry.org/

Produced by Megan Keefe and Petri Dish TV. Huge thanks is due!

Written by Lia Holland of Bassnectarlabs and Community Activism

This film created by the amazing filmmaker Megan Keefe and her crew, documents a collaboration project between Urban Artistry: an International Culture and Education Project based in Washington, DC and Hip Hop Education, a 501(c)(3) located in Maryland which was created to help provide children with rap & hip hop lyrics that speak to their experience and are age appropriate.

The collaboration project is sponsored by the Fall 2009 DJ Bassnectar Tour. Please visit the 9:30 Club on Thursday, November 12th 2009 at 8:00pm to see the youth from both organizations perform their work live before the show!

Thank you to everyone who made this project possible,
Everyone from Hip Hop Education,
filmmaker Megan Keefe and her crew,
Show Director Rizqi Rachmat,
Director of Operations at Urban Artistry Emily Wessel,
Executive Director of Urban Artistry Junious "House" Brickhouse,
Urban Artistry Director of IT Management Harley "Halfstep" Jackson who made the connection with KFKWC possible,
all the Urban Artistry members who helped out,
The Assassins Crew and Cab Cru for their support in this project,
the youth and parents from Urban Artistry,
Youth Show Directors Gabe Galbraith and Desmond Howard,
Tim and Ginna Goodenow from Kicking for Kids who Can't,

Lia from the Dj Bassnectar Tour and most importantly DJ Bassnectar for allowing us to provide this performance space for our kids!

Great work everyone!

See the documentary & performance Live at the DJ Bassnectar Cozza Frenzy Tour Show at the 9:30 Club on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 8:00pm- get your tickets early before they sell-out! This event is going to be amazing!

See a preview of the documentary on youtube at this link: