Last Day in NOLA

Today on our last day, Tuesday, March 11, we started off at the Lusher Charter school. We performed three shows for students from kindergarten to fifth grade. In this performance we took a twist on the tale of Alice in Wonderland.
Here are some thoughts on the Lusher performances from John, Austin, and myself:

John: What we did at Lusher today was nothing short of magic. It was an epic, famous, but original tale that was made possible.

Tiffany: It was really cool for everyone to be able to come together with their respective disciplines and create such a great show.

John: Everything came together so quickly. Everyone was so energetic and proactive in trying to contribute as much as they could to the show but at the same time being respectful with the demands of producing the show. It was a great demonstration of generosity.  Generosity is a combination of both giving space and taking it.

Tiffany: It was just as fun for us as it was for the kids because we were also entertained through the performances of each other.

John: The exhaustion after each show dissipated as we heard the cheers of the students.

Austin: Even from show to show, the energy and excitement of the students seemed to increase which brought us even more energy. Being able to interact with the kids during the performances was another element that made these performances nothing like the ones previous. The direct connection really allowed us to see how much joy and fun we were bringing to the audience.


After the Lusher performances and a brief lunch we visited the house that the team from last year worked on. It was truly amazing seeing the faces of returners who saw the fruits of their hard labor.

Then we headed to Kipps Central Academy to teach middle schoolers. Here are some of our thoughts on Kipps.

John: Our best teaching experience. The kids were very focused so we were able to share many exercises and concepts with them without the room becoming too wild. I saw miles of improvement within the students. Although there were a few students that didn't want to participate, by the end, everyone was participating and having fun. One highlight from today was when a girl received a letter from her mother at the end of the workshop; enclosed was an acceptance letter to NOCCA. She mentioned that she aspires to both sing and act, so this acceptance brought such excitement that she started to cry with joy.

Austin: The number was even. 6 dancers 6 students. The kids were easy to let go right from the get-go with "Show Me How You Get Down". Writing names with different body parts in the ground, walls, ceiling, etc... Through the exploration of fundamental joint movements and every member of the class contributing their favorite movement combinations, at the end of the 90 minute workshop the 12 were set and ready with a beautiful performance consisting of completely collaboratively conceived choreography.

Tiffany: We started off with games to get to know more about the students in our group. We saw Jimmy, from Shalom Zone, again today. It was really great to see him with his trombone and so interested in learning about music. In our music group, we had students from the band that learned to improvise along with our team members.

We ended the day with a group dinner at the French Market Restaurant. It was a wonderful but bittersweet time. This past week felt like a dream. We have so many memories, moments, inside jokes, and quotes to last a lifetime.

John, Austin, & Tiffany