| Valerie Williams, artistic director |
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| Kids' Co'Motion is an annual program designed to train children ages 8-18 in modern dance technique, composition theory and practice and production. Each day students spend an hour on technique, an hour on composition and improvisation and two hours rehearsing for a final, fully produced dance performance.
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The first two weeks of the workshop take place in the beautiful Betty Toman Dance Studios at Iowa State University's Forker Building. The third week is spent in the Ames City Auditorium. The day begins at 10:00am with a technique class taught by a professional dancer/teacher. The students learn more about dance technique as well as gaining strength, flexibility, coordination and control. At 12:00 we break for a half hour to eat lunch and relax minds from the rigors of the morning. At 12:30 we reconvene for two hours of rehearsal for the final performance. |
| The Kids' Co'Motion performance workshop teaches more than dances to students: Kids' Co'Motion builds choreographers, helps students gain confidence in their own ideas and teaches them to organize those ideas and structure them into dance. Students not only study with master choreographers and teachers, but compose dances by themselves and with other students, taking advantage of everyone's ideas. |  |
Director Valerie Williams has been honored as a "local treasure" by the Ames Community Arts Council. During her career as dancer, choreographer, and teacher, Ms. Williams has touched audiences around the world. In addition to her work as director and principal dancer with Co'Motion Dance Theater, she has worked as rehearsal director for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co, does scholarly research in Early Dance, perfroms with Musica Antiqua, and choreographs musical theater productions. |
Praise for Kids' Co'Motion The shows were absolutely wonderful! You did such a splendid job in all aspects of the design, instruction, and execution of this wonderful production. THANK YOU! ~ Gwyn I credit dance with my lifetime commitment to fitness and thank Valerie and co'Motion Dance Theater for continuing to expand the world of creative possiblity for young people. ~ Alan After working with other kids theatre programs since leaving Ames, I've seen programs insist upon dumbing down the art form. I found this approach odd and ineffective compared to the way I was treated by Valerie, Lana, and many other professional dancers and theatre artists at KCM. I was not only treated like a professional, buy my opinions and ideas were respected and, oftentimes, used. When we were treated like adult artists, we acted that way. During the school year my teachers were trying desparately to teach my classmates and me about teamwork and maturity, but I was getting all that knowledge over three weeks in the summer. ~ Madeleine |
