by ·Comments Off on Pierce Elementary School Students Visit UM-Flint’s Department of Theatre and Dance

By Ashley McCloud

University Outreach has been supporting partnership opportunities between UM-Flint and the Community Education Initiative in Flint Community Schools since 2014. One great partnership that is growing this year is between UM-Flint’s Student Dance Organization and Flint’s Pierce Elementary School. On November 30, 2017, seventeen students from Flint’s Pierce Elementary School visited UM-Flint to watch the Student Dance Organization’s Choreographic Showcase. The third through sixth graders were all amazed by the lobby of the Theater and were excited for what was in store for them that evening.

Their visit began with a tour of the Department of Theatre and Dance led by Shelby Newport, Chair, Associate Professor, and Resident Costume Designer of the Theater Department. Pierce students were able to tour backstage, the scene shop, costume shop, black box and walk on stage where the performance would later take place. The Pierce students were very excited about getting a sneak peek of what happens behind stage before a show is put together. They were even given the opportunity to try on some costume pieces from a recent performance.

After the behind-the-scenes tour, Pierce students watched the Choreographic Showcase and could be seen dancing along in their seats the entire show. When the performance was over, the students from Pierce had the opportunity to meet some of the dancers and expressed how much they wanted to dance like them. This field trip was the beginning of a partnership between UM-Flint’s Student Dance Organization and the Flint Community Education Initiative at Pierce Elementary which will support the Student Dance Organization in leading an after school dance program at the school beginning in January 2018. UM-Flint’s Student Dance Organization will be teaching various styles of dance for a 5-10 week period to K-6 students.

 

by ·Comments Off on “Will you still love me?”
immigrant u

Photo courtesy of Brandon Malevich

By Sherry Hayden

Did you know international students comprise about one-eighth of the student body at UM-Flint? It turns out you can have a truly international experience right here in Flint, Michigan. It’s exciting to travel to other countries and cities to learn about our differences and our similarities. That’s what is happening right here, right now.

Some of these international students have been working for a couple years on a documentary about their experiences coming to the UM-Flint from their native countries. The new documentary, Immigrant U: Our Story, Our Way, was conceived by students of Kendrick Jones, who lectures in the Theatre Department. Kendrick also is the director and founder of Shop Floor Theatre Company (SFTC), a non-profit housed in the UM-Flint University Outreach Innovation Incubator. SFTC is funded by a grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation, which funded the documentary and all the work leading up to it.

The students premiered the documentary at UM-Flint November 18, 2015 to a full house in the KIVA. It was followed by live, theatrical performances from some of the students.

I sat with my new friend Abeer, who immigrated from Sudan. She works across the hall from the Incubator at the Northbank Center. It is interesting to hear her perspectives; I am always impressed with how brave it is for anyone to move to a new country and start over. I’ve only visited other countries for a few months, and can only imagine being apart from my family and friends, and the land that I love so much, for an extended period of time.

We listened to the students talk about the difficulties of coming to a new country, being accepted by others, and even dealing with Michigan’s climate.  When one of the performers pleaded with the audience, “I don’t know anything about American football – will you still love me?” Abeer spontaneously cried out, “I will!”  The whole audience laughed. I was delighted – gentle humor is the common language here. Love and friendship are our common languages as well.

What this production revealed is that we are much more alike than we are different. Most of the problems presented by the students from India, Saudi Arabia, France, Nigeria and Jamaica really are no different from new students who grew up locally. Everyone has difficulty, especially the first semester of college. It’s new, different, and that requires adjustment. Every student wonders if she will make friends, fit in, and find her way around in the world.

A key message of the international students is that they want to be your friends and they want to learn and grow with you. That’s really what most people want, regardless of where they were born. UM-Flint is a great place to do that.