Virtual Learning Brings International Dance Teachers to New Paltz
As virtual learning continues throughout the country, the Vanaver Caravan’s SummerDance program has broken through with providing fresh, new opportunities for their students. Now, instead restricting themselves to dance instructors in the Hudson Valley area, they can take advantage of this technology by welcoming dance instructors from all over the world.
Miranda ten Broeke, the program’s director, has stated that while they have recently faced a difficult year of transitioning, she’s looking forward to returning to a somewhat normal summer, with a few new additions due to the benefit of improved technology.
“I feel like this year it’s gonna revert a little bit back to how it has been in the past. But last year was the first time we had this really interesting merging of technology and also being able to dance outside together. So we had 12 students on a stage, which is actually going to be the same this year, so we’re keeping it to a limited number. The coolest thing that happened with the pandemic is that we were able to open up teaching opportunities to teachers we have all over the world.”
The program, consisting of two weeks of immersive master classes, features a wide variety of styles, now taught by instructors from all over the globe. Last summer, the company was left with presenting the majority of their dance instructors to students over zoom. Instead of letting this become a roadblock, the Vanaver Caravan embraced this new method of teaching and invited dance instructors from all over the world to join them.
“We get this big screen on a stage and the dancers face the screen and we just stream them in. Honestly, it’s this crazy outdoor stage. It’s really fun. Some of our teachers are still teaching remotely so we’ve got Australia and Berlin and Greece and India and Vancouver and all over the country. We’ve also got local teachers and teachers based in New York City that will come up and teach. They’re amazing. Some of these teachers are just the most talented people in their field and I can say that with a lot of confidence.”
The program will take place at the Stone Mountain Farm in New Paltz, a scenic outdoor environment that is surrounded by trees, various barns, and even a rail trail, an elevated pathway that was previously used as a railroad track in the woods, which is also utilized during the program.
“There’s this amazing ballet and tango teacher named Nina and she danced with the Russian ballet. But now she teaches this thing called ‘Ballet Trails’. They go out and walk on the train rail trail and do ballet out in nature. So it’s really just a totally unique and fun program.”
Each teacher is considered to be a master in their own field, providing students with their expertise on various styles of dance. As the students learn these styles, they are also immersed in the diverse cultures and traditions that are involved with the dances, as well.
“There’s a lot of history and context that goes into teaching these dance forms because we’re really constantly aware of our agency. When you learn a dance from another place you’re also honoring and respecting that culture and tradition. We try to bring in as many people from as many different walks of life and cultural backgrounds that we possibly can and we give work to a lot of really great, talented folks.”
As students continue to learn a wide variety of dance styles during their long days in the woods, ten Broeke is proud of the community that they are able to build throughout the summer program.
“We’re outside on this beautiful outdoor stage. There are bugs, there is no air conditioning, it’s totally outdoors. You walk half a mile from the stage to a barn, we have dance parties in the barn at nighttime. You just really have a sense of community in addition to learning an incredible amount of styles of dance and honing your technique that we are very proud of.”
