Staff Blog Week 5 - Kei Phillip

Staff Blog Week 5

By Kei Phillip – Dance Teaching Artist

The week kicked off with days three and four of workshop touring. Our teen leaders ventured across Boston and Cambridge, using their creativity to spark awareness and social change with community members spanning from elementary to elders. Knowing the role of students well, they quickly experienced a taste of teacher life and the art of pivoting when things weren’t going to plan. Bearing the heat, multiple commutes, and unpredictable circumstances, they collaborated to apply their strengths, persevered in responses to challenges, and carried the lessons forward to each new location. In between workshops, a friendly competition elevated the stakes to free-flowing fun, and friendship with pop-up flash mob performances, TikTok dance challenges, and sing-alongs. Together, three groups performed this year’s flashmob dance over 350 times across the workshop days!

As a teaching artist, I was so proud to witness them confide in one another, share their original work authentically, and foster new connections. Experiencing the camaraderie amongst the facilitators and participants has been a highlight for me. There’s nothing like watching nerves melt away and confidence shine through when someone is being cheered on. When it’s your teammate, it makes for a greater hypeman(person) because they intimately understand your journey and how far you’ve come. 

Now with the Final Showcase underway, all that energy has been channeled into new ideas that will refresh our collective perspective on immigration and its influence on humanity. Despite the time pressure to finish their pieces in a short few days, these emerging performing artists are handling the creative process and rehearsals with determination, focus, and play. Yes, I said play! Making the process fun is an essential component and a community guideline we uphold unapologetically!