Photos by: Sydney Bennett
A dancer from the Haiti dance group performs in front of classes in the Little Theater on Friday, Nov. 9. The dancers performed twice for the students. The group also ate lunch with French teacher Nicole King’s French 4 and 5 classes.
Two dancers from the group perform and do tricks in front of classes. Being in the Little Theater gave the classes the opportunity to see the performance up close. Many teachers took their classes to see the group, and then incorporated what they saw into the course curriculum.
The only woman from the group who came to Oak Park performs a solo for the classes. At first, King planned on taking her French classes to see them perform, and then found out that the group was planning on going to several schools. The person who helps direct the group offered to bring them to Oak Park.
A couple of the male dancers from the dance group, Compagnie de Danse Jean-René Delsoin, which translates to the Jean-René Delsoin Dance Company, perform for classes. The group toured the U.S. for a month, traveling to various cities. This was part of a program called Center Stage, started by Hillary Clinton and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The group, including the dancers and the drummers, sit down to answers any questions the audience had. The group only spoke French, so there was a translator who assisted them. In each city, the idea was for the international performers to have a chance to interact with Americans; so at Oak Park, they had a chance to see the drum line perform and then try their instruments.