A group of A Level Dance students from Gower College Swansea are heading to New York this November.
They will spend a morning watching a rehearsal of the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (AAADT) and enjoying a tour of the facilities. The groundbreaking work of the AAADT, which was formed in 1958 and has gone on to perform worldwide for an estimated 25 million people, is a specific area of study on their course.
The students will also take in two major award-winning shows on Broadway. Cabaret and Pippin were both originally choreographed by Bob Fosse, another prolific choreographer the students have studied as part of their curriculum.
Lecturers Julie Hobday and Kirsten Collins are looking forward to accompanying the students on this trip.
“The A Level Dance course has an exciting syllabus that allows students to study a range of work from choreographers and dancers with a diverse heritage – their work often growing out of extreme conditions,” says Julie. “Examining AAADT, for example, has given the students a chance to look at the civil rights movement in America and understand the political scene during the time of its creation. We are really excited to be visiting one of the most fascinating cities in the world, the epicentre of so much culture and performing arts.”
As part of the trip, the students will also visit key destinations including the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the Rockefeller Centre, MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Follow all the news and updates from the NYC trip by following the blog - http://nycgcs2014.wordpress.com/