Michele Ceballos Michot, Opendance & Esther Vandecar Stimulate critical inquiry through understanding of the words Tolerance and Peace! Students are introduced to the values, ideas, and beliefs of persons from Japan. Taiko Drummer Esther Vandecar works with each child on the percussion instruments of taiko drums and Michele Ceballos weaves in dances from Japan relevant to themes in the award-winning book by local writer, Bryd Baylor, The Way to Start A Day.
About the Provider
Esther Vandecar teaches taiko to thousands of children every year in Arizona through the Arizona Commission on the Arts and Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture's Arts Education programs. She is also a teaching artist in OH, MO, MI and TX. Esther continues to train in Japan, and occasionally with Japanese masters in the U.S. Maintaining and sharing the spirit of taiko learned in Japan is a primary goal of hers. She has a stage at the Phoenix Matsuri to showcase all of her local groups as well as visiting groups from the U.S. and Japan. Ms. Vandecar is a professional performer with her group Fushicho Daiko Phoenix Taiko Drummers and tours with them in Japan and the U.S. Michèle Ceballos Michot is an accomplished artistic director, educator, choreographer, performance artist and dancer. Her dance performance history includes numerous international ballet companies and dance productions. Additionally, she has been a pivotal figure in the Phoenix arts advocacy for over 19 years. In 1990, Ceballos founded Opendance a multicultural dance company and Arts & Educational outreach company based in Phoenix, AZ. Opendance conducts educational programs for children throughout Arizona and are listed on the Artist Roster of the Arizona Commission for the Arts. In 2007, made possible though a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Ceballos studied in NYC at the National Dance Institute directed by Jacques D'Ambroise, who founded NDI in 1976, one of the first arts & educational outreach companies in the USA. Opendance contributes to community building through dance programming and arts education.
The artSpace initiative is a partnership between the Arizona Department of Education, the Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture, ASU Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts, and the Arizona State Library.
The mission of the program is to produce quality learning experiences based on the arts for students and their families. This will be accomplished by offering 21st Century Community Learning Centers access to innovative arts experiences and professional development.
The vision is to establish a new model of educational experience to ensure students are self-confident and successful in school and can make a positive impact in their community. The purpose of the program is to develop the abilities of students to create work and respond to creative work in many disciplines. These capabilities influence their mental development and personal dispositions, and build the skills they will need for the imagination and innovation necessary for the 21st Century workplace.