Deborah Denenfeld

Imagine igniting a passion for learning through the exciting exploration of history and culture as reflected in dance. Deborah Denenfeld has spent her lifetime combining interests in dance, teaching, choreography, international travel, and the study of cultures. She now brings multi-cultural and historic dance to the people of Kentucky. Since 1993 she has been assisting educators in Kentucky, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan & Tennessee schools to meet their core content academic expectations by integrating multi-cultural dance into social studies, history, art, science, mathematics and language arts.

Dancing from a very young age, she discovered International Folk Dancing while a student at an experimental junior high school, and attended a magnet high school for performing arts where she studied with a protégée of Martha Graham’s. By the end of high school in Canada, Deborah was teaching and leading dances at community events. Tap dancing to keep her sanity as she completed her Master’s degree at Oakland University in Michigan, she then pursued a career in computer systems development. She lived, traveled and taught in Asia and Hawaii, always exploring new styles of dance. In 1990 she came to Kentucky to attend dance workshops and made Kentucky her home. For sixteen years she has been on the Kentucky Arts Council Roster of artists of the highest caliber, and is trained in Different Ways of Knowing. The Kentucky Department of Education has approved professional development training in dance of her design and she has conducted many workshops on dance, choreography and grant-writing for teachers. She created and performed in Dancin’ to the Core, interactive dance presentations on dance elements and styles of dance, which were attended by 4600 students & educators, and received rave reviews. Her professional development workshops always get top grades from teachers and administrators. She continues to explore new dance styles as opportunities arise, through attending trainings and workshops with internationally known experts. Ms. Denenfeld was selected to help choreograph and perform in the production Farblungheit: Lost and Found in Kentucky, based on her life and the lives of other Jewish women living in Kentucky. She has been quoted in Kentucky Educational Television’s Dance Toolkit and listed in Kentuckians in Dance.

Primarily a recreational dancer by training and by choice, for Deborah dance is a never-ending source of nourishment, especially when shared with others. She believes that as dancers move together, hearts open and all experience the connections between us and the support of community. Deborah’s strongest interest and experience is in historic and ethnic dances, as they relate to their times and cultures. An avid contra and square dancer for decades, in recent years Deborah has fallen under the spell of traditional English country dancing (think Pride & Prejudice), Appalachian dance, couple social dancing and West African and Native American dance.

Deborah Denenfeld is well known amongst recreational folk dancers in the region, with a reputation as an excellent, precise dancer and caller who brings smiles to the faces of partners, be they novice or expert.

Ms. Denenfeld continues to help students of all ages and levels of physical, mental and emotional ability to discover their own inner joy and love of life through the beauty and richness of dance.

Compare Colonial American and Native American Dance

This 10-day residency is appropriate for grades four and five.
 
Goals:

1. Allow students to experience the elements of dance through movement exercises, dances, observation and discussion.
   
   
2. Integrate the study of American history with the study of Colonial American dance, providing hands-on experience of colonial times and culture as reflected in dance. Explore the role of dance in family and individual status in that era.
   
   
3. Integrate the study of Kentucky history with the study of Native American dance and Native American culture, learning dances from various tribal nations, thus exposing students to a culture other than their own.
   
   
4. Allow students to compare and contrast Colonial American and Native American dance styles, exploring the purposes of the dances, using appropriate dance terminology.
   
   
5. Assign students to small groups to choreograph original dances using the elements of dance, and the communication of ideas, thoughts and feelings.
   

A professional development workshop will be held for all interested teachers, focusing on integrating multi-cultural dance into the curriculum. Suggested resource materials and a bibliography will be provided. The artist will provide on-going telephone support for one year following the residency.

This residency will provide an in-depth boost to the school's existing Arts and Humanities Education Plan. Specifically, students will have an opportunity to meet Kentucky Core Content Academic Expectations in dance by:

1. Experiencing, identifying and describing the elements of dance in a variety of dances
   
   
2. Creating a dance that uses elements of dance with locomotor and nonlocomotor movements to communicate ideas, thoughts and feelings
   
   
3. Performing this dance with a small group
   
   
4. Performing traditional folk and ethnic dances
   
   
5. Being able to explain how dance has been a part of cultures and time periods throughout history
   
   
6. Being able to discuss purposes of dance
   
   
7. Using appropriate terminology to describe differences and commonalities in dances of Colonial American and Native American cultures, their purposes and styles
   
   
8. The residency will provide learning opportunities through a variety of modalities to reach all learners.