This multi session, arts residency engages students in storytelling through film and movement. Students first watch Call Me Dancer, an award-winning documentary about a young street dancer in Mumbai who pursues his dream against expectations. Followed by in-school sessions with a professional teaching artist who uses movement to explore identity, perseverance, and community through creative expression.
Part 1: Teacher-Led Film Viewing (Flexible Timing – In Classroom)
Teachers may choose to show either the 56-minute or 80-minute version of Call Me Dancer, depending on their class schedule and objectives. A teacher’s guide and optional student worksheets will be provided to support reflection and discussion. Students will be introduced to core themes: identity, perseverance, and creative self-expression.
Website & Film Trailer: www.CallMeDancer.com
Part 2: Three Artist Led Workshops (60-80 minutes each, scheduled separately)
The residency will take place in a classroom with desks moved aside or in a larger open space such as a gym.
If a large space is not available, the program can be fully adapted for the classroom. Movement activities can be scaled to small gestures, seated movement, or verbal and reflective responses as needed. Students with limited mobility are fully included through creative, child directed participation that values observing, sharing ideas, and reflecting as part of the group experience.
Grades 3, 4, 5
The sessions progress from improvisation, to creating original movement, to sharing and reflecting together as students become one another’s audience.
Anne Sidney is a master teaching artist at the Wolf Trap Institute, specializing in arts integration for early childhood educators. She has over 25 years of experience bringing dance and movement into schools and community spaces where children can express themselves through storytelling.
Grades 6,7,8
Students explore what community care looks like and ask how do they create community in their lives. Using crafting, storytelling, and foundational hip hop, Bharatanatyam, and jazz movement, students get a chance to express their stories in words, collaging, and dance.
Sarah Laughland is an educator whose teaching philosophy centers on fostering curiosity and exploring the intersection of history, body awareness, and emotional connection in performance. She has taught at The Washington School of Ballet, Opera Lafayette, and Theatre Lab, and is a former Resident Acting Company member at Barter Theatre.
Chitra Subramanian is an Indian American dancer, choreographer, and educator whose work draws from Hip Hop, Indian classical and folk traditions, rooted in her immigrant background and commitment to youth and community engagement. Her recent work Village Stories sold out at The Kennedy Center, and she is a recipient of the National Dance Project Production Grant.
15 minutes – Movement Warm-Up
30-45 minutes – Guided Movement Exploration
15 minutes – Reflection & Sharing