About the Program

GroundWorks DanceTheater took its Action/Reaction program to Judson Park on Thursday, March 10, 2016. Led by GroundWorks Education Coordinator Mark Otloski and assisted by GroundWorks company artist Lauren Garson and Judson Park artist Cathy Bryan. Approximately 15 residents of varying mobility attended the 2-hour long workshop designed to engage the participants creatively and critically. The workshop began with an introduction and warm-up that allowed the teaching artists and residents to work from a common movement language. Residents responded to the prompt, “I Come From…”  and created  community artwork which served as a map from which each individual brush stroke was translated into movement by the resident that made it. Residents became aware of the relationship between art and dance as each person’s  movement was connected to the next resulting in a movement study that was a direct reinterpretation of the artwork. The addition of music allowed for an artful unfolding of their artistic ideas.

The Judson Park residents were additionally extended an invitation to attend an afternoon rehearsal of GroundWorks at the studios of Cleveland City Dance. Personal observations and experiences by each resident were recorded in a personal journal book that could be used as a later reference. The residents had the opportunity to speak with the company artists to learn more about the choreographic and rehearsal process. Their experience was further enhanced by attending a performance of GroundWorks at the Breen Center and the opportunity to view the company’s performance of Ghost Opera.

On Tuesday, April 26, 2016 the residents of Judson Park presented individual artworks inspired from the variety of their experiences through Action/Reaction and their viewing of Ghost Opera. The artworks, under the supervision of Cathy Bryan, ranged from acrylic and watercolor paintings, mixed media collages, three-dimensional mobiles to a variety of printmaking styles.