EDUCATION & OUTREACH
GroundWorks DanceTheater is a contemporary dance company that has been committed to enriching the Northeast Ohio community through performance, collaboration, and education for over 20 years. Community impact is a central focus of the company’s work, and through our diverse outreach programs and performances, GroundWorks serves more than 8,000 individuals annually.
The commonalities among GroundWorks’ core programs – dance performance, dance instruction, and creative movement-based education – are connection and creativity. Over the past twenty years, GroundWorks’ trauma-informed care and culturally responsive approach to education have earned us a reputation as a presenter of high-quality learner-centered educational programming. Long-term partners such as CMSD, Akron Public Schools, Cleveland State University, University of Akron, and Judson Senior Living continue to work with GroundWorks year after year because through creative movement and dance, learners begin to engage in social-emotional learning, such as autonomy, self-awareness, self-management, creative-problem solving, non-vocal communication, coordination, self-management, teamwork, and much more.
GroundWorks teaching artists aspire to inspire and empower creativity in others. Participants in GroundWorks education and outreach programs do not need to have dance experience or move according to a preconceived idea of “dance.” Instead, GroundWorks uses the artistic process to promote self-discovery, creativity, and choice-making. Whether GroundWorks is leading seniors with low mobility through a chair-based movement workshop or facilitating a residency with elementary school students studying coordinate graphing, the work provides new opportunities for learners to succeed, relate to one another, and activate their creative thought process. GroundWorks programs connect deeply to people in a way that makes them feel acknowledged and empowered.
Learn more about these programs:
For more information about our Education and Outreach offerings, email Education Director Joan Meggitt at joan@groundworksdance.org