Karen brings a variety of offerings to schools and students of all grade levels.
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Photocredit:
The Sun Journal (www.sunjournal.com)
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ASSEMBLY PROGRAMS
- stories through movement
- integration into curriculum
- faculty participation
Over the past fifteen years, Karen Montanaro has performed in hundreds of schools both as a soloist and in partnership with master mime Tony Montanaro. Using material drawn from her full evening concerts, Karen entertains and educates students about the art forms of mime and dance and uses her phenomenal technique and control in both ballet and performance-mime to tell stories through movement.
A study guide is available for pre-show and post-show discussions.
As a special feature for school programs, the principal (or a teacher or student) is invited to perform a comic duet with Karen. The sketch takes a hilarious look at the game of soccer. Simple instructions will be sent ahead, and Karen will meet and rehearse with the volunteer shortly before the performance. The sketch is short and easy to learn, and the results are outrageously funny!
Read what educators have to say...
"Karen's one-of-a-kind performance combines the grace, poise, and style of a professional ballet dancer with the drama, humor, and excitement of an accomplished mime. In one segment, she becomes a fearsome tiger, and the artistic tension of the audience was palpable. Lastly, her program is cerebral. Students had to construct the meaning of her stories as she transformed herself from one character to another"
- Dr. Mary Ellen Toscano,
Principal, Parkview Elementary School
*****
"How impeccably magnificent!... I have never in three years here nor in all my 30 years of experience been witness to a group of students and adults being so spellbound, engaged and involved in a highly creative yet relevant theatrical performance! For sharing your gift, talent and enthusiasm for the arts, I thank you on behalf of all students and staff."
- Barbara Galvin, EDCO Collaborative
*****
"Karen's performance was superb. It was both instructive and entertaining. She was solo on stage for over an hour and held over two hundred people in the palm of her hand. The simplicity and the complexity of her work was mesmerizing. She offered inspiration to any child who thinks they might want to dance or mime. I was most impressed with Karen and her work."
- Toby Weinberger
Upper School Coordinator
Bank Street School for Children, New York City
*****
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Karen performing at Auburn Middle School
(October 2006)
Photocredit: LA Arts. (www.laarts.org)
Karen performing with Liz Rollins,
Director of Music & Theater
Photocredit: LA Arts. (www.laarts.org)
Photocredit: LA Arts. (www.laarts.org)
Photocredit: LA Arts. (www.laarts.org)
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WORKSHOPS IN MIME AND MOVEMENT
"As soon as we saw Karen's exceptional ability to motivate our students and engage their imaginations, the Sea Road School immediately hired her back for next year."
- Maureen Fulford, Educator
Sea Road School, Kennebunk, Maine
Selected articles on Karen's Teaching:
Students Learn to Mime Their Manners
(Reprinted from The Portland Press Herald)
Mime Helps Students Unlock Inner Treasure
(Reprinted from The Star-Herald)
Mime-dance Creates Gales of Audible Laughter
(Reprinted from Seacoastonline.com)
Artist in Residency Program
(Reprinted from Maine Arts Magazine)
Montanaro Aims to Start a Movement
(Reprinted from the Maine Sunday Telegram) |
Photocredit: LA Arts. (www.laarts.org)
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DANCE RESIDENCIES
(One or Two Weeks)
Karen offers residencies to students K - 12, providing students with techniques for focusing, improving their attention span and achieving goals. Residencies include performances and workshops and are tailored to meet the needs of students. Schools in Maine are eligible to receive a Partners in Arts and Learning grant through the Maine Arts Commission!
Using the vocabulary of mime, dance, and improvisation, students experience and express moods, feelings, and states-of-mind in exciting new ways.
"Words cannot convey the amount of respect that I have for Karen Montanaro's work in schools. Her passion for movement and dance instruction is compelling; her instruction and communications with the students are clear and direct; and failure is not part of her vocabulary. Dance is a part of our culture, and I believe that providing students with dance instruction can lead to life-long skills and increased physical activity."
- Norma Richards
Principal, Raymond Elementary School
Raymond, Maine
(Click here to read the full letter of recommendation from Norma Richards.)
*****
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Karen teaching at York Middle School
(April 2008)
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Study Guide
Imagination In Action Study Guide:
(click image to view/download .pdf file)
Featuring discussion topics and learning results, the study guide helps you integrate Karen's performance into your curriculum.
Click here for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
NATIONAL DANCE INSTITUTE
Through the Ram Island Trust Foundation and Robert and Millicent Monks, Karen recently received a generous endowment towards a two week workshop at the National Dance Institute in New York City. As a teacher-in-training, Karen will practice the NDI pedagogy during three residencies at local schools this Spring.
It takes years and years of practice to earn the esteemed distinction of being an NDI teacher. For more information, visit the NDI website (www.nationaldance.org).
Click to read more about:
Karen Montanaro
Study Guide
Sample Program
Artist in Residency Program
What they're saying...
Booking Information
Additional Quotes
"Working in Special Education presents a diverse spectrum of learning opportunities for me as well as the students that I teach. Still, I am met with frustration in not being able to get the students to pay attention.
And then we met Karen Montanaro. She got our attention. Taking the risk of trying Karen's mime moves meant that they might fail or be laughed at. But it also meant that they might succeed; they might find courage to confront the fear; they might find a piece of themselves that they never knew existed.
Karen shared her wisdom about tapping into the infinite potential of what is possible. She urged the students to always do their best and to use all of their energy for each task. She encouraged them to try one more time when they wanted to give up. She planted seeds of hope for them to grow into their highest potential. She showed patience and believed in their abilities, allowing ...them to emerge from their shells to dance outside of their walls."
- Nicole Gamblin, Special Educator
*****
"Karen Montanaro mesmerized our students!"
- Jennifer Null, SAD61, Maine
*****
"Karen is a true professional; she is a dynamic performer engaging the audience throughout her performance. Bravo!"
- Deertrees Theatre, Harrison, ME
*****
"...Karen Montanaro was fabulous. She captured the student's attention and wrapped them in motivation to express through movement."
- Spurwink Schools, ME (Workshops)
*****
"...Karen more than fulfilled expectations...
she engaged each workshop participant at an appropriate level and helped them build their own ideas into performance pieces. This was an exciting, creative learning experience for all. Karen's ability to inspire connections between movement and narrative, between idea and performance is unsurpassed! We recommend Karen's workshops most highly!"
- Denmark Art Center, Denmark, ME (Workshops and Performance)
*****
"...the performance wasn't an evening devoted entirely to dance or mime, but instead an intelligent conversation between the two."
- Round Top Center for the Arts, Damariscotta, ME
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