“Check 1, 2, and 3”, the two characters sing into your microphone and groove the gold-edged sunglasses. “this is Benny on dispatch,world. “
In front of the Mongie Trails bus, cut the dancers who started stepping into eight people. Stomping, clapping, hitting your thighs, and rhythming.
This scene arrives at the beginning of “In the Heights,” a bed-styling arrangement of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “In the Heights.” Brooklyn Transition CenterBedford-Stuyvesant Special Education High School.
For 10 years each year, the center’s art teachers have performed musicals. This year it was filmed due to a coronavirus pandemic, but the steps are the protagonists. “In the Study” will be screened on June 3rd (for friends and family) and June 4th (for the general public).
The Brooklyn Transition Center has a five-year step club serving students aged 14-21. Steps, a tradition of percussive movements that have gained popularity for black fraternity and sorority, assist the center’s students. Benefit from highly specialized instruction Learn the skills to release excess energy, focus more in class, and socialize with pride, such as those with autism spectrum disorders or emotional and behavioral problems.
Dance teacher and coach Shakiela Daniel leads the Steppe Club, which started in 2017. “There are many lessons of life that come from it, not just dance,” Daniel recently said in the school courtyard. .. “And it only helps them grow into young adults.”
According to Daniel, 31, the step team tends to attract students with behavioral problems, and homeroom teachers often contact her for her support.
“They know I talk to the kids,” she said. .. They like to play. “
Daniel says she “work hard” on hiring in September, and then holds a three-part audition in October. Compared to just a handful when she started, 60 students have appeared to give it a try this year.
“If they can keep a stable beat, that’s all I need,” Daniel said. And they will try it with me, and I’m just like “What a hell, you’re great”. “
In “Benny dispatchIn the “In the Study” scene, three women step on, applaud, and slap in a fascinating sync. Their black T-shirts have the words “#DanceSavesLives”, “#LoveWins” and “#TakeAKnee”.
It was Daniel who came up with a twist on the title of the show. “‘At Heights’, it didn’t sit well with me,” she said. “We need to adjust for where our students live and where they are seeing.”
Kate Fenton, the teacher of the drama that directed the musical, used the same artistic tolerance to thread the storyline about inflation and gentrification.The show Task Historically facing the black neighborhood of Bed-Stuy, it also celebrates the culture it permeates.
In one scene, Daniel’s steppe team dances to Iggy Azalea’s “work” in a hair salon.Nomy Diga“In the Heights” scene. If possible, Fenton used songs that the students already knew and incorporated them into the story.
We also incorporated neighborhood spots that are familiar to students. The hair salon scene was shot at the DaShop hairdresser near the school. Next to the Da Shop is the Dominican restaurant Genao, which has a luxurious lounge. Here, the step routine was filmed. Club scene “In the Heights” Punjabi MC “be carefulThe numbers are arranged in a Hindi style, and the dancer wears a bright scarf tied to the waist.
A 16-year-old Desiree Wilkie, who lives in the neighborhood, often goes to Genao with her mother. Wilkey, who started stepping in with Daniel this year, said he would like to try it because much of her family has stepped in and grew up.
“Because we all have brothers and small children,” she said. She wants to show them how students can express themselves through steps so that they can “see the feelings of high school.”
The opening routine for the title song “In the Heights” was filmed on Ellery Street, just outside the school. In that number, 19-year-old Abigail Bing dances in front and in the center, performing a complex, flowing step sequence.
Bing joined the step team this year and participated in the musical for the first time. She said she wanted to be an actor, dancer and stepper from an early age. “I always wanted to be one of them,” she said. “That is my biggest dream right now.”
In addition, there is 21-year-old Asahi Hudson who has set foot from junior high school. At the Brooklyn Transition Center, he said he found a friend through the dance and mentor of Daniel and her assistant choreographers Annette Natal and Michael Haynes.
“Steps mean for me to be confident and strong and stronger as a team,” Hudson said. “I feel happy and powerful when working with Daniel and the team.”
Daniel has been in Hershey, Pennsylvania since he was in seventh grade. While choreographing her musical, she returns from her work to the Queen’s Corona, where she stands in front of a large mirror, plays songs, and tries her new footwork. ..
In preparation for “In the Study,” we have increased the number of step exercises during class hours to two days a week. According to Daniel, steps are a great incentive to teach students how to stay focused and express their emotions.
For 16-year-old Dante Neville, who started walking with Daniel last year, walking is a way to release extra energy. After the rehearsal and returning to class, his concentration will improve.
“When I’m in class, I don’t pay attention, so if I can concentrate, I’ll be happier,” he said.
That sentiment applies to many members of the Brooklyn Transition Center step team. On the rehearsal stage, after common practice, they are lit up and hugs and high fives ring in the auditorium. As Hudson said, steps mean self-confidence.
“This place would have been busier if we hadn’t taken a step,” Daniel said of the center. “It feels good”