Arts Education

Educational programs offered through Young Audiences of Indiana www.yaindy.org

  • Recipe for a Dance OR
  • Curriculum Connections Through Dance

In these two workshops - available individually or as a pair - Melli can either work with students to learn basic elements of a dance or else - in collaboration with their classroom teachers - present a workshop that uses dance to make specific curriculum connections. In both workshops, life skills such as focus , problem solving and cooperation are strengthened as students work together to create a short dance.

  • Water Dance

A five-visit residency allows students to choreograph their own dances that represent parts of the water cycle and states of matter.  Teaching Artist Melli Hoppe teaches students about the elements of dance and choreography and connects it with core science standards.

Watch video: http://vimeo.com/14459404

  • Weather Dance: A Workshop for Elementary Students

Weather patterns, the water cycle, and cloud types can be used as inspiration for a dance. Using simple choreographic principles such as space, time, force and motion, this workshop for elementary students addresses Indiana Academic Standards in Science, Language Arts/English, and Dance.

  • Weather Dance: Learning Earth's Processes Through Movement

Weather patterns, the water cycle and cloud types can be used as an inspiration for a dance. Teachers of grades 3-6 will learn how to deepen their students' understanding of Earth's processes using simple choreographic principles such a space, time, force and motion. Melli's simple process designed for non-dancers will help teachers engage their kinesthetic learners and enliven the science curriculum. A Young Audiences of Indiana workshop developed in collaboration with Kennedy Center Partner, Clowes Hall of Butler University.

  • Melli Hoppe and The Susurrus Dance Company present Current

This extraordinary dance, music and spoken word piece was the result of Melli's selection in 2003 as regional artist for the Lewis and Clark ArtsCorps. Melli researched and crafted this thought-provoking work from the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Current is rare gem - a 45-minute interactive performance by 7-9 members of the Susurrus Dance Company that will bring the struggles of the Corps of Discovery in 19 th century Indiana.


Early Childhood Programming:

  • Creative Dance Workshop

Seasons, life cycles of plants and animals, feelings and colors can be used as inspiration for dance. Beginning with a warm-up that fosters creativity, Melli leads students in free movement exercises, and then concludes with a movement activity that addresses classroom themes.

  • River: A Performance with the Susurrus Dance Company

Susurrus dancers present this modern dance piece that both demonstrates and engages young children in the ways dancers use their bodies and work together to tell a story. Susurrus, founded in 1993 by choreographer Melli Hoppe, combines dance, theatre, and original music created from the sounds of water for an unforgettable dance experience.