Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs (AAIE) has partnered with 92NY’s Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) to launch Finding Grace, a new K–12 dance residency and curriculum inspired by Ronald K. Brown’s celebrated work Grace.
Led by Ailey teaching artists, the program fosters social-emotional learning while inviting students to study Brown’s movement style, create movement, and develop cultural literacy.
“[Grace] centers the idea of grace—how we can use grace in our lives, how we can embed it into our teaching practice, and how grace becomes an essential element of how we connect our artistry to our teaching and to our lives,” said Deborah Damast, DEL curriculum writer, in a recent press release.
Residencies are currently implemented in three New York City public schools, and a free, flexible online curriculum—featuring instructional videos, interviews, warm-up sequences, and three excerpts from Grace—will be available to educators beginning January 26 on the Ailey website as well as on the websites of DEL and the New York City Public Schools Arts Office.
Building on Ailey’s longstanding commitment to inspire and make dance education accessible, the Finding Grace curriculum also includes modifications for multilingual students and students with disabilities, and each “Experience” (lesson) can be adapted to the educator’s preferences or the age and specific needs of the students.
Dr. Rachel McCaulsky, director of Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs, also noted in the same press release that “the curriculum invites educators to delve into the topics of forgiveness, resilience, and the value of community in a flexible format that uniquely adapts to diverse student populations.”
This new educational offering—made possible by the generous support of Jody and John Arnhold | Arnhold Foundation—aligns with the New York City Department of Education’s Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance: PreK–12, the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS), and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Framework. For more information, visit ailey.org/community/finding-grace.
