Hip Hop unit teaches self-expression, vulnerability

A group of Poughkeepsie Middle School students will take the stage at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House Thursday evening to show the community what they’ve learned about their community, their culture and themselves.
Several dozen sixth grade students for the past two weeks have been exercising dance, poetry, creative writing and artistic skills through the annual “Hip Hop Theater” program. ​
The show 7 p.m. Thursday, May 21, at the Bardavon, incorporates spoken word, dance and musical elements. The show is free of charge but there is a suggested donation of $6.
During the program, which has been running for more than 15 years, the students work with visiting teaching artists as well as teachers Heidi Murphy, John Hines, Selina Barrington and Devon Esposito. The theme of this year’s show is community and culture, which the students explored through a variety of mediums, including researching their own name, creating a piece of art representative of their name and how community resonates within themselves, and writing an accompanying essay. They also kept student journals with daily entries before and after the workshops.
The literacy components, Murphy said, work in support of the state’s ELA next generation learning standards.
This year, Murphy said, the teachers also intentionally aligned the unit with one aspect of the 7 Mindsets learning platform tenet “The Time is Now” — “Let Yourself Be Vulnerable.”
“We really did a lot of pre-show work on that,” Murphy said.
This week, the students have been put to the test. On Monday, they found themselves rehearsing out in the open – in the school’s lobby in the middle of the school day.
At one point, visiting instructor Paige “Queen Tut” Steward stopped their restrained dancing and called out a question to the group:
“Is anybody worried about looking silly or feeling silly? That’s OK. That’s a part of trying new things,” she told them, before asking, “What happens when you don’t try?”
“You fail,” one responded. “You get frustrated,” another voice said. 
Queen Tut told them: “You guys are all amazing students of color, are you not? Who are going to succeed at everything you do, are you not? So, this is just another thing in the bag. So, everybody, lock in.”
On stage for the first of two dress rehearsal days Wednesday, another visiting instructor, Baruch “Baba” Israel, reinforced the lesson to one group of students. He reminded them, failing to give your all for fear of standing will only make you stand out more clearly.
“Energy and commitment will take you all the way,” he said, before making them restart their routine.
While the group dance portions are choreographed, students also have portions in which they can incorporate their own individual moves, allowing for their own creativity to shine, and poetry or spoken word segments in which the students read their own work. A handful of students will show off DJing skills.