About the Project
Located at the bottom of this page is an audio file provided that discusses the material presented below. In addition to the audio file, there is also a copy of my sources that I have used throughout the semester to develop my project.
My name is Madi Erber and I am a senior BFA dance major with a minor in Autism Spectrum Disorders. For my project I wanted to connect these two areas of interest into one process that allows me to place a focus on community engagement and outreach as well as teaching.
When tasked with brainstorming ideas for my capstone project my mind went to creating a program that allows students with disabilities to become more involved in the dance community. When initially working with this idea it was in my mind that this program could be done in person, but as the spring semester progressed this idea switched to creating and online program. It is my goal to create these classes by developing curriculum and various activities that then can be turned into live or pre recorded classes for students to participate in at home.
To gain input and advice on a successful project I reached out to Ryan Hourigan, founder and director of the Prism Project, a place where children with developmental disabilities learn about performing arts in the disciplines of dance, music, theatre, and art/animation. After explaining my hopes for this project, Ryan told me that Prism Project was looking to develop an online program to be implemented in the spring 2021 semester and asked if I would like to join their team. By doing this I can now create this material and it can be implemented into classes next semester. With the Prism Project team we worked to create a schedule that allows us time to work and continue with the ideas that we began in the spring of 2020. We will be continuing with our “Under the Sea” theme that takes the audience on the journey of sea creature students as they learn to overcome difficulties while on their trip. Through the various disciplines we will work with the students via zoom each week to bring this story to life.