As Tenton Art All Night 2019 returns from last year’s tragedy, supporters are excited about the artwork seen here. — Photo by Michelle Dryden
With beefed up law enforcement following last year’s tragic incident, the 24-hour Artworks event was scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Saturday and to end at its usual time Sunday at 3 p.m., but there was a significant break from 1 to 7 a.m., for this year only.
This year, there were two public entrances to the event that the staff closed during the break as they asked patrons to leave at 1 a.m., and invited them to return at 7 a.m.
Artworks Director Lauren Otis explained that, “We want everyone to be comfortable…coming back, so we decided to close the event in the wee hours, but next year we’ll be back 24-hours.”
Otis appreciated turnout to see the art by 6 p.m. Saturday. He also said that more than 900 artists who
promised to continue to support the fest submitted artworks, but there were about 500 less than last year.
This year’s incident-free Art All Night event depicts the City’s beauty, with everything coming “together in a perfect triumphant storm,” said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who spoke to a positive crowd at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Gov. Murphy said, “Art measures the soul of this particular community.” He believes that whatever takes place in Trenton affects the entire State of New Jersey.
Thanking all the supporters including City workers, law enforcement, artists, and the community at large, the Gov. officially kicked off the event by cheering it on.
PRINCETON, N.J. – With physical activity, the brain and the body function better, and so recently a
Students at Princeton Ballet School perform in their Dance for Parkinson’s class where Rachel Stanislawczyk is their teacher. — Provided photo
dance teacher has been helping special students with their moves.
When Rachel Stanislawczyk interned and became a lead dance teacher for the Mark Morris Dance Group’s Dance for Parkinson’s Program in Brooklyn, N.Y., she decided to broaden the horizons of that program.
On returning to New Jersey, Stanislawczyk proposed the idea of starting a Dance for Parkinson’s program to the Princeton Ballet School, “knowing that their mission and dedication to live accompaniment aligned perfectly with her vision of the program,” says Lindsay Cahill, assistant teacher at Princeton Ballet School.
The Parkinson’s students will need help with controlling their movements, because Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement, and often includes tremors.
Therefore, Stanislawczyk is offering the eight-week Dance for Parkinson’s classes that will be running through March 28, this year in Princeton, and she is the lead dance teacher.
Together with her assistant, the dance teachers create “a warm sanctuary for movement exploration, and a social atmosphere to support artistic venture,” Cahill says.
Affiliated with the American Repertory Ballet (ARB), the Princeton Ballet School Dance for Parkinson’s program have live musical accompanied by one of ARB’s staff of professional musicians, Cahill says.
“Each class is infused with guided imagery, vocalization, and movement from several different genres of dance, to provide participants with holistic and dynamic experiences,” Cahill explains.
She says the Dance for Parkinson’s teachers and volunteers encourage participants to “’think like a dancer;’ to indulge in creativity, expression, and shared humanistic experiences.”
Dancers for Parkinson’s hold hands as they participate in their classes at Princeton Ballet School. — Provided photo
This inclusive program is open to all levels of ability. The participants include senior adults, their care partners, family, friends, children and grandchildren, who may experience therapeutic relief from
dancing.
However, the classes are not considered therapy, but are solely for getting people together to move, share, and enjoy the elements of dance, says Cahill.
Nevertheless, the dance movements help the Parkinson’s students’ bodies to naturally produce the neurotransmitter, Dopamine, which is a feel-good chemical in the brain, and that helps with signaling body movements.
In order to offer a variety of dance movements, the dance instructors incorporate several different dance styles such as ballet, modern jazz, tap, and tango.
“The formula for each class differs as participants are led to explore different choreographic, improvisational, and compositional tools,” Cahill says.
And, the instructors also keep the classes interesting by sometimes revolving them around a central theme that includes aspects of song, poetry, games, and partner work.
They encourage the students to participate to the best of their own abilities while seated or standing during each class, Cahill says.
At the beginning of classes, the instructors remind students that there are no right or left sides, and no right or wrong ways of moving.
There are also volunteers to assist students during each of these one-hour-and-fifteen-minutes classes.
These classes are fairly new to Princeton Ballet School where the first sessions started in August 2018.
The teachers held the first two sessions of the program at their Princeton location. However, this year’s winter sessions are at their Cranbury studios. They also have a studio in New Brunswick.
The Cranbury and Princeton studios are wheelchair accessible. All locations feature state-of-the-art dance floors that are shock absorbent and slip proof.
TRENTON, N.J. — Recently, the City of Trenton recognized National Hispanic Heritage Month, which occurs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, with the return of the Puerto Rican Day Parade along South Broad and Front streets, and in Mill Hill Park, Trenton.
According to attendees, the parade has been absent from the city for at least four years due to budgetary problems and seemingly lack of participation. However, this year, the turnout was huge and there were vendors, music, food, contests, and plenty of enthusiasm.
George Jones, a resident of Mill Hill District, said the parade had ceased for a few years, “due to the weather and participation. We couldn’t get enough sponsors,” he said.
He added that the heritage is very important, and so it is a good idea to bring it back because Trenton has lost its heritage. He also mentioned that there used to be other parades such as the African and Jamaican parades, and that the kids need to see that we can all come together.
An attendee, Susana Rios, said it has been about four or five years ago since she has been to a Puerto Rican Day Parade in Trenton. She said she was enjoying the music, the vendors and the parade.
Others, such as Erin Lind, said she was also enjoying the return of the parade and was looking forward to the food.
HAMILTON, N.J. — Approximately 30 thousand people gathered in Veterans’ Park in Hamilton Monday for the annual Mayor Kelly Yaede July 4th, Independence Day Concert.
The featured music band was The Heartbeats, who kept the crowd dancing for more than three hours. The Mayor and council members welcomed and thanked everyone for attending, and then later got on the dance floor.
The music continued after the speeches and the night ended with dazzling, spectacular fireworks.
Upbeat, rocking, energetic, and highly entertaining; Jah Guide Reggae Band swayed the crowd at Art All Night in Trenton, last Saturday. Art All Night is a cultural, festive, an entertaining event that happens annually in the City of Trenton. There were various vendors, artists, games, other musicians, and just about every ethnicity at the event. The new Mayor-Elect, Eric Jackson, of Trenton, welcomed visitors to Art All Night.
