PRESS RELEASE: Ooblek to Dance Steps
SAN FRANCISCO, CA—June 22, 2009—On June 5th as many young people around San Francisco rocked out to Alice Cooper's Schools Out, it was just another day for youth detained at the Juvenile Justice Center (JJC). The young people detained at the JJC will be in school all summer with a one week break in June and a two week break in August. During these breaks, in collaboration with the Woodside Learning Center and Juvenile Probation Department, City Youth Now sponsors programming from eight o'clock in the morning until three o'clock in the afternoon. The detained youth participate in several programs ranging from tests of physical agility to science experiments to the creative arts.
During the June break, City Youth Now sponsored visits by local artist Jamie Dyi, the Zoomobile, Acrosports, science educator Rose Tully, yoginis Courtney Woodrow and Sarah Barnard, the Urban Voices Collective, and dancers from San Francisco State University.
For artist Jamie Dyi, the Barack Obama Hope poster was the motivation behind her art class with the young men detained at the JJC. Dyi led three of the five units in a collage/oil pastel art project to create posters. The young men chose words they could relate to such as loyalty, success, freedom, and justice. The words were mixed with images from magazines and oil drawings to create posters of hope, fear, power, and anxiety. Creativity and science intertwined when educator Rose Tully taught the youth about non-Newtonian fluids. The young people under Tully's guidance mixed cornstarch and water to create the non-Newtonian fluid, Ooblek. They then mixed science with fun, by participating in three relay races to further investigate the properties of the Ooblek.
City Youth Now welcomed back Acrosports to the JJC where they lead the young detainees through gymnastics, tumbling, circus arts, dance, and controlled movements in the gymnasium. To prepare them for their hour of tumbling arts, local yoga teachers Courtney Woodrow and Sarah Barnard from the Art of Yoga Project facilitated yoga classes with each unit that focused on breathing, nutrition, strength and stability. And, once they were nimble and ready to move, dance instructor Cathleen McCarthy from San Francisco State University along with two of her students led dance classes emphasizing agility, focus, and rhythmic movement. Both the Art of Yoga Project and McCarthy continue teaching weekly courses at the JJC.
The detained youth were also paid a special visit by Francois the Feret, a tortoise, a chinchilla, a snake and a chatty parrot. Joining us for the third year in a row, City Youth Now sponsored a visit by the San Francisco Zoo Mobile to the SF JJC. The zoo educator taught the youth about habitats, the environment, and the visitors of the animal kingdom. After an hour with the zoo, the youth were treated to two performances by Urban Voices Collective(UVC). UVC is a diverse group of artists give free performances and interactive workshops to inspire, uplift, educate, and edify community residents. From Ooblek to dance steps, the detained youth were challenged to find their inner athlete, musician, scientist, and artist.
About City Youth Now:
City Youth Now supports youth in the San Francisco foster care and juvenile justice systems by providing funds for services and programs that promote stability and personal growth. www.cityyouthnow.org
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Press Contact:
Brittany Jarabek
Executive Director
City Youth Now
brittany@cityyouthnow.org
