{"id":10320,"date":"2021-03-29T06:48:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T10:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artthescience.com\/magazine\/?p=10320"},"modified":"2021-08-12T09:47:35","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T13:47:35","slug":"features-stem-from-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artthescience.com\/magazine\/2021\/03\/29\/features-stem-from-dance\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURES – STEM From Dance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

STEM From Dance<\/a> is exciting young minds about science and technology through a unique route\u2014the arts. Since 2012, the New York City-based organization has been using dance to inspire girls, especially those from underrepresented minority backgrounds, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to diversify these fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization\u2019s founder and CEO, Yamil\u00e9e Toussaint Beach, noticed a need for diversity in these areas at an early age. \u201cThe moment I really understood the lack of diversity in the STEM workplace\u2026was in AP physics and calculus,\u201d she explains, recalling her high school days. \u201c[I saw] that those spaces weren\u2019t diverse, especially [lacking in] representation from Black and Hispanic people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Girl<\/a>
Girls Rise Up 2019 summer program. Photo Credit: Image Taker Studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Three<\/a>
Girls Rise Up 2019 summer program. Photo Credit: Image Taker Studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After earning her bachelor\u2019s degree in engineering, she shifted her focus and became a high school math teacher in an underserved community in Brooklyn. There, she witnessed even more reasons students felt apathetic toward STEM fields. \u201cI saw the reputation that things like math had for young people\u2014it\u2019s a drag, a requirement, something to get through\u2014[even though] I found it so exciting and fun,\u201d says Toussaint Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lifelong dancer, she decided to combine her two passions to excite the next generation of diverse girls about STEM. \u201cThe idea is that students get to engage in STEM in this atmosphere that dance takes place in,\u201d she explains. \u201cDance often brings that fun, the joy, the community aspect, the creativity, which is what we want to foster in a STEM atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, STEM From Dance provides girls ages 10 through 18 a wide range of programming built on three pillars\u2014creating awareness of STEM careers, building confidence to pursue curiosity, and providing experience to shape skillsets. The organization does this by offering residencies at schools and community-based organizations around New York City, as well as an immersive two- to three-week summer program, Girls Rise Up<\/a>. During these programs, participants spend their time dancing, coding, and exploring how to merge creativity found in both dance and technology to produce an innovative dance performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Girls<\/a>
Girls Rise Up 2019 summer program. Photo Credit: Image Taker Studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStudents own the process from beginning to end,\u201d says Toussaint Beach. \u201cThat\u2019s from coming up with the idea of how dance and STEM intersect, to them being able to prototype one of their ideas\u2014build it out and build both the STEM aspect and the dance aspect.\u201d This could mean incorporating LEDs and circuitry in costumes or programming digital animations to enhance the stage background during the performance. She continued by explaining that students \u201cget to choose the vision, the theme for the piece, the choreography, the costumes\u2014really being able to participate in that design process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By providing a space to explore how these two seemingly different fields intersect, STEM From Dance aims to address students\u2019 age-old questions regarding the relevance of the content they learn in the classroom. \u201cI think it\u2019s really powerful for students to see that something like programming or engineering can apply to something that they enjoy doing for fun, like dance,\u201d Toussaint Beach says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Girl<\/a>
Girls Rise Up 2019 summer program. Photo Credit: Image Taker Studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Girls<\/a>
Girls Rise Up 2019 summer program. Photo Credit: Image Taker Studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Girl<\/a>
Girls Rise Up 2019 summer program. Photo Credit: Image Taker Studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, students develop soft skills that cross the boundaries between science and the arts, including creativity and collaboration. Toussaint Beach admits that \u201csharing ideas can be vulnerable, in a sense.\u201d STEM From Dance provides a constructive place for girls to delve into what it means to work and create with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love seeing that direct connection between [STEM and dance] that can be lost when they\u2019re packaged in silos,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes it takes them coming together to realize the potential of the two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Involvement with STEM From Dance extends beyond the summer season and academic year. Alumni continue receiving support while navigating their futures, whether it be in the STEM college space or a vocational program. \u201cWe see that we have an opportunity to not just have that \u2018aha\u2019 moment with them at the beginning, but also carry that forward,\u201d Toussaint Beach states.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Girls<\/a>
Girls Rise Up 2019 summer program. Photo Credit: Image Taker Studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Girls<\/a>
Girls Rise Up 2019 summer program. Photo Credit: Image Taker Studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Three<\/a>
Girls Rise Up 2019 summer program. Photo Credit: Image Taker Studios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She described one of her favourite memories, where she truly felt her efforts in STEM engagement and education made a difference in someone\u2019s life. Last summer, a student who had previously participated in the Girls Rise Up program reached out to thank Toussaint Beach for inspiring her to follow a STEM career pathway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was something that I said to her that unlocked something in her. I think I was just encouraging her to pursue something that she was on the fence of as far as a future in STEM,\u201d Toussaint Beach recalls. \u201c[The student] said, because of that conversation, [she] applied for [another] program and learned about technology. And now, that\u2019s what she wants to major in in college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t even recall what I said,\u201d Toussaint Beach admits. \u201cBut to me, it was so exciting that just in a brief conversation in passing, just hearing something can be that influential…That was the fuel she needed\u2026to tip the scale to her going down a STEM pathway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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