About Our Founder
Founder and Executive Director - International Arts, Education, and Curriculum Expert
Dr. Hanan Hameen, Ed.D., is a multi-hyphenate as an international arts, education, and curriculum expert, dancer, choreographer, singer, drummer, songwriter, author, lecturer, arts organization founder, advocate for youth, Lupus, social justice, and Doctor of Education. Throughout her extensive dance career of over 40 years, she has choreographed for both major and independent recording artists and arts institutions. As a dance educator throughout the USA and abroad, Dr. Hameen taught at several public schools, lectured, was the keynote speaker, and choreographed at 13 colleges and universities. Through her work as an arts administrator, community organizer, and culture curator, Dr. Hameen is the founder of the Artsucation™ Academy Network, Ms. Hanan's Dance and Beyond, Keepers of the Culture Performing Arts Company, New Haven Hip Hop Conference, the Official Juneteenth Coalition of Greater New Haven, the New Haven African Arts Alliance, and is the Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) DanceAfrica Candle Bearers. While battling Lupus, Dr. Hameen mentors arts administrators, trains teachers, and writes curricula for schools as an education consultant, domestically and abroad. She also provides Artsucational programming in the USA and African Diaspora through her Artsucation™ Cultural Exchange programs in Senegal and South Africa as the Artsucation™ curriculum creator, Mandela Washington Reciprocal Exchange Alumni, 92Y Dance Education Laboratory Alumni, and the New Haven Arts Council Phenomenal Woman Awardee.
Our Founder’s Teaching Philosophy
My goal is to bridge the gap between the performing arts and the educational communities by using the Arts as a means to improve student achievement, career readiness and attendance through an integrated arts-in-education curriculum called Artsucation™, the formal and successful interdisciplinary application of the Arts as creative sciences with traditional academic subjects. This interdisciplinary curriculum provides opportunities for students to gain real world experience, individual growth, and build life skills through the Arts. My experiences working in new, non-traditional, alternative, inclusive, specialized, and small populated schools enabled me to increase my students’ success through this interdisciplinary model. Being able to keep the legacy alive through teaching the youth is vital to the success of today’s generation as well as the future of society.
The positive outcome of my students is a result of the environment of my classroom. Student expectations are high and demanding, but reasonable with allowances. Each student is held to their own standard of their personal best with regards to content and processing. My curriculum integrates teaching, learning, and caring into the daily program with common values of honesty, fairness, and respect practiced by all students and myself as teacher.
2018 Arts Council of Greater New Haven Phenomenal Woman Awardee
Neighborhood Music School Premiere Dance Company Co-Founder with Arts Commission Awardees, PDC Group Members
