Welcome to Ms. Hanan’s Dance and Beyond, Inc.

 The mission of the Ms. Hanan's Dance and Beyond is to provide young people, ages 3 to 21, with passion, drive, and creative and leadership skills in order to elevate their sense of self-worth and make them more productive adults in society by offering instructional programs in dance and music that are embedded with history, literacy, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and social context elements, whereby the participants will be given responsibilities and opportunities to experience success in every lesson.

Artsucation™ is the interdisciplinary application of the Arts as creative sciences with traditional academic subjects and culture. As a new approach to the teaching and learning process and teacher training methodologies, Dr. Hanan Hameen and her mentor/High School Dance teacher, Dr. Patricia Dye, created this curriculum based on their pedagogical and andrological experiences. Since 1994, our Founder and several teachers have used our curriculum for performing arts programs, community-based events, and Department of Education classrooms in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and South Carolina. The curriculum was created in alignment with the Blue Print for the Arts, state and national standards, Diploma Plus Network Competencies, and was revised to maintain alignment with the Common Core Standards as well. 

· Classes taught by professional teaching artists and certified educators

· Increased academic achievement

· Discipline

· Positive social skills

· Leadership opportunities

· Classroom etiquette

· Development of independent behavior through responsibility

· Increase in attention span and channeling of energy

· Knowledge of anatomy, muscle control, and flexibility through imagery and comparison

· Development of analytic skills and memory through the creative process

· Increase in Self-Esteem

· Creating well-rounded Children and Adolescents

· Fun-filled activities

· Knowledge of self

· Respect for self, family, community, elders

· Introduction to life long careers in the Performing Arts

· Life-long health

· Development of the whole child

We offer an interdisciplinary curriculum for grades Pre-K – 12. Classes are combined by genre and academic area of focus. We use the creative science of the Arts as an entry point to teach traditional academic subjects. All classes include history, literacy, mathematics, science, and social responsibility. All of our lessons are differentiated for all achievement levels, inclusive for students with special needs, adaptable to all learning styles, and include traditional and project based assessments. 

For the college level and beyond we offer non-traditional, interactive workshops, lectures, and courses where the students deeply explore the history of the Arts, the history of the people who performed the artistry in the anthropological sense and its role as a weapon and force of social justice. Students will research cultures, pioneers, and juxtapose current social issues and interactions with social concerns of our past. Students will also physically experience the artistic side of the cultures and people researched through project based assignments with a literary component. 

After-School Program -  Grades 3-12

• Literacy Achievement Program (LAP) - Enrichment and the Arts are the major theme of our program and are in embedded in every class through dance literacy, dance history, documentary viewing, and interdisciplinary connections through H.I.G.H. E.S.T.E.A.M. Students will explore geometry, science, history, geography, and technology through the Arts.
  • The first 30 minutes of every day will be dedicated to Academic Support through homework help and tutoring. Students who need extra help or time will be given that opportunity.
• Full academic year program or Saturday school program – All levels
  • Dance Achievement Program (DAP) and Music Achievement Program (MAP)- Leadership skills and opportunities are experienced in every class. 
    • Students will have responsibilities as Captains, Managers, Assistants to the teachers, Choreographers, Composers and Production staff. Students will experience classes in Music in the form of African percussion and Dance in the form of Dunham Technique, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Acrobatics, and African dance. (Tap, Step, Jazz, and Latin dance can be added.)
• Eat Better Today and Eat To the Beat Collaborative Programs
  • Community Enrichment through Arts and Wellness, a collaborative program with Kidz Kook Association and community gardens through Neighborhood Housing Association to introduce participants to the science of Botany and Gardening to promote healthier eating habits, agriculturally based life skills, nutrition, health related disease prevention, cooking classes, and fitness. 
• Monthly or annual program for the entire family
  • Africa Is Me is a fun filled Artsucational™ program for all ages based on Black History and the connection between African traditions and current social issues and trends involving the Black community. Activities include African dance, songs, drum circle, Arts and Crafts.
  • Summer Programs – All summer participants who ended the previous school year behind the class were able to advance and in most cases surpass students on their grade level by the end of our programs. With small groups and individual attention, students excel at a speed far beyond expectation.
  • Artsucational™ Boot Camp (ABC) - ages 2-
    • The students are separated into two groups: 2-5 years old and 6-9 years old, both groups attend Monday thru Friday from 9am-5pm for 6 weeks and each week is a different theme. Each day consists of arts and crafts, dance/fitness, Artsucational™ studies twice a day, and free time
  • Summer Artsucational™ Intensive - ages 10-18 
    • A Monday thru Friday, 9-5pm, 6 to 9 week program for the serious dance and/or drum student. Students will participate in technique classes and workshops in dance/drum theory, dance/music history, dance literacy, choreography, and thoroughly explore careers in the performing arts. The program culminates with a student run stage performance, which enables our students to be more adaptive to all professional dance programs, higher learning and career paths. 
  • Summer Dance Jam program – All ages, Open level
    • A 6 week introductory program designed for the recreational student. Students will participate in a variety of dance related disciplines. The program culminates with a showcase, which enables our students to be introduced to careers in the performing arts and experience success.
• Adult Involvement Department (AID)
  • This program is designed for parents to keep them included in the learning process of the children. Our parents will automatically be enrolled in our program to AID us as volunteers during productions, for community outreach, public and private school involvement, positive family involvement, and support. 
• The Teachers Achievement Program (TAP) will be implemented for students who decide they would like to become teachers as a career after completing their first year of this program.