Bell School Hosts Local Story-Teller, David Rottenberg, and A Dancer's Dream in a Performance of "Gwendolyn, the Graceful Pig"

On October 29, the Bell School hosted David Rottenberg, a local author and story-teller as well as “Marblehead’s Own,” A Dancer’s Dream in a great story about the importance of inclusion and acceptance. Rottenberg’s story, Gwendolyn, the Graceful Pig, was set to music and danced by the Marblehead dance troupe. It tells the story of Gwendolyn, a young pig who wants to learn to dance, but does not feel as though she can, simply because she is different from the other students. Her friend Omar has a similar problem, only that he is too clumsy to make the football team. Together, they are taught ballet foundations and are included by all of the more advanced dance students at the school. Omar’s now graceful abilities make him a star on the football team and all of his dance friends, including his teacher, are there in the stands to support him. Gwendolyn’s confidence also grows now that she has accomplished such a great goal.

In addition, A Dancer’s Dream performed their National, award winning dance, “Count Me In,” based on the movements of a child, with moderate cerebral palsy, with that same drive and desire to dance. The other students mimicked this child’s movement, and used this child as the inspiration to create a beautiful and moving performance. A week later I asked my first graders what they thought about the performance. Some of the answers were “I knew people in the dance and that made me really excited to watch the performance,” “I really want to learn to dance, so I was happy that got to see real dancers,” “I learned that if you want to try something, you should,” “I learned anybody can dance,” “it takes a lot of practice to be a good performer,” and “I liked how everybody helped each other to make all of the cool movements.”

This program was a great way to support our local dance troupe, but to also show our students the importance of inclusion and that everybody needs to contribute in order for us all to be successful. It also showcased the collaborations and interdisciplinary contributions between literature and the fine arts. A huge thank you to all of the students who participated in the performance, as well as A Dancer’s Dream and David Rottenberg! The students enjoyed the performance very much!