Manhattanville College dance students and their professor were featured on the PBS educational program “Let’s Learn” on May 25.
Professor and Program Director Shawn Bible developed the educational segment to teach kids math concepts after he was approached by PBS. “Let’s Learn” helps children ages 3-8 with at-home learning.
Students Jessica Bessler, Danielle Chu, Alexa Rivera, and Paije Pasols, and and Bible worked together in the on-campus dance studio during January and filmed footage that illustrated concepts of spatial awareness and math. This was new territory, especially for Bible, who has taught college-aged students for his entire career as an educator.
Dance student Paije Pasols said it felt like a full circle moment. Pasols watched PBS frequently as a child and now believes “when you’re that young, your mind is so sculptable. It so cool that the roles are reversed and I, along with the rest of the dancers, get to be the ones who hopefully spark something for at least one kid.”
Senior dance student Jessica Bessler said the experience was “was very different, especially given our younger audience. It was an interesting process learning how your mannerisms, the colors you wear, and the way you speak effect younger viewers.’’
Senior Lexie Rivera said a Manhattanville course “Dance on Camera” helped her prepare for what to expect. “This project took it to the next level, but it helped to have that background to understand how everything works and what we needed to do to get great footage.”
Dance student Danielle Chu who has worked with youth groups in the community as a Clark Scholar volunteer said she sees a natural connection between movement and education, and she is “grateful to be using dance to help educate my community… [it] provides a universal language for everyone to learn.”
Bible said it was “such a wonderful opportunity working with PBS. “Our dance majors are so professional, prepared, and represent Manhattanville to the highest caliber.”
The segment aired as part of episode 1211 (“There’s a Silent ‘e’ in Kite!”) on Thursday, May 25 in the WNET viewing area. The episode is online at https://www.letslearn.org/episodes/
To learn more about dance at Manhattanville, visit https://www.mville.edu/programs/dance.php.
