Arts-Ed Reflections

Calico Ball students singing their song finale.

2023 Arts Ed Reflections

Last Friday marked the 33rd Annual Calico Ball in Beacon. The entire third grade of the Beacon City School District (12 classes and over 100 students) took to the stage of the Pete and Toshi Seeger Theatre at the Beacon High School—eight and nine-year-olds dressed up in Lederhosen and Carnivale masks weaving through the current of high school students between bells to get to the backstage wings. The high schoolers had all been part of the Calico ball when they were in third grade, of course, so none of this seemed out of place. 

“When I come into the high school,” reflects Livia. “Students stop me in the hallway and start doing the steps of their third grade dances right there. It’s a riot!” 

Backstage snap shot of the Calico Ball song Finale.

For those of us who didn’t grow up in the Beacon School District, the Calico Ball is the first school dance program established by The Vanaver Caravan. Caravan teachers go into the elementary schools and teach each class a different dance from a country or region around the world. Classroom and special area teachers work with students on special art projects, songs, stories, and research. At the end of this two month cultural immersion, all the school staff, students and their families gather at the High School to perform their dances and share what they’ve learned. This year’s Calico Ball took the audience to Germany, Brazil, China, Ghana, South Africa, Côte D’Ivoire, Ecuador, Argentina, Greece, Egypt, Puerto Rico, and the outback of Australia. 

The Calico Ball has grown into a steadfast community tradition–integrated deeply into school curriculum, from the superintendent to the custodial staff, everybody celebrates together. It is so integrated, in fact, that the current principal of Sargent Elementary School herself performed in the inaugural Calico Ball and more than half of the students have parents or siblings who have passed through third grade and marched onto the stage to proudly celebrate the beautiful music and dance that the world has to offer.

While the Calico Ball is our oldest residency, it is not our only residency. This year saw The Vanaver Caravan in 29 schools, with over 3,000 students. Our growing team of Teaching Artists took the classrooms with aplomb, sharing the change-making power of the arts with children and adults alike. At Arlington High School, where we run a full year dance and yoga elective for sophomores-seniors, students reflected that the Dance program was one of the only places they felt truly safe to be themselves. 

Arlington High School Dance Studio. Dance teachers: Miranda (Moo) Way, Mara Lileas, Debra Waner, and Cedric James

Yesterday, our Arlington High School students philosophized:  “I feel so comfortable with all of you here–like we’ve all been through a trauma and it’s made us closer–except it wasn’t traumatic, it was fun! Why is that?” Eventually, they came to the conclusion that dancing together and being really present in their bodies made it way easier to shake off the walls they put up to protect themselves from judgment or hurt. 

Teaching dance in schools is important. We have worked hard to ensure that our dance and music programs are available to schools. In a climate where schools are banning books and erasing history, it feels more vital than ever to make sure the stories and movements of all peoples are represented and honored with integrity. So, as we celebrate the end of the school year, we also acknowledge that there is so much more work to be done. And we are here for it.

India 2023

Unity Through Diversity: Shakti Caravan, India 2023

Reflections from Livia Vanaver

In the 70's and 80's The Vanaver Caravan toured for the US State Department as Cultural Ambassadors of Good Will. Over the years, we continued to do this representing New York State and Ulster County. Truly, we are still doing that wherever we go. I have always been drawn to India and never imagined how it would affect me and broaden the work of The Vanaver Caravan until we began in 2011. Every time we have visited India, I never know what to expect . . . but I do know that something unexpected and miraculous will happen every day. This was our 4th time working with the Aikiyam faculty and students grades 1-8. For 2023, they asked us to create something special for the whole school to celebrate Republic Day . The theme this year was Unity Through Diversity.

In January, we worked with the faculty and 200 children from the Aikiyam School, one of Auroville's seven schools, which serves the village of Kuyilapaliam, bordering Auroville in Tamil Nadu. We chose eight countries that represent the peoples and cultures who reside in, and helped to build, Auroville. Created by Sri Aurobindo and his main disciple, known as The Mother, Auroville is an idealistic community with a vision to model global unity. West Africa, Germany, Brazil, Italy, France, China, South Africa and the USA were the cultures of choice. Each class/grade level studied and portrayed these countries through dance, music, song, and history.

One of the highlights for all of us was working with the teachers and having them perform dances from Greece and Israel. After the school day (and after chai and unwinding together), we rehearsed. The teachers were received like rock stars by the entire student body. You should have heard the audience cheering! The crumbling theater on the property next door to Aikiyam was renovated, and refurbished to accommodate this event and the whole school performed and shared their dances and all that they learned. Hopefully the space will now serve as a lovely performance area for future events.

You may know that every Thursday morning since April 2020, a month after the Covid lockdown in India, we began weekly world dance classes with the students at Malarchi home, the boarding house for Aikiyam and the high school. When it's 6:30 AM here, it's 5:00 PM there: a perfect time to Dance for Joy (their title for the class). That class still continues remotely today. Bharat Verma (an amazing dancer and body percussionist whom we met 11 years ago when the Company first went to Udaipur, India to work in the schools there) is currently teaching Rajasthani folk dance, Bollywood and body percussion to the students. We are all so happy to see each other on Zoom every week to dance. Last week we were ALL thrilled to dance together in person for the first time in 3 years!

Jill Ann Schwartz and I were the Teaching Artists. Chelsea Needham and Bill were the musicians extraordinaire. Jonah Grossman and Kyan Malone, two of our Youth Company, assisted in teaching these dances to the entire school, and they had the time of their lives. We all performed together at SAWCHU in front of their main theatre, Bharat Nivas, which brought people from throughout the Auroville communities together for the concert and participatory dancing. It was a true celebration of global connection and continuing to build community, in the way Auroville was intended. Big shout out to Laura Stotz and Marc Grossman, the two VanaParents on board for this tour, documenting and supporting the experience.

Moving Forward

Moving Forward was co-created to build community, uplift our shared audiences, and to be made accessible though free public performances. The impetus for the project was to co-create a new dance piece that would express both dance companies' desire to unite and address multi-racial communities, including those of our own dance companies. Moving Forward builds artistic capacity through the development and performance of this new collaborative work added to our repertoire - as well as audience sharing between two local dance companies.

MOVING FORWARD DATES:

• Moving Forward will be performed at our upcoming participation in the annual Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs, (postponed due to COVID, date TBA, 2022). Click here: Visit FlurryFestival.org to learn more and purchase tickets

Stay tuned in 2022: Moving Forward will be performed in urban, suburban, and rural spaces in the coming season, for all to see!

This project is made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor’s office and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.

In Loving Memory

In Loving Memory

The Vanaver Caravan mourns the loss of two lifelong friends: Pat Smiley Guralnik and Gerow Smiley.

Words from Livia:

Pat was on our Board of Advisors for many years. She and her husband, Robert Guralnik started the Festival of Arts at Mohonk, which her daughter, Maria, continues to curate and host and where The Vanaver Caravan performs each summer. Pat's brother, Gerow Smiley, who was on our Board of Directors in the 80’s passed away just last week at age 99.

Gerow Smiley Obituary

Patricial Smiley Guralnik Obituary:

Patricia Smiley Guralnik was born on August 29, 1936 in a family home at Lake Mohonk in New Paltz, the last child of Rachel Orcutt and Francis Smiley. As a child, the hotel grounds were Pat’s playground, including climbing on the roof for fun and running up the famed “Labyrinth” trail to Skytop, her cocker spaniel in tow. Her playmates were children of employees and guests, though she spent much time alone with her imagination and books.

She attended Westtown Friends School for high school, where she once adventured to Manhattan to see a show without permission and had to sign a book every hour when she returned. Patricia received a teaching degree from Plattsburg State Teachers College and had a short career as a teacher for gifted children. She had an innate love of animals and compassion for people, particularly those who suffered. So much so, that when she finally met the man she would marry, pianist Robert Guralnik, a good friend asked her “what’s wrong with him?”.

They were married at her family home in December, 1959 not long after Robert’s first performance at Mohonk. They settled in Cornwall, NY in nearby Orange County, and raised three daughters. Their bohemian circle of friends included artists, actors, musicians and educators with social evenings often ending in impromptu concerts and games. Patricia returned to school in her 40s to obtain a degree as a Physical Therapist Assistant.

She was employed by Sylcox Nursing Home (later Elant) in Newburgh for 30 years, where she was known for her light spirit, sense of humor and genuine care for the residents. Following the death of Robert in 1996, Patricia took over the management of the Festival of the Arts at Mohonk, a summer entertainment series that she and Robert co-founded in 1989. Though not someone who relished speaking in front of crowds, Patricia committed to continuing her family legacy of hosting first-class music and entertainment at Mohonk.

Patricia was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 78. Retiring from the festival, she continued to cultivate friendships in High Falls, where she moved to be close to her two eldest daughters and their families. She could frequently be found at the Egg’s Nest and the Last Bite, where her open face and sympathetic ear drew many into conversation. Patricia most prized her ability to make people laugh, often by unexpectedly sharp comments, and a certain “wild card” quality. Based on her Quaker upbringing, it often surprised people to discover that Pat loved to gamble, playing BlackJack and slots at Atlantic City and Vegas, where she earned fancy rooms at the Bellagio. In her final years, Pat lived at the Culinarian’s home in New Paltz, where she took the lead in prompting afternoon board games and enjoyed playing bridge with a committed group in New Paltz.

Patricia was, above all, a caring soul with a wry wit and quiet clarity who adored cats, margaritas, music and parties. She passed peacefully at home surrounded by family on January 30, 2021. A a fiercely proud mother and grandmother, she is survived by her three daughters: Maria Guralnik and Louisa Finn of High Falls, NY, and Susan Guralnik of Los Angeles, CA; her devoted sons-in-law: Sevan Melikyan and Joshua Finn; as well as three grandsons: August and Ezra Finn, and Robert Melikyan.

She will be greatly missed.

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