AFA Project Description Guide
Written Component Of Your Grant Proposal
You will need the following documents to complete the written component of your grant proposal:
*This section must be written by the school and in the applicant’s own words. Make sure that you do NOT simply copy and paste ANY of the provided information. Schools that are successful in securing funds have used provided materials only as a guide and their proposal sounds completely original.
A Detailed Project Description
1. School Profile (We suggest 1-Page Max)
The School Profile should successfully communicate the school’s:
- History
- Educational philosophy
- Educational programs
- Extra-curricular activities
- Special programs or services provided by your school
The School Profile should introduce:
- The student body
- The Community and its involvement with the school.
The School Profile Should allow the jury insight into:
- The school’s circumstances
- How an artist‐in‐residence will benefit students, teachers and the community (briefly as there is another section dedicated to this purpose).
If your school falls into any of the below categories, ensure that this is communicated in your school profile:
- High‐needs schools
- Schools with low enrollment
- Schools that have not previously received funding for an artist in school residency
- A community that would particularly benefit from the residency
- Rural or urban
- Part of a First Nations Community or on a First Nations reserve
- A focus on a second language
- A large immigrant population
*If any of the above categories apply to your school, mention how an SK Residency could benefit your school’s unique situation, population, mandate, etc.
2. Description of the planned arts activities (We suggest 2 Pages Max)
*Be sure to use the SK Program Information to complete this section.
This is where you will build excitement for your residency- let’s have the jury feel thrilled to fund such an engaging and exciting experience!
A. Nature of student involvement in the activities and their level of exposure to and engagement in the creative process.
The AFA loves to hear about how hands-on and involved all students will be in the residency. From building aspects of their own dance choreography, to choosing the trajectory of the dance stories, to being hands-on in creating the final dance performance, students at all grade levels will be intimately engaged with the SK residency!
B. The length of time the artist will spend in the school, and a detailed schedule of the residency project.
An SK Dance Residency is, generally, a school-wide experience that fits seamlessly into your physical education schedule. Your SK instructor will be with your students from the morning bell to the dismissal bell. Depending on the size of your school, and the Program Format that you have chosen for your residency, the residency schedule for your program may look very different than another school’s schedule. That being said, through the SK Booking process you will have already determined the length of your program and will have a general idea of the number of instructional sessions that each class will receive.
*Please feel free to use the SK Sample Schedule included in the Program Descriptions. The schedule may change drastically when it actually comes time to work with your specific school, but it will give the jury a better idea of the progression of the project.
C. The number of students and grade levels involved in the residency project.
Include a list of all classes and grade levels involved in the residency as well as the number of students in each group.
D. Any teacher in-services activity
We at SoundKreations firmly believe that our programs should never end on the day our instructors leave the school and thus we strive to include a Professional Development component with each program, designed to give the school’s staff the tools necessary to not only nurture the student’s progress in the creative process but their own.
When possible, we will find space within your residency schedule for a focused, Teacher In-Service Session, where your SK Instructor will offer information on ways to continue and foster the Healthy Hobby of dance in the time following the residency. This will also be an opportunity for teaching staff to learn a few moves themselves!
3. Outline of the project objectives, including any appropriate links to the curriculum. (We suggest 2 Pages Max)
A. Objectives (*Please include both your school’s objectives and the objectives below in your proposal!)
In addition to your school’s objectives, as a company, our objectives for all of our residencies are as follows:
1. To introduce a method of maintaining physical health in a fun and accessible way.
2. To redefine the current cultural agreement around dance.
3. Develop the student’s skills as collaborative learners and creative problem solvers.
4. To encourage and enrich the student’s understanding and practice of creative movement.
5. To give students an opportunity to develop new methods of healthy and creative recreation.
6. To give students a new framework within which the creative process is socially encouraged.
7. To explore an art-form with ancient roots through a modern-day lens giving renewed appreciation for the creative process.
8. To deliver the program in such a way that the students relate immediately to the instructor and material bringing the participation and involvement of the students to an exceptionally high level.
9. To create a safe environment for the students to explore, create, and perform within.
10. To offer endless opportunities for success!
B. Curriculum Links
Some Suggestions from SK would be:
Kindergarten – Creative Expression, Physical Skills and Well-Being, Citizenship and Identity
Grade 1 – Social Studies: Community and Moving Forward with the Past, Science: Senses
Grade 2 – Language Arts: Writing, Reading, Viewing, Listening and Speaking, Mathematics: Patterning and Number Concepts
Grade 3 – Science Hearing and Sound, Social Studies: Communities in the World and Global Citizenship
Grade 4 – Mathematics: Patterns
Grade 5 – Social Studies: Canadian History, Immigrant Influence into Dance
Grade 6 – Mathematics: Patterns
Grade 7-9 – Art, Music, and Physical Education
C. 21st Century Competencies (also can be used as the THEME of your Residency)
The AFA Panel would LOVE to hear how an SK Residency Program supports the 21st Century Competencies! We have included some ideas below but suggest that you add or expand on these and others in your application!
Critical Thinking (Focuses thoughts and actions to secure responses that are supported by evidence)
*SK Dance Residencies give students the opportunity to look closely at the historical underpinnings of each dance style. Each dance style is an expression of a cultural and social context and it is through examination of these contexts that students may gain insight into the dance form.
Problem-Solving (Identifies strategies and tools that help analyze, develop, and refine solutions)
*Dance is full of opportunities for creative problem-solving! Whether it be in the context of the story being told through a given dance sequence, or simply the physical challenges that arise when exploring a dance form, students must constantly evaluate the state of their bodies and minds and then implement an appropriate course of action.
Innovation (Looks beyond the norm for solutions or opportunities that can overcome obstacles)
*There may be nothing more essential to any artistic expression than innovation and this is certainly the case when it comes to dance and the SK Dance residencies. Not only are the dance styles themselves born of innovation but students themselves are also invited into the practice of innovation through opportunities of improvised movement where they must adapt to change and take creative risks.
Communication (Seeks to understand, interpret, and express thoughts, ideas, and emotions)
*Dance is a form of communication. In the mines of South Africa, when workers were not permitted to speak with their families and fellow workers, they would communicate through slapping their boots and stomping their feet. From this need to communicate the dance form now known as gumboot dancing and step, came to be. Whether it be exchanging messages in a mine, or expressing intimate ideas and emotions on stage, dance has always been the universal form of communication.
Collaboration (Builds relationships and works in teams to achieve common goals)
*Through collaborative exercises and culminate class and school-wide dance routines, the SK Dance Residency provides ongoing opportunities for students to build relationships through collaboration.
Self-Directed Learning (Takes ownership of learning)
*Through the performance preparation process, students explore the power of the community AND the importance of the individual. It is through self-correction and the act of taking responsibility for one’s own learning that the group becomes a cohesive dance crew!
Global Awareness (Contributes to the sustainability of the environment and the community)
*SK Dance residencies are like taking a trip around the world! From Hip-hop to West African to Step to Bollywood to Latin dance, all dance forms explored in the SK residency represent a global and cultural context.
4. Expected results and benefits to students, teachers, and/or the community. (We suggest 1-Page Max)
When completing this section consider your specific students, teachers, and community.
Some Suggestions from SK:
- -> Developing an awareness and appreciation of the performing arts
- -> Increasing confidence and skills in performance
- -> Having an opportunity for self-expression in varied ways
- -> Experiencing success, increased self-esteem, confidence, and pride in their accomplishments
- -> Being encouraged to maintain an ongoing interest and participation in the performing arts
- -> Working closely with a performer and creating a project through a process
- -> Have an opportunity to take a risk in a safe environment
- -> Provide boys with a positive role model in a culturally-relevant experience
- -> Offering an opportunity for students to showcase their work in the arts
- -> Fostering an appreciation of the diverse nature of the performing arts
- -> Enhancing a sense of community among all students and staff
- -> Promoting respect for other cultures and providing opportunities for students to become engaged global citizens
- -> Reinforcing motto and mission
Let AFA Know why you have chosen SK to help support/reach these results! Here are a few good reasons!
- -> Reports and testimonials from other schools
- -> SoundKreations has done well over 1,200 successful residencies with other schools
- -> SoundKreations has a Master Agreement with the Calgary Board of Education and Approved Vendor with the Edmonton Public School District, demonstrating a long-standing relationship with the school board.
- -> SK has engaged with well over 300,000 students in Alberta through their residency programs
- -> An SK residency will produce an original performance to celebrate student’s learning and engagement with the residency
- -> All SK Instructors are highly experienced within the school environment and specialize in the engagement of youth through dance.
