Washington Ballet Dances Against Drugs

Washington Ballet Dances Against Drugs

Area Youth 'Express' What It Means To Live Life Above The Influence Of Drugs And Alcohol At The Washington Ballet @THEARC

WHAT: The Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP)
"Above the Influence" (ATI) Campaign and The
Washington Ballet @THEARC partner to bring ATI to
local DC youth.

ONDCPDirector R. Gil Kerlikowske and Deputy Director
of State, Local, and Tribal Affairs, Benjamin
Tucker will attend the premiere of TWB@THEARC's new
dance production, "Be Seen, Be Heard, Be You." The
production - based on the ATI "Express It" activity
- engages local D.C. teens to interpret and
"express" how they live above negative influences.

The campaign's "Express It" activity asks youth to
literally express how they live their life above
the influence of drugs and alcohol in the form of a
dance in this particular case; a skit, a poem, a
song, or a form of the spoken word. The dance
production will also feature the premiere of a
behind-the-scenes video that documents THEARC
students' journey of visualizing the ATI dance from
conception to completion.

THEARC's Summer Dance program adopted the "Above the
Influence" campaign theme, "Anything that makes me
less than me is not for me",as the inspiration for
this season's dance intensive. The teens will share
their dance interpretation at a public performance
on July 20, 2012 at THEARC Theater, a 365-seat
community theater housed on THEARC's 110,000
square-foot, state-of-the-art campus - and the
only theater of any kind located east of the
Anacostia River in Washington, D.C.

A program of the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy, ATI's efforts in local communities
focus on connecting directly with teens and local
youth-serving organizations to deliver messages,
activities, and support to help the Nation's youth
stay "above the influence" of drugs, alcohol, and
risky behavior.

WHO: R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug
Control Policy, ONDCP*
Benjamin B. Tucker, Deputy Director of State, Local
and Tribal Affairs, ONDCP*
Katrina Toews, Director, The Washington Ballet at
THEARC
The Washington Ballet @THEARC Summer Dance Program
students
Audience of community leaders, parents and youth
*Media interviews with Director Kerlikowske and
Deputy Director Tucker are available with advance
scheduling/notification
-----------------------

WHEN: July 20, 2012
1 p.m. - 2 p.m.

WHERE: The Washington Ballet @THEARC
1901 Mississippi Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20020

WHY: The Washington Ballet @THEARC is one of more than 80
local community partners in more than 45 cities
across the country selected to partner with the ATI
campaign since Spring 2010. ONDCP is partnering
with TWB at THEARC to celebrate the organization's
ongoing commitment to engaging underserved youth
and providing a positive and creative environment
that supports an "Above the Influence" lifestyle.
About The Washington Ballet @THEARC:
The Washington Ballet @THEARC works to enliven the beauty and discipline of dance in southeast Washington. Inaugurated in 2005, TWB at THEARC houses the southeast campus of The Washington School of Ballet and two unique community engagement programs, DanceDC and EXCEL! TWB at THEARC offers a pre-professional ballet program for children ages four through 18 as well as an adult program with classes in Modern, Hip Hop, Pilates, and African dance. TWB at THEARC also hosts a Summer Dance intensive, which allows children to foster their love for ballet while participating in programs with THEARC partners.

About Town Hall Education Arts and Recreation Campus:
Officially opened in October 2005, The Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) is a $27 million, 110,000 square-foot campus located east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC's Ward 8. THEARC is a home away from home for the many underserved children and adults of East of the River, enabling them to participate in dance classes, music instruction, fine arts, academics, continuing education, mentoring, tutoring, recreation, medical and dental care, and other services at a substantially reduced cost or no cost at all.

In addition to THEARC Theater, a 365-seat community theater that is the only theater of any kind located east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC, THEARC includes a regulation size gymnasium, libraries, computer labs, classrooms, dance, music and visual arts studios, an art gallery, public playgrounds, gardens and other first-rate facilities.

In total Building Bridges and its ten resident partners at THEARC deliver more than $14 million worth of cultural and community services to more than 85,000 people annually.

THEARC Partner Organizations:
Building Bridges Across the River / Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington / Children's Health Project of DC / The Corcoran Gallery of Art / Covenant House Washington / Levine School of Music / LIFT-DC / Parklands Community Center / Trinity Washington University / The Washington Ballet / Washington Middle School for Girls

About ONDCP's "Above the Influence" Campaign:
The "Above the Influence" campaign (ATI) has been reaching teens for more than six years through television, print, radio, and online media. A program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy ATI's efforts in local communities focus on connecting directly with teens and local youth-serving organizations to deliver messages, activities, and support to help the Nation's youth stay "above the influence" of drugs, alcohol, and risky behavior. Multiple scientific findings indicate that teens who have increased exposure to, and engagement with the "Above the Influence" campaign, have stronger anti-drug beliefs than teens with low exposure to the campaign.

CONTACT: Lauren Morrison, for ONDCP
July 16, 2012 540.845.3948
Katrina Toews, TWB@THEARC
202.274.4531
Susan Heffren, TWB@THEARC
202.274.4510
/July 16, 2012 -- PRNewswire/

SOURCE Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)


-------
Profile: intent