Dafmark Dance Community Outreach Programs

Do you know a teen ages 14 -17 who is looking for a summer job?

The Dafmark Creative Arts Center is looking to hire 3-4 Art Program Assistants for our summer program.

What does this position entail?
The Art Program Assistant is a support staff for the Dafmark Creative Arts Center (DCAC), and work with DCAC site coordinator, education specialists, group leader, teaching artists, and families to deliver a high-quality program. The Art Program Assistant is responsible for assisting youth through structured academic and recreational programming. The Art Program Assistant is responsible for assisting teaching artists, site coordinator, education specialists and the youth leaded with their arts lessons and the day to day functioning of the program.

Who should apply?
Teens who are interested in working with kids and those interested in exploring how the arts (across mediums) are taught to kids.

When does the position begin?
June 10th - August 23rd

Interested?!? Email [email protected] to set-up an interview for next week. Include your name, phone number and a short description explaining why you are interested in working for Dafmark. We will call to set-up interviews.

One of our 21st CCLC students who attends and receives tutoring at the Dafmark Creative Arts Center got 100% on a test this week in school and the school treated her to lunch. Congratulations Zeria on your hard work and success 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
And thank you to our Education Specialists Ms. Susan and Ms. Arlisha who work hard daily to ensure our youth get one on one tutoring to help with their academic needs.


Edison Elementary School

We are all set and ready for ARTISPHERE at 4:30pm today. Come on out support Erie youth and find some gifts for the holiday season.

Special thanks to all of our funders who make our program possible:
PA Department of Education-21st CCLC grant,
ECGRA Community Asset Grant - Arts, Culture & Heritage,
The Housing Authority of the City of Erie

We are getting so excited for ARTISPHERE. Hope you can make it out to support Erie’s youth.

We are so grateful to Food Truck: The Que Abides and Cafe 7-10 for donating the food for this event.

Things To Do in Erie PA - Erie Times-News Things to do in Erie, PA. Find local events, weekend festivals, and free attractions for families, or promote your own event.

Tomorrow morning at 6AM I willl be on Chatting-With-Sonya and Friends
We had a great conversation about the Dafmark Creative Arts Center, arts infused education, upcoming events you won’t want to miss and much more!

We are accepting a limited number of new registrations to the 21st CCLC program at the Dafmark Creative Arts Center.

This program not only enables your kids to take classes with professional artists but they also work with our Education Specialist receiving one on one tutoring to support their growth academically.

Last year of the youth registered in this program 89% improved their math grades and 78% improved their Reading grades. Students enrolled are expected to have an 85% attendance rate in our program.

The remaining spaces are first come first serve. Contact us today to learn more.

We are excited to have Leslie coming to teach our youth and their families a jewelry making lesson tomorrow morning at 9:30AM.

Participants will take home whatever jewelry creations they make during the workshop.

Special thanks to all of our funders who make our program possible:
PA Department of Education-21st CCLC grant,
ECGRA Community Asset Grant - Arts, Culture & Heritage,
The Housing Authority of the City of Erie

Our students have been having a great time this week with teaching artist Kelly Armor. She has been teaching our youth how to create their own instruments and compose their own songs.

Check out our youth from the Dafmark Creative Arts Center working with our incredible teaching artist and lead mural artist today and all week.

Thank you United Way for this initiative and for capturing our youth in these photos.

Special thanks to all of our funders who make our program possible:
PA Department of Education-21st CCLC grant,
ECGRA Community Asset Grant - Arts, Culture & Heritage,
The Housing Authority of the City of Erie

We are grateful to have the support of the City of Erie to assists with the Dafmark Creative Arts Center programming. This is an article about their ARP funds in Action!

These ARP funds have been an instrumental piece of funding this program in addition to support from the Housing Authority of the City of Erie, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, ECGRA, Erie Insurance and individual donors. Thank you!

It takes a village!

ARP dollars in Action: Dafmark Creative Arts and Library Center - Erie, PA Story by: Michael Outlaw, Community Liaison, City of Erie | Photos by: Monica Z. Gustin,

Today is the big day!!! The youth from Dafmark Creative Arts Center will perform in their Spring Showcase for their family, friends and community. They can’t wait to share what they have been learning during their performing arts classes this term.

The showcase will include a skit the student’s collaboratively wrote under the direction of Krista Meri, a dance they choreographed under Jennifer Dennehy’s guidance, a hoop dance they learned, a song, they will also recite poems they composed with Niecey Nicole and share what they have been learning in violin with Dave Tamulonis.

For many of our kids this will be their first time ever performing. If you are interested in joining us you are welcome, doors will be open and it is free to attend. The show will be today Tuesday, May 23rd @ 4pm at Dafmark Dance Theater.
🎭 💃🏻 🕺🏾 ⭕️ 🎻 📖

Special thanks to all of our funders who make our program possible:
PA Department of Education-21st CCLC grant,
ECGRA Community Asset Grant - Arts, Culture & Heritage,
The Housing Authority of the City of Erie

May 8-12 is Teacher Appreciation Week. Dafmark extends a heartfelt thanks to all of our amazing educators who take the time to impact the lives of our youth. There are many different people that assume the role of a teacher in the lives of our children. At Dafmark Creative Arts Center they are the staff who have worked with our youth everyday Arlisha Carson, Shea Titus, Susan Beebe and Niecey Nicole. And all of our 2023 teaching artists who taught this term and those joining us for the summer term: Angela Howell, Ceasar Westbrook, Dave, Ed Grout, Krista, Jennifer Dennehy, MacKenzie Pestotnik, Tony Way, Sarah Howard, Kris Fontes, Nicholas Gore, Mariah Johnson, Sukanya, Kelly Armor, Kennedy Thompson, Kristen, Anthony, and Marquis Wallace.

We see you, we honor you, and we appreciate YOU!

Thank you Erie Reader and Erin Nemenz Phillips for featuring the work we have been doing in the Erie community.

Dance Education With a Social Consciousness How Dafmark is working to bring art to everyone

We are so proud of our students from the Dafmark Creative Arts center who have been attending the creative construction class with the amazing teaching artist Sarah Howard. Each student designed, assembled and wired their own lamps utilizing various tools. Their creations are currently on display at the Blasco memorial library as part of the Made in Erie display.

Yesterday we kicked off our Fall Term at the Dafmark Creative Arts Center @ the John Horan Garden Apartments with a singing class with Preach and a theater class with Krista Perry. Here is our complete fall schedule.

The Benefits of Arts Education for K-12 Students While arts programs often fall victim to budget cuts, they can be an important contributor to students' success at school.

Yesterday’s day at the beach 🏖 was a blast! For many of our youth from the Dafmark Creative Arts Center this was their first time going to the beach. We had a great time swimming, playing in the sand, hula hooping, grilling out, and just enjoying each other’s company. Then on the way back we surprised them by stopping at Sarah’s for ice cream 🍦

Special thanks to the EMTA for getting us there safely and always supporting our transportation needs, you help us achieve so much!!!! ❤️

And thank you to Gina Rullo for your generosity in not only lending us a huge bag of beach toys but also always being willing to step up and help out. We appreciate you!!! ❤️

This week our youth from the Dafmark Creative Arts Center had a great time working with teaching artist Hope Martinson. The focus of the week was on yoga and nature. They were able to pot plants, make nature based mandalas and tissue paper flowers with their favorite essential oils added to them.

Did you know the Dafmark Creative Arts Center provides FREE year round after school and summer arts programming for youth ages 6 & up who live in the City of Erie.

Registered youth participating in:
- Annual Spring Theater Production
- Annual Summer Music Performance
- Annual Fall Youth Art Show, where 50% of the proceed from the sale of the work go to the child who created it!

To register stop by, 2110C East 10th Street, during our program hours to pick-up a registration form.

We are having a great first week of our summer program at Dafmark Creative Arts Center. Students are learning stop motion animation from teaching artist Kris Fontes. She will be with us through Thursday of this week.

Special thanks to ECGRA for making the purchase of iPads for our center a possibility which enables us to have programs like this one ❤️

SEEKING TEACHING ARTISTS to lead 4 day mini summer youth art camps.

Each mini art camp would begin on a Monday and run for 4 consecutive days culminating on the Thursday of that week.

Mini art camps are 1.5 hours each day and serve youth ages 6 - 13 years old.

Time slots are either :
3:15 - 4:45pm
OR
5:15 - 6:45pm

Weeks available include:
June 13th - 16th
June 20th - 23rd
June 27th - 30th
July 11th - 14th
July 18th - 21st
July 25th - 28th
August 1st - 4th
August 8th - 11th
August 15th - 18th
August 22nd - 25th

Positions are $25/hour
Equating to $150 per mini summer camp.

Interested: email your resume, title of your mini summer art camp and short description of your program to Jennifer at [email protected]

If there is an art form you are interested in teaching that you don't see on this list we are open to exploring other art forms as well.

Summer Teaching Artists may be invited at the end of the summer term to join our school year teaching artist team where they would teach once a week from September through May.

Today Dafmark Dance Theater will do their first performance of “Under The Great Ice Sheet” for school aged youth from St. Martin Early Learning Center and the Dafmark Crestive Arts Center located at John Horan Garden Apartments. This performance will occur at Dafmark Dance Theater’s state street location. This opportunity allows youth who live in the city of Erie to see a professional dance production, have a discussion with the artistic director, and an opportunity to get up and embody the movements and ideas of the production.

Special thanks to the EMTA for ensuring youth are able to attend this show.

The show will open to the general public:
April 1st & 2nd
1033 State Street, 3rd floor
$15 per person
Showtime: 8 PM on both days
For reservations, email: [email protected]