Interview by AFA Intern McKenna Dixon in Fall 2022
Q: Who are you?
Gabrielle: I am Gabrielle, and I am a movement maker and educator. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, moved to Connecticut for college, and am now living in New York!
I onboarded with Arts For All in the summer of 2022 and didn’t start working until October. I work with a group of fourth and fifth graders in the Bronx and we are working towards putting on a cabaret at the end of the year. I also work with second graders doing storybook theatre.
Arts For All is the one thing that really makes me feel grounded in what I’m doing.
Q: How did you first get involved in your specific discipline of art?
Gabrielle: I was very shy when I was little, so my mom put me into an improv class in second grade. I was very upset about it at first, but I ended up having the best time ever, so I did improv for about five years. Then when I started middle school, I performed in plays, and when high school rolled around, I performed in musicals too. I knew I wanted to pursue theatre education in high school because I was passionate about it, and it helped me so much. In terms of movement, I’ve been dancing since I was little, but in high school I took a contemporary class, and by senior year, I was in the choreography lab. I didn’t think I was going to continue with dance after high school, but I fell in love with the dance program at Wesleyan after taking a Contact Improvisation class. The dance style was completely improvised in nature, not necessarily meant to be performed, but meant to create a social environment of weight-sharing and partner work.
Q: What role did the arts play in your upbringing?
Gabrielle: I am very lucky to have parents that wanted me to pursue whatever I was passionate about. One of my moms is an independent filmmaker, so she has always loved storytelling and the arts. My other mom is an activist, but even though she isn’t necessarily an arts maker, she was regularly taking me to plays and concerts. From a young age, they were always encouraging me to do things that I felt I could express myself in. I think that’s why I always gravitated towards art.
Q: What is your educational background?
Gabrielle: For high school, I was afforded many opportunities without realizing it. For example, the arts were very accessible to me, so I knew from a young age that they were important. My mom also showed me the importance of education, learning, and pursuing what you want. For college, I attended Wesleyan University, a school that also highly valued the arts. Being able to go to a smaller school, having relationships with my professors made it feel like an investment and made me want to pursue education even more. I majored in Theatre, Education, and Dance.
Q: Did you experience a particular “aha moment” in which you realized that the arts and education were your passions?
Gabrielle: I took part in an acting program during my junior and senior years of high school, and I remember realizing that everyone who I’ve had as an acting teacher wanted to be an actor, and then pursued education afterwards. I remember wondering, “Am I the only one who wants to do both?” I then met a teacher who had also wanted to pursue both theatre and education, so continually asking my teachers how they came to be in the educational scene in theatre led me to experience certain “aha moments.”
Q: How do the children you work with inspire you to continue being a teaching artist?
Gabrielle: The second time that one of my Arts For All groups ever had class, we all went around in a circle to say our favorite part of the day. Half of them said, “This one!” I want kids to know that their voices are important, and that they should inherently be seen and heard. I want to give as many kids that opportunity as I can. Giving the students validation in their thoughts and ideas, and encouraging them to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from them inspires me to continue being a teaching artist.
Q: What is one of the main takeaways you hope the students gain from your classes?
Gabrielle: There is an infinite amount of creativity that they can explore. I hope the students know that they can create art solely with each other, no materials required, and they can have fun while doing so.
Q: What drew you to Arts For All? What are you most looking forward to this year?
Gabrielle: This past summer, I was working at a camp with someone who used to work with Arts For All before she moved to Los Angeles. She told me about the amazing programs through Arts For All, so before I moved to New York, I knew that this was one of the things I wanted to be involved in. I love that Arts For All offers a way to work with kids, doing the things I love. This year, I am most looking forward to building relationships with students and getting to learn what they like so that I can incorporate more of that. I’m also very excited for a four-song cabaret that one of the groups will perform at the end of the year, which I get to choreograph!
Q: What does art mean to you?
Gabrielle: Art is meaning-making, as in making stories and connections. Art is redoing what you know, making new things, and exploring.
