Memory 4: The Professional
Above: PAA Executive Director Santina Protopapa (left) with Stephen Phillips as he accepts his Outstanding Camper of the Year award at Hip-Hop Camp 2008.

By Santina Protopapa

I like to take the stance in regards to my students  that my mom takes to her children, “I don’t pick favorites.  I love them all equally.”  With that in mind as I reflect on the past 10 years of hip-hop camp, I can’t help but think about a few students that I might love a little more “equally.” I’m going to take the next few blog entries to share stories about our camp’s counselors, also members of the PAA All-Stars, who are former hip-hop campers and might be a little more “equal” in my eyes.

We first met Stephen Phillips while he was a student at our intergenerational summer camp at Judson.  During lunch one day at Judson, Stephen and a couple of other students were break dancing and doing “the worm.”  After seeing Stephen dance, I said, “Maybe you should come to our other camp too.”

Stephen has been dancing and a whole lot more with PAA since 2005.  His work ethic and enthusiasm each year at Hip-Hop Camp catapulted him to becoming one of the members of our premier group of student performers, the PAA All-Stars.  In 2007, when the camp instructors and I were discussing who should be awarded Outstanding Camper of the Year, Stephen and his colleague Connor Musarra came up in discussion.  Our guest artist Popmaster Fabel immediately said, “Those guys are professional.”  Later at the final performance, my mom got a chance to check out the students’ show and during the show she leaned over to me while Stephen was singing and MCing and said, “Wow, he sounds like a professional.” The following year, it was easy to award Stephen the Outstanding Camper of the Year award — his enthusiasm for being professional was (and continues to be) easy to recognize.

It was no coincidence this year at camp while we were discussing with the students what they needed to look like during the rehearsal and the show, and the students couldn’t guess what word I was looking for, Stephen turned around and said without thinking, “Professional.”

We’ve had the pleasure of working with Stephen all summer this year as one of our interns.  His calm, professional demeanor helped keep our programs running smoothly with our hectic programming schedule this summer.We’re looking forward to seeing all of his other professional endeavors in the future. Be sure to check out Stephen’s new recordings as Kennedy Blaq.

Memory 3: Our ‘MacGyver’
Above: DeeJay Doc (right) watches student Aaron perform at Hip-Hop Camp 2004.
By Santina Protopapa

In 2004, we were in need of a new DJ instructor for camp.  Some dancers I had worked with in the past recommended that I contact Doc Harrill, aka DeeJay Doc.  Doc immediately brought a different perspective to teaching turntablism and DJing to camp.  His first order of business: make sure students know how to properly handle the gear at all times or what he calls “DJ etiquette.”  During the first student performance under Doc’s guidance, PAA artist-educator Dave McCullough looked at me and said, “Wow.  There’s such a difference when you watch students Doc has worked with on the turntables.  The way they pick up the needle.  They way they approach the turntables.”

Since joining the PAA team in 2004, Doc has continually brought new ideas and approaches to everything he does for our organization.  He’s also quite inventive and innovative in helping us solve problems with our gear and other hurdles we face.  His innovation has led me to call him the “MacGyver” of PAA.  From helping us better store and transport laptops to finding the best ways for us to “rig” our sound, I’m always amazed (and quite grateful) for everything Doc brings to our programs and especially to our students.  His strategies to help make things run more smoothly have always helped improve the quality of our programs.

Speaking of innovation, it’s been such a pleasure working with Doc over the years and watching him grow as a teaching artist. His thirst for knowledge and his enthusiasm for curriculum design has deepened the level of engagement our students have been able to experience.  I’m looking forward to seeing what Doc will bring to the camp as our students’ “scratch buddy” in the future.

Thanks Doc for all you do!

Memory 2: Magic Happens in the Jams

Above: PAA Artist-Educator Rep Life (Daniel Gray-Kontar) doing a chair freeze at this year’s Hip-Hop Camp jam.

By Santina Protopapa

It’s the end of the first week of our 10^th annual camp and we just ended the last day’s activities the way we have been ending the first week of camp since 2004’s camp: with an open jam.  We decided to have a jam at 2004’s camp to give students the experience of how hip-hop emerged as well the environment that encapsulates the essence of hip-hop culture.

In a hip-hop jam, the DJ sets the tone for the party and artists from all of the other elements are punctuating and enhancing that energy with their dynamic contributions.  In our jams at hip-hop camp, we make sure to give students open time and freedom to express themselves and showcase their creativity and imagination.

Memory 1: The Power of Partnerships

Above: Executive Director Santina Protopapa at Hip-Hop Camp, 2010 (Photo by Chris Ramsay)

By Santina Protopapa

It’s Monday, August 1 and the first day of the 10^th Annual RHAPSODY Hip-Hop Summer Arts Camp just ended and I can’t help but be nostalgic and look back at how the camp has grown since we launched the program in 2002.

One of the most successful aspects of the RHAPSODY Hip-Hop Summer Arts Camp over the years has been the power of the collaborative partnerships we have enjoyed to present the program.  The camp launched thanks to a partnership we created with Janus Small, then director of the Center for Arts and Culture at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C).  Janus was excited to understand how hip-hop could be used in arts education and in theater settings.  I was thrilled when I casually mentioned to her that our new organization, Progressive Arts Alliance, was interested in presenting a summer camp for students that would enable them to learn more about the history and artistic expressions of hip-hop culture and she said “Absolutely.  Let’s do it here at Tri-C.  And by the way, I’m sending my son to camp too.”  Janus’ support allowed us to form the core curriculum that we have been honing over the years.  I’m so grateful for Janus’ vision to support an upstart organization and offer so much guidance in helping us to launch the camp.

Dear Friend of PAA,

By contributing to Progressive Arts Alliance, you ensure the continued success of Progressive Arts Alliance’s arts education work throughout our community. PAA prepares students to be leaders in the 21st century by offering experiences that stimulate critical thinking and develop creative problem-solving skills. Programming PAA provides invigorates learning by uniting art, contemporary culture and technology in schools and community spaces throughout Northeast Ohio. Your support helps PAA provide high quality arts education programs to thousands of students of all ages and financial circumstances each year.

In 2010, Progressive Arts Alliance:

• Served 1,000 students per week in schools in our community;
• Presented the PAA All-Stars as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s Star-Spangled Spectacular on Public Square;
• Provided the Media Arts Camp: Creating Social Campaigns summer program for middle school students at George Washington Carver;
• Provided paid training for our professional artist-educators to learn more about curriculum design, assessment, and arts integration in order to improve the quality of our programming;
• Provided financial assistance for 80% of the students who attended our Ninth Annual RHAPSODY Hip-Hop Summer Arts Camp.

Grant support and program registration fees cover about 80% of our annual expenses. In order to continue to provide access to learning in and through the arts for all students, we must raise the rest of the necessary funds from generous donors in our community.

That’s why I’m hoping you’ll make a tax-deductible gift to Progressive Arts Alliance today and help us reach our goal of raising $10,000.

In doing so, you’ll be supporting students throughout our region who will develop their self-esteem, communication, and leadership skills as a result of engaging in arts learning activities.

Click here to donate now.

Thanks for your support and best wishes for the holiday season!

Most Sincerely,

 Santina Protopapa

Founder and Executive Director

By DiAndrea Hayes

PAA’s teaching artists became students for a week in September at the First Annual Artist-Educator Training Program at Progressive Arts Alliance. Arnold Aprill, who is the founder and creative director of the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education, or CAPE, facilitated the week-long training along with Ashley Winston, who is a teaching artist with CAPE.

CAPE, which was founded in 1992, is an organization that focuses on improving schools by infusing the arts into the curriculum.  CAPE has worked on improving classrooms locally and internationally to places as far away as Sao Paulo, Brazil and Melbourne, Australia.

At Left: Arnold Aprill describes possible documentation techniques.

The room was filled with a diverse group of artists that reflected PAA’s commitment to a wide variety of art forms and media.  Artists in the group ranged from a turntablist to web designers and a print maker.  Despite their diverse backgrounds, the goal for every artist was the same: to learn new and effective ways to improve their teaching and the learning process for their students through understanding the principles of effective arts integration practices. (more…)

Above: Hip-Hop Camp Final Performance. Photo by Chris Ramsay.

By Laura Einsel

“Who are we? Who are we? Hip-Hop!” sang students at the final performance of Progressive Arts Alliance’s (PAA) 9th Annual RHAPSODY Hip-Hop Summer Arts Camp.  In this two-week camp, a diverse group of 40 students from throughout the greater Cleveland area came together at PlayhouseSquare’s Idea Center to learn the four founding elements of hip-hop: MCing, DJing, breaking, and graffiti art.Students were lead by a talented team of top hip-hop artists and educators, to master their skills in all four art forms.  Campers also received mentoring from the camp’s counselors, high school and college students who had attended the camp in previous years.

Connor Musarra, who has been attending camp since the age of 12, said he chose to become a counselor because, “I wanted the chance to change these kids’ lives just like it [Hip-Hop Camp] did for me.” In addition to learning new skills, students also learned the history of hip-hop and how it has grown into a global cultural expression. Hip-hop was started by a relatively small group of youth in the South Bronx in the 1970s “as a means to give them a creative voice and uplift them out of a disadvantaged environment,” explains Executive Director and founder of PAA, Santina Protopapa, who taught hip-hop history lessons at camp.

Santina hopes students at the camp come away with an understanding that “hip-hop can be a positive form of creative self-expression” and that “there is another side to the sometimes negative world of rap music they are often exposed to.”

(more…)

Above: DeeJay Doc guides students in the turntable lab at Harkness Chapel.

By Laura Einsel

“Be peaceful,” “Stay in school,” and “You can change the world” were just a few of the lyrics written by Open Doors Academy students at PAA’s  RHAPSODY Hip-Hop Summer Arts Camp held at Case Western Reserve University’s Harkness Chapel this August.PAA has worked with Open Doors over the past few years providing workshops during after-school programming. This year, Open Doors received a grant that expanded their program offerings through the summer.  For the first time, PAA was able to offer its RHAPSODY Hip-Hop Summer Arts Camp to Open Doors students.

“Our students absolutely loved this camp! Every morning when I picked them up to take them to the camp they were overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation,” said Open Doors Counselor, Jeff Harrell. Students, in this two-week camp, learned all four elements of hip-hop, including breaking, MCing, DJing, and graffiti art.  Hands-on workshop activities included writing rhymes, using the turntable as a musical instrument, practicing breaking moves, and creating graffiti hats and canvases. (more…)

Above: The view from the stage as the PAA All-Stars perform at the Cleveland Orchestra’s Star-Spangled Spectacular in Public Square.

By Laura Einsel

It’s a brand new day for the PAA All-Stars, a group of exceptional students/alumni from the RHAPSODY Hip-Hop Summer Arts Camp. The All-Stars spent this summer, their hottest season ever, performing at four festivals and five events throughout greater Cleveland.The group, which has been around since 2005, became known as the All-Stars in 2007 with their performance at the Ingenuity Festival, opening for Grandmaster Flash. The group’s members have changed over the years, with new members being nominated and elected by current members. The current group includes Tyler Drummer, Tristen Hall, Connor Musarra, Stephen Phillips, and Eric “Eazy” Solomon.

This summer the group performed a new set of songs written under the guidance of PAA Artist-Educator and MC Jahi, and a new turntable routine under the direction of PAA Artist-Educator DeeJay Doc. The set also includes a dance performance with choreography the group learned from Popmaster Fabel in 2007. The set enables each member of the group to demonstrate their skills in rhyming, DJing, and dance.

Musarra, also known as “Urbindex,” a senior at Hawken, explained, “The message of our music is essentially that we, as members of hip-hop culture, have a responsibility to keep the movement alive and well, while ensuring that it remains positive. We write songs that are intended to provoke thought.”

“Our songs are about what we go through as young adults in Cleveland,” said Eazy, a graduate of Bedford High now majoring in music education.The All-Stars started off their summer performing at Richmond Mall’s Non-Profit Community Fair on June 5th. This marked the triumphant return of Stephen (Steph Love) Phillips to the All Stars.Next they shared hip-hop with folks at the Gordon Square Arts District Festival on June 12, which according to Executive Director, Santina Protopapa, “allowed them to share their work to a whole new audience.” (more…)