In Dance Perspectives, students study the nature of dance in its many forms and practices. Students demonstrate an understanding of the elements of dance including space, time, quality, weight and shape and discover new ways to work with these elements. Students have studied choreography but have worked together to develop a live dance performance as part of the culminating project at the College Now Multimedia Arts Festival.
Michael Manswell, Artistic Director, Teaching Artist, Choreographer, Singer began his performance life as a storyteller at Arts Festivals in his native Trinidad & Tobago, winning many prizes and awards. He studied music with Lindy-Anne Bodden-Ritch at St Mary’s College and at Brooklyn College (CUNY) with Tom Cultice. As a singer he has toured Europe, the UK, and the Caribbean and has performed as a soloist in many productions of opera and oratorio including Dido & Aeneas, The Marriage of Figaro, Die Fledermaus, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Handel’s Messiah, Missa Criolla and Missa Luba. He studied dance at the Trinidad Dance Theater with Dr. Eugene Joseph training in Modern, Ballet, Jazz, Ballroom, and Folkloric styles. Michael worked with Geoffrey Holder on “Dougla II” and “La Valse des Bakas” for TDT and toured with the company in the USA and the Caribbean. A prolific choreographer he has created several works currently in the repertoire of Something Positive Inc, the performing company he now directs. Something Positive has recently returned from performing in Morocco and the Ivory Coast and has also performed in Costa Rica, Belize and Trinidad & Tobago. An avid folklorist and an Orisha devotee in the Yoruba religion, Mr. Manswell presents lectures and workshops in dance, music, and traditional religious practice and works closely with the Caribbean Cultural Center and the Interfaith Center in their programs. One of “Brooklyn’s Black Men of Distinction 2000” and one of “Brooklyn’s Black Dance Kings (2010)”, Michael is currently an Adjunct Prof (Dance) at Lehman College (CUNY) and teaches for Something Positive Inc., Purelements An Evolution in Dance, the Caribbean Cultural Center, and E.M Techniques.
Quiana Prince is a recent graduate of Lehman College, who graduated with honors. Prince received the Joan Miller Award, for outstanding leadership and dedication during her time at Lehman. In 2016, she danced alongside company members of APDC-Chimera Concept, in KMCs, "Club On Fire" Video and has performed as a dancer for Wé McDonald, who was a finalist on the hit television program "The Voice". Currently, Quiana Prince is a Teaching Artist at the Harlem School of Arts.
is a young African-American woman from the Bronx. She is fifteen years old and goes to Fordham High School for the Arts. She aspires to be a gynecologist when she gets older. When Tamara was being born her mother was told that her child was dead, and she had five minutes to live. By the goodness of God and the doctors she and her mother are alive today. Tamara wants to grow up to be like the doctors who saved her and her mother’s lives. Tamara loves to do make up. She loves doing make up for herself and others, and she also loves listening to music and song writing. She is very caring, kind, friendly, funny, and never shy. If you are ever with her you know she is always laughing and loves to put a smile on people’s faces.
Baptiste is a twenty-year old Frenchmen who came to the United States a year ago to pursue his artistic dreams. He entered the High School for Teaching and the Professions to build a solid college application to study music after his senior year. Baptiste always sang, as far back as he can remember. He used to sing for every birthday in his family, but also in public. He did a lot of music composition workshops, participated in a few French festivals, performed in the Parisian subway and still now performs in different places, such as the New York City subway and some parks. Baptiste also took a few years of dance lessons (Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary) and has been a musical theatre student in a one year program after high school in France where he studied dance, acting, singing and other disciplines like yoga, music theory, vocal coaching for musical theatre, etc. His dream is to continue living this artistic life and taking advantage of as many opportunities as he can.
is a young man from the Bronx who loves art. He has always been a dreamer. He has a real ambition for drawing and playing musical instruments, which gives him solace. Knowing that there was more to art and the arts than the box of television screen where he, specifically watched The Office, he took a leap of faith into the abstract work and world of art. He is now taking multimedia courses at Lehman College, and he plans to expand his horizons in different forms and techniques. Starting with dance, he plans to make his way through digital art and then theater.
is Filipino born and brought up in the Bronx. He is a rising junior opening his shell and stepping out of his comfort zone in hopes of finding himself. He has a dream of starting his own clothing line and/or joining the Navy. He constantly strives to explore different cultures and meet talented characters. He currently attends Bronx Early College Academy and found out that the Dance Perspectives course Lehman College Now offered was exactly the door he needed to begin his path towards his goals. At the end of this program, he solemnly believes that the taste of dance can open new perspectives in life for him. During his off time, he enjoys staying inside and ordering food while catching up on shows (Haikyuu!! at present). He would never pass up on an offer for some fresh sushi. He has a love-hate relationship with sleep.
is sixteen years old. Rosanna has been dancing since she was about seven years old and has continued to follow her passion ever since. She has been on various dance teams, one known as UDC. She loves to dance because dance makes her happy and allows her to let go of any issues she is going through at that moment. Dancing completes her in every way and she cannot see herself doing anything else as a hobby. Dancing will always be in her life. Rosanna dreams of one day becoming a lawyer or a psychologist. She loves helping others, and genuinely wants to guide those in need in the right direction. Dance takes a lot of practice, drive, and dedication but Rosanna remains optimistic about pushing through all obstacles ahead.
was born in Connecticut and raised in the Bronx. She is of Dominican descent and that is where most of her cultural background comes from. She is a rising senior and she attends Bronx Lab School at Evander Childs High School campus. She plans to attend Lehman College, Hunter College or Pace University, to pursue her psychology degree. Some fun facts about her is that she has a fraternal twin, her favorite color is pink, her current height is 5’ 2”, her favorite show is Grey's Anatomy, and she is bilingual, speaking fluent English and Spanish. She is interested in traveling in order to experience different cultures, languages, architecture, and lifestyles in different countries to open herself up to different perspectives of the world. Some of the countries in mind include Greece, Japan, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and New Zealand.
is an eighteen-year old honor roll senior at East Bronx Academy in the Bronx. She enjoys a variety of sports from volleyball, basketball, tennis to track. She has been on both the volleyball and track team for the past two years and plans to join the basketball and tennis teams during her senior year. Aside from her deep interest in sports she also has an interest in traveling the world and has a craving to gain new experiences. Throughout her life she has been deeply antisocial, and it has been a burden. She is now on a path to becoming more social. In an effort to become more social and have a beneficial summer, Yasmine joined the College Now program in Dance Theater at Lehman College. She took dance two years ago and stopped because of complications but she decided to give it another try with new people, new instructors, and a new environment, and she does not regret it. She realized that theater, specifically dance, has a lot to do with being social and collaborative. It is a bit out of her comfort zone, but she does not regret it at all. She is currently undecided about what exactly she wants to study in college, which is why she is open to experiencing many different areas and subjects, but she knows she will go to college and get her education.
