Photo of Sara Lawrence-Sucato

Sara Lawrence-Sucato

Dance/Movement The Dancing Wheels Company & School
Work Cuyahoga Cleveland Ohio Work Phone: (216) 432-0306
Website: www.dancingwheels.org

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Biography

Sara Lawrence-Sucato, from Columbus, OH, graduated with honors from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a degree in dance and is currently working in Cleveland, OH. She is the Dancing Wheels Company and School’s director of outreach and community engagement, rehearsal director, a 10-year-plus company member, and served as the company’s tour manager for over a decade. During her professional performance career with the Dancing Wheels Company, Sara has performed works by noted choreographers Marc Brew, Nai Ni Chen, David Dorfman, Christopher Fleming, Catherine Meredith, Stuart Pimsler, David Rousseve, Ginger Thatcher, Michael Uthoff, and Robert Wesner, as well as by internationally renowned choreographers Donald McKayle and Dianne McIntyre. Sara was named rehearsal director to the company in September of 2019.

In her capacity as the Dancing Wheels Company and School’s director of outreach and community engagement, she teaches integrated dance technique in residencies, workshops, and masterclasses. Her most recent teaching jobs have included developing and teaching as a Master Teacher for Dancing Wheels Teacher Certification program; Dancing Wheels’ 2020 Adult Summer Dance Intensive and 2019 Youth Arts Camp; masterclasses at VSA Intersections (Atlanta, GA, and Columbus, OH), “Counter Balance” Inclusive Dance Festival (Chicago, IL), and ACT Conference (Columbus, OH); workshops at Ohio Dance Festival (Columbus, OH), Oglebay Institute (Wheeling, WV), and Mercyhurst University; and residencies for Cleveland and Northeast Ohio-based organizations including the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, Cleveland Play House, City of Cleveland’s Neighborhood Resource and Recreation Centers (NRRCs), Old Trail School, Laurel School, Clark Elementary, and Julie Billiart School, as well as MOMENTA’s “Chance to Dance” (Columbus, OH) and Arts Partnership (Findlay, OH). Sara is also a class instructor for Dancing Wheels’ professional dance company.

As a teaching artist for the Dancing Wheels Company and School, the classes that Sara teaches range from recreational to professional, and she works with students ages three to adult of all different experience levels in dance and often with a population of mixed abilities (with and without disabilities). Sara loves that she can share her art within an educational setting by performing as a professional dancer, advocating for dance and other arts within schools, and teaching dance in settings where young students may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience it.

As a teaching artist, Sara works alongside educators to enhance the learning process through the arts. She knows that the arts in learning provide benefits such as academic achievement, critical thinking skills, and social and emotional development. Sara’s own passion for dance is what draws her to encourage others to experience and build an appreciation for it.

The award of this badge shows that the artist participated in a two-day workshop at the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning that focused on understanding arts integration, domains of youth development, behavior management, academic and fine arts standards, outcomes and indicators, and learning strategies and activities. The earner developed a program plan to apply these concepts in their work with students, earning a score of 75% or greater related to specific scoring criteria.The award of this badge, “Program Implementation,” is the second module in the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning's (CAL) teaching artist professional development series and allows teaching artists the opportunity to apply their program created in Module One to students with one of CAL’s partner schools. Module Two takes the skills learned in Module One and sets them in a typical classroom the teaching artists would face in an arts integrated classroom setting.The award of this badge, “Behavior Management: A Guide to Creative Chaos,” is the third module in the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning’s (CAL) teaching artist professional development series that provides attendees an understanding of the ages and stages of all learners and adaptation skills for arts activities using the Universal Design for Learning. The earner has recognized physical, cognitive, social, and literacy development benchmarks specific to the different ages of students and has demonstrated an understanding of the students they will likely encounter to help determine ways to help manage their behaviors through the arts.The award of this badge addresses the needs displayed from the growing trend of out-of-school time programming. The unique challenges of out-of-school time programming present a need for teaching artists to quickly adapt in multiple roles as a mentor, teacher, artist, and caregiver. Through this Module 4 workshop, the earner gained tools to confidently provide and support creative programming to youth across multiple age bands and settings.The award of this badge shows that the artist participated in a workshop at the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning that focused specifically on building the capacity of teaching artists across Ohio to provide exceptional services to students with disabilities. Teaching artists received six hours of intensive training that imparted the knowledge and skills to effectively and confidently instruct inclusive, equitable arts programming.

Grade Levels/Age Groups

  • PreK-Kindergarten
  • Grades 1-3
  • Grades 4-5
  • Grades 6-8
  • Grades 9-12
  • Young Adults
  • Adults
  • Older Adults

Facilities and Resources Required

  • Distance Learning Virtual Platform (optional)
  • Audio System
  • Electrical Outlets
  • Chairs
  • Non-Carpeted Floors
  • Classes and programs can be adapted to space and tech needs and should be confirmed in advance whether teaching artist or presenter will provide.

Availability

I and the Dancing Wheels Company are available for teaching engagements in-person or virtually upon request.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images courtesy of the teaching artist.