In mid February, Creative Netwerk sent Michael Davis (known as “Mike D Chicago”) from Chicago back to Santa Barbara for a second, week-long artist residency. We sought to accomplish four key goals with Mike’s time in Santa Barbara: 

• Engage Santa Barbara area students & staff in ways that grow their dance skill sets and inspire further commitment to dance

• Professional development & community building amongst Santa Barbara teaching artists

• Share culture and choreography of traditional Chicago dance forms with the Santa Barbara staff, partners, and students

• Create new content for the use of Creative Netwerk staff and students 

During four days of teaching Mike D and Creative Netwerk teachers taught sixteen classes at six area schools, working with students ranging from first grade to college-aged. 

Each class was an opportunity to introduce students to an outlet that maybe they hadn’t explored before, or in some cases, wanted to explore further. Mike D partnered with a DJ to mold and shape the music with the choreography, something that excited students of all ages, and made classes feel like a creative process that everyone got to have a hand in. Students were introduced to new styles of hip hop, with Mike D bringing his experience of Chicago Footwork, House Dance, and Hip Hop to the classes. 

We also held a teacher training for our Santa Barbara teaching artists, some of which had met Mike and participated in his last Santa Barbara teacher training in October, and some of which who were new since then. The teacher training built off of the previous October discussions on:

• Dance technique and choreography training - introducing Chicago footwork

• Importance of mental health and wellness - how teachers can and should care for themselves and each other as artists

The artist residency week successfully deepened relationships at many of the area site partners, providing learning experiences for students and teachers alike, and expanded the knowledge base and expertise of the teachers locally which they will bring forward into their future Creative Netwerk classes and dance careers. 

Mike D expressed how powerful it was for him to see how the residency inspired Santa Barbara and Chicago area teachers to deepen their commitment to this work. Mike said, “Now that [they] see those opportunities for growth, having that exposure not just to learning but seeing that they could travel and learn new dance styles, new techniques, new pieces of information…I feel like that's really addictive….planting that seed with the teachers is going to be so impactful.”