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AnaMaria Correa: Building Bridges from NYC to MCB

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AnaMaria Correa: Building Bridges from NYC to MCB

 

 




Introduction to AnaMaria Correa.  1:20 min. Video editing:  Karen Morales.  Photo & design:  Raymond Elman.

 

 

Editor’s Note:  This video interview is part of The Jill Braufman & Daniel Nir ArtSpeak Arts Education Series.

 

AnaMaria Correa is Miami City Ballet’s (MCB) senior director of community engagement. In her role, AnaMaria bridges, deepens and fosters relationships between MCB and the arts, culture, education and local communities ensuring that constituencies have access to and claim a place for themselves at MCB. In her role as a “bridge builder” she is also a “conscience raiser” leading efforts of equity and inclusion practices and competencies for the organization.

In her previous role as the director of community engagement and inclusion at Avenues: The World School, she spearheaded the practice of community engagement ethics and program partnerships as well as being the founding DEI practitioner establishing cultural competency strategies for an inclusive school community. At Ballet Hispanico she held a dual role as the senior director of community engagement and the director for their accredited school of dance, specializing in dance training for youth pre-K to college in ballet, contemporary, folklore and flamenco for 700 youth and their families. As director of community arts programs she conceptualized and implemented community dance education programs in partnership with communities, classrooms and universities.

Correa is the daughter of Dominican immigrants who made their life in Queens as she grew up and made a career in the streets of the 5 boroughs. She served New York City schools as an arts in education programs integrator for theater, dance, music, visual art, creative writing and architecture, focusing always on the arts as a tool for transformation in pedagogy, social development and agency.

Organizations that represent important touchstones in Correa’s career include Henry Street Settlement’s Abrons Arts Center, the Brooklyn Historical Society, and The Point and Dancing Classrooms. She was the founding artistic director of Washington State University’s “Las Memorias” Performance as Education program.

Correa is a doctoral candidate in Urban Education at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She holds a B.A. in secondary education and literature from Hunter College and an M.F.A in acting from Brooklyn College.

The videos below are organized by topic and run between 30 seconds and 5 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:47 min.




Where did you grow up, and what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?

 

COMMUNITY VALUES:   1:39 min.




How did growing up in a Spanish speaking household in New York City prepare you for the diversity of Miami?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  1:25 min.




Where did you go to school? And what did you learn in school that still informs you today?

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:  0:59 sec.




You are a very forthright and commanding person. How did you develop your presence? Was it innate and just came out naturally or were you nurtured to be a leader?

 

SELF-CONFIDENCE: 1:53 min.




Can you share your experiences growing up as a Latina?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  1:48 min.




There is something about you that reminds me of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Do you see her as a kindred spirit?

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 5:49 min.




Describe the arc of your career and how you came to Miami.

 

STRONG DRIVE FOR ACHIEVEMENT:   5:33 min.




What were the education & community outreach programs like when you arrived at Miami City Ballet, and what is your vision moving forward?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  2:16 min.




In an ArtSpeak video interview, Alberto Carvalho, the Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools said, “Education without arts education is malpractice.”

 

COMMUNITY VALUES:  1:45 min.




What are some of the factors you need to consider for every child in MCB programs?

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 2:12 min.




As a Latina of color, do you need to be aware of and govern various aspects of your interactions with people?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  5:37 min.




How would you describe your working relationship with Lourdes Lopez, the artistic director of MCB?

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:  5:05 min.




What are your key innate talents and how did you leverage them in your career?

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES:  1:48 min.




When you decided to pursue the arts as a profession, did you feel like you were doing something courageous? Or did you feel like a big rock had been lifted off your shoulders?

 

SERENDIPITY:  3:31 min.




You specifically called out one teacher. Were there other teachers that were key to your development?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  0:59 sec.




What’s your favorite movie?

 

COMMUNITY VALUES:  0:56 sec.




What do you like most about your job?