‘Living, Breathing Art’ in Chester on Saturday, June 9

THE ARTS WORKSHOP AT THE HIVE, IN COLLABORATION WITH BALLET FORTE, TO HOST OUTDOOR ‘LIVING, BREATHING ART’ IN CHESTER ON SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2018

CHESTER, NJ – The Arts Workshop at the Hive will hold its annual Scholarship Fundraiser event, “Living, Breathing Art,” on Saturday, June 9, 2018 from 1:00 - 4:00pm at the Chester Springs Shopping Center. This fundraiser features a multi-sensory performance of art, dance and live music in multiple locations at the shopping center. The Arts Workshop is collaborating with Ballet Forte Dance Studio in providing college scholarships for graduating seniors who have been active students and teachers of music, dance, and theater. “This is an opportunity to celebrate art in its many forms. Bringing together live dance, music, and visual art is a joy to behold, and something the average person in this country does not often, if ever, experience,” says Andrea Kramer, Executive Director of Ballet Forte.

Ballet Forte Dance students and West Morris Regional High School musicians will be performing at various locations outdoors at the Chester Springs Shopping Center, located at 197 Route 206 North, Chester, NJ. The outdoor festivities also include a mural painting that the Chester community and visitors can help create. The mural created by community members at last year’s fundraiser is now hanging in the Chester Springs Shopping Center outside of Staples. It is available to take home for a donation to the Scholarship Fundraiser, and would be fitting to hang on any large home or office wall space.

There is a wine and cheese reception planned for the evening from 6:30pm - 9:30pm which includes a silent auction, a cork pull wine fundraiser, an art exhibition opening by Sarah Power, and an award ceremony for the graduating seniors who are scholarship recipients. The silent auction offers a chance to bid on original work by Roberto Rabanne, a renowned musical photographer who has photographed The Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, and other notable musicians. Also available for bidding--a weekend getaway in Victorian Cape May, and a private Paint & Wine party for 8 people at the Hive in Chester. The Wine Pull gives participants a chance to purchase a numbered cork for $20.00 and receive a matching numbered bottle of wine to take home and enjoy. Anyone who cannot make it to the event but would like to support the scholarships can make a donation of any size to the GoFundMe campaign or purchase an I <Heart> Art t-shirt in any size.

About the Arts Workshop
Founded in 2003 by Jane Shatz, a Juilliard School of Music dance alumna and Chester resident, the Morris County Arts Workshop (MCAW) is a non-profit group created to nurture and promote the love for the arts in children of all ages. The program is community based and offers a wide variety of classes from musical instrument lessons to voice to painting to yoga to language and martial arts. Classes are currently held in Chester, Mendham, and Tewksbury public schools as well as The Hive in the Chester Springs Shopping Center on Route 206 in Chester, NJ. In addition, MCAW runs six weeks of summer camp for pre-kindergarten to age 15. For additional information and class schedules, please visit www.mcartsworkshop.com or contact Director Jane Shatz at (908) 531-8433.

About Ballet Forte
Ballet Forte is a pre-professional dance conservatory dedicated to the development of each dancer as an individual. Beginning in 2003, Ballet Forte has offered dancers ages 3-18 a place to grow, focusing on personalized attention. Ballet Forte looks at the whole dancer as an artist whose instrument is his or her body. Their belief is that proper training is crucial for injury prevention and to build the strength needed to take these young dancers into the future. Ballet Forte is located in Chester, New Jersey. Learn more at http://www.balletfortenj.com

Link to video from last year’s event

Link to video of community mural installation

Link to GoFundMe campaign