"I ask my students to look at themselves first as human beings, then as artists."

—Sonia Dawkins

Sonia Dawkins has a longstanding commitment to community education. She offers her expertise through the Outreach Program of the Sonia Dawkins/Prism Dance Theatre, as well as through partnerships with other dance, education, arts, and social service organizations.

Children’s Workshops

Since 1995, Sonia Dawkins has produced and led these workshops for elementary and middle school children in Philadelphia and Seattle. They are designed to enhance students’ understanding of dance as bodily expression in connection with cultural diversity. Through the use of folk literature, art, and music, children learn how different art forms are intertwined and have a direct relationship with their daily lives and other topics they study in school. They learn to experience their bodies as artistic instruments, no matter their size, shape, or color.

Pacific Northwest Ballet Collaborations

As a faculty member of PNB’s school, Sonia Dawkins frequently participates in a large number of outreach programs that include teaching residencies, lecture demonstrations, and performances.

• DanceChance was created to discover untapped talent in the community from Seattle’s central-city elementary schools. Children who show they have the physical ability to become professional dancers are provided with classical training, allowing them the opportunity they might not otherwise have to pursue a dance career.
  
• PNB’s public school and community center outreach involved Sonia’s expertise and teaching at the following locations: Rainier Beach High School (instruction, choreography, performance at Discover Dance); Graham Hill Elementary (residency, choreography, school performance); Martin Luther King Elementary (residency, choreography, performances at Discover Dance and Sonia Dawkins / Prism events); Eastgate Elementary (residency, choreography, performance at Discover Dance); Miller Community Center and Zion Baptist Church (master classes).
  

Rise n’ Shine

Sonia Dawkins has collaborated and done fundraising campaigns with Rise n’ Shine in Seattle. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing emotional support and advocacy to children and teens affected by HIV and AIDS within a safe, consistent, and stable environment. “Having the opportunity to learn from Sonia is yet another validation that these teens are indeed special and that AIDS does not diminish who they are and what they can achieve,” says Janet L. Trinkaus, founding director of Rise n’ Shine. Sonia has taught movement classes and conducted workshops for teens in this program.

Indigo Rays

Indigo Rays is the Youth Company of SD/Prism Dance Theatre, established in 2002. It is comprised of dancers from Pacific Northwest Ballet’s school along with talented children from the Rise n’ Shine program. They perform Sonia’s original choreography at various performances in the Seattle area. The Indigo Rays first performed at Dance This… at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, which was a production of the Seattle Theater Group.

Arts Corps

Arts Corps is a non-profit arts education program in Seattle and King County. The program recruits and places experienced Teaching Artists in a variety of after-school programs, working with young people in grades K-12. Their vision is to develop a healthy, compassionate, and innovative community by helping young people tap into their own creativity and power through art.

Centrum Arts and Creative Education

This is an annual program that introduces students to the arts through exposure to professional instructors. Sonia Dawkins is a regular guest teacher for this well-respected program.