Valley native lends award-winning dance troupe training to Chaney students

YOUNGSTOWN

They crawled, somersaulted and rolled across the floor in the Chaney Visual and Performing Arts dance room.

They bent their backs over desks, slid along tables and flipped over benches.

Guest artist Jennine Willet, a Mahoning Valley native, led Chaney VPA dance students today through a series of movements. For one exercise, she instructed them to move across the floor as if they were in a low-ceiling room. In another, they were to incorporate a desk, folding chair, wooden bench or table into their movement.

“It’s really opened me up to new ideas,” said senior LaRazia Tolbert, 17. “My mind is blown right now.”

Willet is co-artistic director of Third Rail Projects, a dance-theater company that engages audiences in its contemporary performances.

She and the company’s other two artistic directors have been performing in New York and abroad for 15 years, winning awards and accolades along the way.

Read more about this innovative dance troupe and their visit to Chaney in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.