Our Mission:

PERFORM! brings together professional performers with teachers and students in public and private schools across Nova Scotia. Its primary goal is to enhance learning by involving performing artists in the delivery of drama, music, and dance curricula.

What We Do:

More than thirty years of arts education research has proven that theatre, dance and music greatly contribute to the development of reading, writing, and numeracy skills in students. At PERFORM! we are dedicated to integrating performance skills into education to increase academic success.

Since 1999, PERFORM! has been a joint initiative of Dance Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Choral Federation, and Theatre Nova Scotia, bringing professional artists to schools to work with students and teachers in developing their own skills and creativity.

From African dance, to public speaking, to hip hop, to playwriting, we’ve taught it all. You can find our performers working in performing arts classes and through other subject areas such as English, French, History, Math, and Social Sciences.

PERFORM! is committed to providing accessible programming in English and French for all grade levels in public and private schools. We also provide travel remuneration to performers so that rural schools can have equal access to our program.

Benefits:

A well designed, participatory arts education program is essential in developing creative and confident critical thinkers and problem solvers. Evidence further suggests that theatre, dance and music are linked to improved literacy and numeracy skills. A school’s commitment to the performing arts signals respect for the range of multiple intelligences and the different ways in which our students learn.

A strong arts curriculum not only contributes to a student’s creative knowledge, it improves overall academic success, enhances self-image and develops social empathy.

Youth in arts programs are:

• 25% more likely to report feeling satisfied with themselves;
• 31% more likely to say that they plan to continue education after high school;
• Eight times more likely to receive a community service award;
• Four and a half times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem;
• Twice as likely to win an award for academic achievement;
• Four times more likely to participate in a science or math fair;

– From Youth Development by Shirley Brice Heath and Elisabeth Soe

Welcome to Lily Falk! Our new PERFORM! Coordinator:

Lily Falk (she/her) is a theatre maker and outdoor educator based in Kjipuktuk. She’s co-artistic director of Gale Force Theatre where she collaborates on original works, often for families, often involving puppets, and sometimes outside! This past summer, she co-directed an outdoor poetry spectacular based on Icarus, Falling of Birds by Harry Thurston and Thaddeus Holownia. Recently, you may have caught her co-facilitating theatre making ensembles for preteens and teens in collaboration with the Adventure Earth Centre. Or at one of the city’s parks as an Art Biker with Wonder’neath. As an outdoor educator, she’s worked in a variety of specialized programs for children and youth with disabilities to participate in transformative outdoor programming. Lily is passionate about increasing children’s access to performing arts experiences. Lily’s work weaves together art-making, administration, the outdoors, and community building as a way to illuminate our interconnectedness, share our joy, and build resiliency. 

About the Website

Copyright Statement:

© Copyright 2014. Unless stated otherwise, copyright is held by Theatre Nova Scotia. All rights reserved. Logos and trademarks used on this website are owned by the respective organizations linked to by those logos. If there are any errors or omissions in regards to copyright and/or content on this website, please contact the PERFORM! Coordinator.

Privacy Statement:

Theatre Nova Scotia is committed to respecting the privacy rights of individuals by ensuring that their personal information is collected, used and disclosed in such a manner that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances. We support and follow the principles and obligations of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

Please note that this site’s privacy polices do not apply to linked websites. You should consult the privacy disclosures on each third party site for further information.

Disclaimer Statement:

This website is owned and operated by Theatre Nova Scotia. By accessing or using the website, you agree to accept and comply with the terms, conditions, notices and disclaimers noted below and contained elsewhere on the website.

While Theatre Nova Scotia has used its best endeavours to ensure that information, text, material, images and graphics contained in and accessed through the website are correct and current at the time of publication, the company is not responsible for errors, omissions or defects in the content.

We aim to post the information as accurately as possible on this website; however, the information is always subject to change. We cannot accept liability for decisions/actions based on the content of this website.

The PERFORM! website offers links to a variety of sites maintained by third parties. In accessing these sites, you are leaving the organization’s website. These links are offered only for use at your own discretion. The company is not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special and/or consequential damages, in whole or in part, resulting from your use or any user’s use of or reliance upon the content or content in any third party web sites linked to from the PERFORM! website.

All outside links provided were current at the time of publication. We are not responsible for links that are no longer current and/or disabled.