May 1st, 7:00 pm May 2nd, 2:00 pm Iron Gate

May 1st, 7:00 pm
May 2nd, 2:00 pm
Iron Gate Theatre
3700 Chestnut
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CityStep is a dance mentorship program led by
Penn undergraduate students. Every week, teaching
teams of 4-6 Penn undergraduates travel to one of
our seven classrooms within our six Philadelphia
partners schools to mentor and choreograph routines with elementary and middle school students.
CityStep introduces Philadelphia public school
youth to the performing arts as an outlet for creative self-expression, a tool for building self-esteem, and a means to mutual understanding.
CityStep was founded in 1983 at Harvard University by Sabrina Peck. In 2004, Laura Weidman Powers, a CityStep Harvard alum, teamed up with two
Penn undergraduates, Alicia Marini Bloom ’06 and
Martha Mijes ’06, to establish CityStep Penn as a
student organization serving the Philadelphia Community.
Teresa An
Mauro Bengzon
Ella Cohen
Matthew Duda*
Byrne Fahey
Emily Fisher
Kelly Furukawa
Austin Gillies
Maria Guadagnino*
Leila Hariri
Yusef Houamed
Xandria James
Georgia James
Bianca Jimenez
Alec Josiah*
Mira Kaplan
Jinny Kim*
Laura Kingsley
Lily Kravetz
Nadia Laher
Carey Landon
Shayna O’Reilly
Joshulyne Park*
Eliza Rothstein
Samir Shah
Jane Shmushkis
Kat Sicat
Sara-Paige Silvestro
Abbie Starker
Joe Step
Emily True
Cassandra Vickers
Liz Walton
Kevin Wang
Connor Wen
Jamol Williams
George Yuan
*denotes head teacher
Executive Directors
Executive Producers
Marketing Chairs
Community Liason
Events Directors
Show Chair
Head Choreographer
Ella Cohen, Samir Shah
Cassandra Vickers, Alec Josiah
Xandria James, Lily Kravetz
Jane Shmushkis
Matthew Duda, Yusef Houamed
Alec Josiah
Joshulyne Park
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“Learn from yesterday, live for today,
hope for tomorrow.”
-- Albert Einstein
This is the lesson we set out to teach our students with this
year’s theme: Dance Party Time Machine. By exploring time
periods past and future, we hoped to allow our students
to explore their own experiences through new and unique
perspectives. We have seen the final show, and we can now
confidently say, CityStep has achieved this goal. Through
dance, our CityStep students show that they have learned
more than we could have expected, expressed more than
we could have imagined, and grown tremendously.
Watch our students hatch as dinosaurs, unite a medieval
kingdom, dance the Charleston, protest for peace, and take
on the future—all with incredible confidence, strength, and
dedication.
Please join us in celebrating this year’s culminating performance, an event only made possible by the commitment of
CityStep’s talented teachers and students.
Thank you for your continued support and enjoy the show!
All our love,
Ella and Samir
Stop I: Prehistoric Era
Powel 4th Grade
Stop II: Medieval Times
Chester Arthur 6th Grade
Stop III: Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome |
CityLights
CityStep Teachers
Stop IV: The Roaring Twenties
Jackson 6th Grade
INTERMISSION
Stop V: The Movement Era
Comegys 5th Grade
Stop VI: The 90’s
CityStep Teachers
Stop VII: The Future
KIPP 8th Grade
Stop VIII: Finale & Signature
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Powel 4th Grade
Chester Arthur 6th Grade
-- Teachers -Alec Josiah*
Lily Kravetz
Nadia Laher
Carey Landon
Eliza Rothstein
Kevin Wang
Jamol Williams
Long ago in a land before time, a nest of Prehistoric Powel
eggs began to hatch. Deep in the heart of the Jurassic, these
wild reptiles used their dancing legs for the first time and
cracked open their shells. Slowly but surely, they grew into
their claws and began to take the world by storm.
-- CitySteppers -Jai Abbott
Akila Barkkley
Kyla Bennett
Tamaz Bey
Jahmir Collins
Cici Crawley
Myles Crawley
Levie Debnam
Lawrence Duverynay
Ciera Horton
Troy Jackson
Nahiyah Jenkins
Amara Kelley
Cora Reynolds-McCall
Anabel Richardson
Nazeer Robinson
Sean Shine
Jazmen Smith
Aniyah Welsh
Saniya Wright
Myah Young
Lenni Zeigler-Hill
Khymer
Long ago, in a CItyStep medieval land far, far away, there lived
a majestic queen, her goofy jester, and her loyal and obedient
subjects. All was well in the kingdom, but the queen was strict.
She liked to be in control of all her knights and princesses—
which meant no fun, no moving, no laughing, and most importantly, no dancing. But one day the knights and princesses were
fed up by her oppressive rule. And so, they danced.
-- CitySteppers -Hassan Akbar
Daryus Brown-Stokes
Gianna Chance
Yajaira Clark
Kimberly Days
Jonathan Duran
Dajia East-Gary
Shahaad Edwards
Imair Frye
Destiny Harris-Malette
Marcquaan Marion
Kyree McKnight
Iyad Muhammad
Jamir Nobles
Sophia Pitts
Gianna Rashad
Jasmine Reese
Fernando Sandoval
Sybree Shands
Jamar Simmons-Joyner
Deiveian Story
Nachel Watson
Carmella Zimmerman
-- Teachers -Byrne Fahey
Austin Gillies
Xandria James
Laura Kingsley
Joshulyne Park*
Jane Shmushkis
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Jackson 6th Grade
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s
time to grab your hats and
feathers because we’re
taking it back to the roaring twenties! Get ready
to witness some of the
smoothest and slickest
moves tonight as these upand-coming stars and starlets take the stage. Sit back
and relax as we Charleston
and turkey trot back into
the twenties!
-- CitySteppers -Alejan Aguilar-Tran
Jaime Analco
Tysheed Celious
Rami Dawara
Nathaniel Delvalle
Gabriel Flores-Garcia
Jeremiah Golatt
Dave Hansen
Kyree Jackson
Lamir Jardine
Carla Jeronimo
Johana Jeronimo
Christina Johnson
Gilberto Mariano
Soleidy Morel
Norma Nolasco
Inayah Patterson
Alejandro Perez-Nieto
Giavonna Piacentini
Jonathan Radcliffe
Destiny Robinson
Marlen Rojas
-- Teachers -Jesus Roque
Bianca Jimenez
April Soeun
Jinny Kim*
Andrew Trejo
Shayna O’Reilly
Ryan Turner
Sara-Paige Silvestro
Natalia Wade
Liz Walton
Alaysia Waters
George Yuan
Matthew Wijaya
Mira Kaplan
Comegys 5th Grade
In the time of peace, love, and flower power, a group of
groovy Comegys students explored their new surroundings. These hip flower children danced to the music to
promote peace and love through periods of conflict and of
unity in the iconic 1960s.
-- Teachers -Mauro Bengzon
Maria Guadagnino*
Leila Hariri
Georgia James
Abbie Starker
Cassandra Vickers
Conner Wen
-- CitySteppers -Zyrae Allen-Williams
Nasir Anderson
Shyheem Blagman
Brian Bolden, Jr,
Janiyah Bridges
Kashmere Carlton
Malcolm Chavis
Fatoumata Coulibaly
Alexis Crumpton
Christian Dilday,
Yamira Dillard
Allen Dorsey
Jamillah Gibson
Jaylon Gooden
Talib Hanafi
Latylea Harris
Diamond Houston
Shamar July-Owens
Daija Long
Shaquille Padgett
Amya Powell
Alexia Purdie
Jaishirah Rayford
Jysire Smith
Jasmine Stevenson
Zahir Suber
Rashawn Tucker
Jaki Walker
Akil Williams
Walter Young
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KIPP 8th Grade
KIPP’s time travelers discover CityStep’s DeLorean Time
Machine parked behind Iron Gate and zoom into the Future.
Exploring their strange new world, they are blinded by flashing lights, wander into a robot manufacturing plant, and eventually encounter their future selves at college. The voyagers
return to the present excited for what they imagine their
futures hold.
CityStep Teachers
The time machine malfunctioned and crash landed, skipping
over a destination! As a result, the CityStep teachers ended up
atop of Mount Olympus in Ancient Greece where they witnessed an epic battle between the great Greek gods and goddesses. Once they fixed their time machine, their next stop was
Ancient Egypt where they dined with King Tut, visited the pyramids, and walked like Egyptians.
CityStep Teachers
-- CitySteppers -Ikirah Britt-Pena
Bahiyah Shamsuddin
Nasirdeen Davis
Jahquil Johnson
Ramir Lawrence
Daysha Waller-Griffin
Andrea Williams
Eyani Rollins
-- Teachers -Emily FIsher
Yusef Houamed
Matthew Duda*
Kelly Furukawa
Teresa An
Emily True
Joe Step
Nearing the end of their adventure,
the CityStep teachers all decide to
visit their childhoods and go back
to the 90’s. Walking down South
Street with all the philly cheesesteaks we can eat, what better
place to visit than our own neighborhood of Philadelphia? Motown
Philly Back Again!
Best Wishes to CityStep Penn. Congratulations
to Alec Josiah and the Powel Dinosaurs. Alec
you have been a great mentor to the youngsters! We are so proud of of your servant spirit.
Keep up the great work! Love, Mom and Dad,
Arcelio and Andrea Josiah
Maria,
We are SO proud of your
commitment to CityStep over the
past four years. These kids are
lucky to have a damn fine
teacher.
~Don’t ever stop dropping it like its hot!~
xo, XXX
Matthew, you’ve
come a long
way, from a little
boy in a
wagon to a big
one dancing
with the
u’ve come a long way, from a little boy in a
“Future’s” stars
big one dancing with the “Future’s” stars!
Congratulations to CityStep Penn for another amazing year of heart, energy, commitment and collaboration. And congrats
to the CitySteppers of West and South
We love you always, Mom and Dad!
Philadelphia who have worked so hard to
come together and tell this compelling
We love you
story through dance. Keep dancing and
always,
sharing what you have to say about the
Mom and Dad
world. We’re listening!
CityStep love,
Sabrina Peck, CityStep Founder
Congratula*ons, Ella Cohen and all the Members of City Step! Let’s celebrate life and dedica*on at this great event! HEY CITYSTEP!!
Shout out to all of you teachers and
board members for your hard work
and dedication to mentorship through
the arts. The positive impact you
have in these kids’ lives lasts forever.
And oh yeah, it’s fun too. ☺
Miss you guys! Hope you have an
AMAZING show weekend!
R.O.D.
Lots of love,
Elizabeth Katz (UPenn ’13)
Julien, Jon, Rachel, Celia, and Cece love Ella! You are the best. City Step Rocks! To Emily Fisher and all of the City Steppers congratulations
on the show! I know you all have been working so hard. A
very special shout-out to Kipp West Philadelphia!
Knock ‘Em dead!
Maria, we are so
proud of your fouryear commitment to
CityStep and to the
kids you are privileged to teach. Enjoy the Dance Party!
Love, Mom & Dad
ELLA COHEN
ROCKS
CITY STEP PENN
Congratulations to
Xandria and the entire
City Step crew. Great
work with great kids!
CONGRATULATIONS FOR ALL OF
YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!!!
Mom
You’re better than all the
chipwiches in the world
Samir, I’m so proud of
you! I’m ecstatic you
found such an inspiring
activity to pour your heart
and soul into. I’m cheering
for you from across the
world. - Rajit
Hey Cass I like the way
you move (Andre 3000
voice.) I hope you know
you’re my corndog. I know
you and your class will
crush it! Love, Schma
CS, good luck with the
SamSha, you brighten
show! I know you and your
kids are going to rock it.
It’s amazing to see the
camaraderie and fantastic
team culture. ROD - Rajit
the world every time you
smile. Love you more than
pizza.
Carey: Your smile and
my heart and soul are in
Phil-A! I’m so proud of and
love you all! <3 C (or maybe M?)
dance moves clearly
brighten up more than just
my day! It’s awesome to
see the impact you make
on the lives of these kids.
I’m so proud of you, and
so glad to call you my
friend. I love you mucho.
Love, Claire
Fellow Powel Dancing Dinos, it has been a blast to
work, play, and dance with
you. Thanks for an amazing year! - Love your Head
Teacher, Alec
CS, I may be in LA, but
Even though you’re not
here, I know how much
you’ve invested to get da
kids to where they are.
You’re one of the most
dedicated people I know
and also my fave Matt <3
Dear Kelly - I miss you Love Bob
Samir and CitySteppers! I hope you guys kill
it at the show. Congrats
on all your hard work!
KIPP, we’re so proud of
all you accomplished and
can’t wait to see what you
do in the ~Future~
#KIPPlovesKIPP
WE LAVAVAVAV YOU SO
SO SO MUCH T!!! <3
<3 BREAK A LEG AND
SHAKE THAT BOOTY!!!
HEHE FOR THE KIDS (;
!!!! –from Dobby, Snape, &
Farmer Sarah
To his Royal Sunliness,
Matt Duda: S/O from AIR
for killing the #compassion game with CityStep.
Much love & support from
your brothers
Good luck, Matty (a.k.a.
“the hot MERT guy”)!!!
Love, The Brain Trust
Powel Love Forever!!
Wish I could be there tonight to see your swag. So
proud of you guys, and all
of CityStep - ROD4lyfe,
Scoobydouche
Holla at my girl Carey
Landon. I can’t wait to
see your killer moves
tonight. You are my inspiration. I love you so much.
TBOM -Maddy
Hey Comegys!!! We are
so excited to watch you
perform! You’ve all worked
so hard this year and we
are so proud of you. Love,
your teachers
Chester Arthur<3 Never
forget that once a citystepper, always a city stepper! Thanks for an incredible year of classroom,
memories, and of course,
DANCING! -Love Josh
Proud of you Care Bear!
Love, El
We would like to thank the donors who have generously
supported our organization this year. Your contributions
have helped make this show a glowing success!
Supporter: up to $25
Erna Rashba
Nicholas Roosevelt
Lenore and Melvin Starker
Meghan Taylor
Friend: $26 to $50
Hope Cohen
Carolyn DuBios-Weakley
Traci Gillies
Vipul Kapadia
Alexandra Landon
Joyce O’Reilly
Zachary Wasserman
Patron: $51 to $99
Joanne Pasternack-Bardin
Fellow: $100 and above
Arcelio Josiah
Robert Kravetz
Glenn Landon
Stacey Toseland
Anna Tuchman
Shu Wang
Comegys – Ms. Gicker and Ms. Young
Jackson – Kelli Mantell
KIPP – Ms. Koerbler
Chester Arthur – Ms. Wilson
Powel – Teacher Chris
SAC
Tyler Burke
Philadelphia 76ers
CHAC
Girard College
Sabrina Peck
National Dance Institute
Dhamaka
Perelman Quad
Penn Hype
Strictly Funk
The Rotunda
CityStep Graduate Board CityStep Mascot Grant
Roper
CityStep Harvard
The Cohen Family
CityStep Princeton
Fairytale Brownies
Corey Fader
Harvest Bar and Grill
Iana Feliciano
Zavino
Caroline Juhyung
Rachel Garbade
For Penn Undergraduates:
Interested in becoming a CityStep Teacher? Look out for
Auditions in Fall 2015!
For Philadelphia School Teachers & Administrators:
Interested in bringing CityStep to your school? Please email
us at [email protected] - we are always looking for
students to serve!
For General Questions & Information:
Email us at [email protected] or check out our
website: www.citysteppenn.org
Checks should be made payable to “Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania” with “CityStep” written on the
memo line. Tax-deductible donations may be sent to the
following address:
CityStep
C/o Civic House
3914 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104
/CitySteppenn
/pennCityStep