Jun 01, 2021
Creativity, Discipline, & More: Andrea Hansen Explains Why Dance is for Everyone
The couple attended Bakersfield High School and graduated one year apart but did actually meet during their time as students there. Both attended college far from home before circling back to later meet in Kern County 10 years ago. Now celebrating eight years of marriage, they are the parents of Alexander, 5, and Hannah, 4.
A graduate of Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania, Andrea majored in dance, with a minor in political science and graduated from the University of Arizona with a Master of Fine Arts in choreography. In addition to teaching dance, she currently serves as president of Kern Dance Alliance and as a board member, in addition to an extraordinary number of other board appointments, including on Fox Theater Foundation’s Board of Directors, for California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB)’s Arts and Humanities Executive Advisory Council.
Taking time out of her busy schedule to speak with us, Andrea offered insight from her unique vantage point as a parent, advocate and artist.
Q. What would you like Kern County Family Magazine readers to know about the dance community where they work and live?
“Collaboration is the pillar of success,” said Andrea in light of the community partnerships that have helped further the work of Kern Dance Alliance. The organization is known throughout Kern County for its collaborative efforts to reach people of all ages and throughout so many phases of life. Kern Dance Alliance represents more than 70 dance organizations in Kern County.
“It is not a studio. It is not a company. It is more like an arts council for dance studios,” said Andrea. Professional resources for dance teachers, scholarships for students and coordinated promotion of dance through a united effort are also part of its foundational work, in addition to program coordination and community presence for all things dance. MemoryMOVES, for example, is a dance movement therapy program serving memory-impaired clients through Alzheimer’s Disease Association of Kern County (ADAKC)’s adult day program with the guidance of a registered dance therapist.
“Dance and movement are a respected form of therapy,” Andrea explained. “That connection to movement as a prehistoric ritual has always been part of our humanity. We had dance before we had words as a method of communication. It is ingrained in us. Being a mom, I have just watched kids move without inhibition, without embarrassment. Even though that changes with age, it is ancestral to us.”
Andrea recalled observing an elderly man in a wheelchair who was generally very reserved and appeared disengaged until Charleston-style music began. He suddenly recognized the familiar song, stood up and began to dance, recalling that he and his wife had danced the Charleston at their wedding decades before.
“That’s what is so incredible about these therapeutic programs,” said Andrea. “The experience swept the cobwebs away and for a moment, for that individual, there was absolute clarity. That’s what makes it all worth it: art is so much more than the art itself.”
Kern Dance Alliance’s SHINE for Girls program is a program that has garnered national attention for its outstanding approach to math through movement. As an acrostic, SHINE is an acronym that stands for:
Supporting local youth in education pursuits
Harnessing self-esteem and confidence on stage and in the classroom
Inspiring young women to pursue STEM fields
Nurturing a love of mathematics
Empowering women across America.
Bakersfield is the first city on the West Coast to offer SHINE, which is also taught in Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C. It boasts 100% improvement in math skills for middle school girls, the target audience, who come from a variety of backgrounds, including public and private school students, girls from varying socioeconomic circumstances and with varying academic abilities.
“Oftentimes, we meet girls who lack confidence. They may not have much motivation to succeed in math, but through kinesthetic learning, we teach them pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, statistics and more,” said Andrea. “We help them fall in love with math and see how a future in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] could be the path for them.”
Offered each fall, SHINE pivoted to an online model due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but like all of Kern Dance Alliance’s programs, the goal to be back in person soon seems possible.
Books in Motion, a program familiar to the Kern County community thanks to a partnership with Kern Literacy Council and Kern County Library, also encourages literacy through kinesthetic learning. The goal is to inspire a child to read through dance, with crafts and performance art as part of the process. A free book and craft kit are offered as part of the program each summer. Check with your local library branch for more information.
“We want to be where people are,” said Andrea. She anticipates more involvement in schools and even corrections system programs.
Q. Can you speak to the role of art in our community and why it’s so important?
“Arts organizations are never just about painting pictures and pointing toes,” said Andrea. “Those activities are vitally important but the arts also make our community vibrant and dynamic. If the arts aren’t happening, tourism isn’t happening. People want to live in places where they can see and do things.”
The role of the arts in creating well-rounded students, adults capable of both critical and creative thinking and the ability to cultivate discipline, discover flexibility and multitask are all underscored by related skills honed under that broad umbrella.
“My arts education has given me the tools to shift gears when needed and make things work, to see another way,” said Andrea, who began training with the London-based Royal Academy of Dance at age 7.
Her own approach with Alexander and Hannah is more relaxed, a fact that may help allay fears sometimes parents have that it’s simply too late to get started with the arts. Andrea plans to be there for her children as they develop related interests, as needed and desired.
“We’re not too serious yet. We are enjoying the early years. We dance around the house, I show them dance on YouTube, but we are just starting to get involved in organized dance,” said Andrea. “Leading by example shows children you truly can be anything you want to be. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to parenting.”
Q. How can our readers better support local arts opportunities?
The arts have been some of the hardest hit industries through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I remember reading a 2019 summary listing the state of California’s creative economy at more than $615 billion,” Andrea said. “Throughout the pandemic, about 200,000 people lost their jobs in the creative workforce.”
An Otis College of Art and Design report confirms related data, with updates for 2020 at https://www.otis.edu/creative-economy/2020. The report lists California’s total creative economy output at $650.3 billion across all arts-related industries, including fashion, film, performing arts, architecture and related goods and services.
“When we talk about getting the economy back on track, that also includes creative people. Supporting the arts is not just an investment in the arts but also in the economy,” said Andrea. “If you decide to take a night out and enjoy the arts, that might also involve hiring a sitter, maybe a new outfit, putting gas in your car and going to dinner. It all works together, it's an integral approach, and until you notice the deficit whether it’s in skills people bring to their fields or in our economy, the arts are not always appreciated in the ways they should be.”
Q. As a parent in the area, what do you recommend other parents do to educate their families about community resources for the arts?
Andrea suggests following local arts enterprises on social media, liking and sharing their content, which can seem more approachable through a familiar platform. Organic promotion can help promote what a brand has to offer. If you are not on social media, word of mouth is a method she also encourages.
Q. Working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with children at home has been a challenge throughout the pandemic. Is there any insight you would like to share on this topic? What have you found to be helpful as a professional who is also a parent?
“I like to surround myself with people who do things better than I do,” said Andrea. “I have a true tribe, my circle of mommy friends. Sometimes, I look over my shoulder and I see a person who is doing it differently than I am and that’s beautiful. Feeling inspired by others has really been helpful to me. The pandemic has been hard on all of us as parents. There have been moments of strength and moments of weakness. We all have them. Sometimes, though, we just need our tribe. Check in on others and accept their friendship. You’ll find strength in yourself through them.”
See a full list of where Kern Dance Alliance is involved in the community and find out upcoming opportunities to participate at https://kerndance.org/kda-programs/.
Andrea Hansen, co-founder of Kern Dance Alliance, leads with grace. At work and in community life, she embraces the challenge of advocating for the arts. A professional dancer by trade, their influence is evident in her life, including how she approaches opportunities both at work and at home.
A local champion in both formal and informal capacities for the arts, Andrea is also a wife and mother of two children. Her husband, Michael, is best known for his involvement with the family business, Hansen’s Moving and Storage, which has helped people moving throughout Kern County and across the country for more than 40 years. Michael is president of Advanced Data Storage, a separate enterprise dedicated to records management.
The couple attended Bakersfield High School and graduated one year apart but did actually meet during their time as students there. Both attended college far from home before circling back to later meet in Kern County 10 years ago. Now celebrating eight years of marriage, they are the parents of Alexander, 5, and Hannah, 4.
A graduate of Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania, Andrea majored in dance, with a minor in political science and graduated from the University of Arizona with a Master of Fine Arts in choreography. In addition to teaching dance, she currently serves as president of Kern Dance Alliance and as a board member, in addition to an extraordinary number of other board appointments, including on Fox Theater Foundation’s Board of Directors, for California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB)’s Arts and Humanities Executive Advisory Council.
Taking time out of her busy schedule to speak with us, Andrea offered insight from her unique vantage point as a parent, advocate and artist.
Q. What would you like Kern County Family Magazine readers to know about the dance community where they work and live?
“Collaboration is the pillar of success,” said Andrea in light of the community partnerships that have helped further the work of Kern Dance Alliance. The organization is known throughout Kern County for its collaborative efforts to reach people of all ages and throughout so many phases of life. Kern Dance Alliance represents more than 70 dance organizations in Kern County.
“It is not a studio. It is not a company. It is more like an arts council for dance studios,” said Andrea. Professional resources for dance teachers, scholarships for students and coordinated promotion of dance through a united effort are also part of its foundational work, in addition to program coordination and community presence for all things dance. MemoryMOVES, for example, is a dance movement therapy program serving memory-impaired clients through Alzheimer’s Disease Association of Kern County (ADAKC)’s adult day program with the guidance of a registered dance therapist.
“Dance and movement are a respected form of therapy,” Andrea explained. “That connection to movement as a prehistoric ritual has always been part of our humanity. We had dance before we had words as a method of communication. It is ingrained in us. Being a mom, I have just watched kids move without inhibition, without embarrassment. Even though that changes with age, it is ancestral to us.”
Andrea recalled observing an elderly man in a wheelchair who was generally very reserved and appeared disengaged until Charleston-style music began. He suddenly recognized the familiar song, stood up and began to dance, recalling that he and his wife had danced the Charleston at their wedding decades before.
“That’s what is so incredible about these therapeutic programs,” said Andrea. “The experience swept the cobwebs away and for a moment, for that individual, there was absolute clarity. That’s what makes it all worth it: art is so much more than the art itself.”
Kern Dance Alliance’s SHINE for Girls program is a program that has garnered national attention for its outstanding approach to math through movement. As an acrostic, SHINE is an acronym that stands for:
Supporting local youth in education pursuits
Harnessing self-esteem and confidence on stage and in the classroom
Inspiring young women to pursue STEM fields
Nurturing a love of mathematics
Empowering women across America.
Bakersfield is the first city on the West Coast to offer SHINE, which is also taught in Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C. It boasts 100% improvement in math skills for middle school girls, the target audience, who come from a variety of backgrounds, including public and private school students, girls from varying socioeconomic circumstances and with varying academic abilities.
“Oftentimes, we meet girls who lack confidence. They may not have much motivation to succeed in math, but through kinesthetic learning, we teach them pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, statistics and more,” said Andrea. “We help them fall in love with math and see how a future in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] could be the path for them.”
Offered each fall, SHINE pivoted to an online model due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but like all of Kern Dance Alliance’s programs, the goal to be back in person soon seems possible.
Books in Motion, a program familiar to the Kern County community thanks to a partnership with Kern Literacy Council and Kern County Library, also encourages literacy through kinesthetic learning. The goal is to inspire a child to read through dance, with crafts and performance art as part of the process. A free book and craft kit are offered as part of the program each summer. Check with your local library branch for more information.
“We want to be where people are,” said Andrea. She anticipates more involvement in schools and even corrections system programs.
Q. Can you speak to the role of art in our community and why it’s so important?
“Arts organizations are never just about painting pictures and pointing toes,” said Andrea. “Those activities are vitally important but the arts also make our community vibrant and dynamic. If the arts aren’t happening, tourism isn’t happening. People want to live in places where they can see and do things.”
The role of the arts in creating well-rounded students, adults capable of both critical and creative thinking and the ability to cultivate discipline, discover flexibility and multitask are all underscored by related skills honed under that broad umbrella.
“My arts education has given me the tools to shift gears when needed and make things work, to see another way,” said Andrea, who began training with the London-based Royal Academy of Dance at age 7.
Her own approach with Alexander and Hannah is more relaxed, a fact that may help allay fears sometimes parents have that it’s simply too late to get started with the arts. Andrea plans to be there for her children as they develop related interests, as needed and desired.
“We’re not too serious yet. We are enjoying the early years. We dance around the house, I show them dance on YouTube, but we are just starting to get involved in organized dance,” said Andrea. “Leading by example shows children you truly can be anything you want to be. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to parenting.”
Q. How can our readers better support local arts opportunities?
The arts have been some of the hardest hit industries through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I remember reading a 2019 summary listing the state of California’s creative economy at more than $615 billion,” Andrea said. “Throughout the pandemic, about 200,000 people lost their jobs in the creative workforce.”
An Otis College of Art and Design report confirms related data, with updates for 2020 at https://www.otis.edu/creative-economy/2020. The report lists California’s total creative economy output at $650.3 billion across all arts-related industries, including fashion, film, performing arts, architecture and related goods and services.
“When we talk about getting the economy back on track, that also includes creative people. Supporting the arts is not just an investment in the arts but also in the economy,” said Andrea. “If you decide to take a night out and enjoy the arts, that might also involve hiring a sitter, maybe a new outfit, putting gas in your car and going to dinner. It all works together, it's an integral approach, and until you notice the deficit whether it’s in skills people bring to their fields or in our economy, the arts are not always appreciated in the ways they should be.”
Q. As a parent in the area, what do you recommend other parents do to educate their families about community resources for the arts?
Andrea suggests following local arts enterprises on social media, liking and sharing their content, which can seem more approachable through a familiar platform. Organic promotion can help promote what a brand has to offer. If you are not on social media, word of mouth is a method she also encourages.
Q. Working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with children at home has been a challenge throughout the pandemic. Is there any insight you would like to share on this topic? What have you found to be helpful as a professional who is also a parent?
“I like to surround myself with people who do things better than I do,” said Andrea. “I have a true tribe, my circle of mommy friends. Sometimes, I look over my shoulder and I see a person who is doing it differently than I am and that’s beautiful. Feeling inspired by others has really been helpful to me. The pandemic has been hard on all of us as parents. There have been moments of strength and moments of weakness. We all have them. Sometimes, though, we just need our tribe. Check in on others and accept their friendship. You’ll find strength in yourself through them.”
See a full list of where Kern Dance Alliance is involved in the community and find out upcoming opportunities to participate at https://kerndance.org/kda-programs/.
