Music, dance, community & culture

OVERVIEW

Show the world how music and dance shape your life, bring you joy, and reflect the spirit of your community. How do singing, dancing, performing, and celebrating express your culture and identity? Who are the musical or movement-based artists, groups, or traditions that inspire you locally? How deeply do music and dance influence your everyday experiences?

Start by choosing a focus: a person, a group, or a specific topic to explore.

Here are some directions you might take:

Creativity: Original songwriting, choreography, or performance
Spoken Word: Fusing poetry and rhythm to tell a story
Tradition: Religious, spiritual, or cultural practices expressed through music and dance
Trends: New or emerging music and dance styles in your community
Learning: The process of picking up an instrument or mastering a new dance
History: The origins and evolution of a musical or dance tradition
Health: How music and dance impact mental, physical, or emotional well-being—for performers or audiences
Activism: Using art as a tool for protest, awareness, or social change
Joy: The fun, meaning, and connection found through music and movement
Clubs & Community: How school or community groups provide space for creative expression
Performance Art: Experimental, improvisational, or postmodern approaches
Interdisciplinary Work: Collaborations across art forms such as visual art, theater, or digital media

CHOOSE A FORMAT

Profile (2-4 min. long): A profile is the story of one person. It has voiceover (VO), b-roll, pictures, nats (natural sound), interviews of family members or peers of that one person. Here’s an example of a profile.
Explainer (2-4 min. long): A video explaining a concept. Often it includes a host/narrator speaking directly to the camera. The tone could be serious, funny, or informative. Here’s an example of an explainer.
News package (3-5 min. long): Video stories about newsworthy issues and topics. A news package has factual information, balanced reporting, research, voice overs, multiple interviews soundbites, b-roll footage. It may also include things like infographics, a reporter standup, nats (natural sound from filming b-roll). Here’s an example of a news package.
NAT package (2-4 min. long): A video story guided by the natural sound from interviews and the environment where you’re filming. Natural sound, commonly known as “NAT sound,” puts the viewer in the place the story was told by enhancing the scene(s) with video containing rich audio such as a musician singing at a train station, a storm approaching, or the sound of a tractor plowing the field. This kind of story would often not have a voiceover narration. Here’s an example of a nat package.
Audio/podcast story: (3-5 min. long): Create a short audio story about music for SRL’s On Our Minds Season 4 podcast, about teen life and mental health. Check out SRL’s video about how to record audio, and these resources from NPR training about how to make an audio story.
Music and/or Dance video: create a short experimental/improvisational music and/or dance video with a group of your friends. Plot out the concepts and or ideas you’d like to explore through music and/or dance (movement). Find a location indoors or outdoors as your stage. Set a time limit to record and if you like, plot out your camera placement and movements. Rehearse your piece once then just perform it and roll the camera. Use your creativity during the post-production and editing of your video to construct your very own “performance art” piece. Add music, voice overs or sound effects if you like.