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The Lensic’s Youth Performing Arts Education Programs
- Bringing local schoolchildren to performances by visiting artists;
- Providing free performance space and technical assistance to local youth;
- Training young people in the technical arts and offering paid summer internships;
- Sending professional artists into middle schools to provide performing arts workshop experience to students;
- Bringing a performing arts program into rural New Mexico;
- Presenting a youth in performing arts award.
Bringing local schoolchildren to performances by visiting artists:
The Lensic provides transportation to free multicultural and traditional performances for area schoolchildren. Each year 20,000 children from elementary through high school enjoy free performances and artist interactions at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in conjunction with curricula developed by their teachers through the Performing Arts for Student Success Program (PASS). The Lensic also partners with diverse community organizations and visiting nationally recognized artists to provide age appropriate performances. Another component of this program brings professional artists to schools to provide workshops with budding musicians, dancers, performers, and actors. To date more than 80,000 children from across New Mexico have participated in these programs.
Providing free performance space and technical assistance to local youth:
Each year, local youth groups perform free of charge at the Lensic Performing Arts Center. They also receive advanced technical support, without which most would never have the opportunity to perform with professional lighting, sound, and other technical services. This year in the late spring, Santa Fe High School will premiere a show at The Lensic for students, parents and community members. The show will be open to the public. To date almost 5,000 youngsters have performed on the Lensic’s stage through this program.
Training young people in the technical arts and offering paid summer internships:
Developed in collaboration with Santa Fe and Capitol High Schools, the Lensic’s Technical Apprentice Program provides local high school students with the technical expertise they need to seek employment with a professional arts organization or gain acceptance to a college-level course of study. Participating students can also earn high school credit. More than twenty students work each year, gaining hands-on experience with theater professionals and attending professional performing arts productions. During the summer months, paid internships are offered by the theater. Graduates of this program have gone on to attend colleges such as Vassar, Bennington, and Emerson and have obtained professional positions with arts organization.
Sending professional artists into middle schools to provide performing arts workshop experience to students:
In partnership with the local non-profit Little Globe, The Lensic developed a collaboration with Alameda Middle School. In May 2007 the Little Globe group brought a performing arts piece about the “memory” of the land in Santa Fe, called Memorylines into Alameda Middle School. The piece also involved the Santa Fe Opera and the state historian’s office. A group of professional performing artists worked with local community members and students from Alameda on the project. The group performed at The Lensic in May. As an expansion to the middle school program, performers from Wise Fool New Mexico will be working at Alameda Middle School in conjunction with their fifth annual performance of the Thanksgiving weekend tradition of Circus Luminous.
Bringing a performing arts program into rural New Mexico:
Using the experience of the Memorylines project, Little Globe and The Lensic are sending professional performing artists and staff into rural schools around New Mexico as part of the Common Ground Project: Rural New Mexico. For the Common Group Project, Littleglobe is partnering with community members in Cuba, New Mexico, an under served rural town, and two nearby Navajo communities. Each week, Littleglobe artists visit the region and work intensively with students, families and elders from each community on a project involving film, music, spoken word and visual arts that explores issues of significance to them. They will produce a documentary on the artistic process and perform for local community members in the spring.
Presenting a youth in performing arts award:
The Lensic Performing Arts Center presented the state’s first-ever statewide youth performing arts festival in 2005 and 2006 in partnership with New Mexico Advisory Council on Arts Education. This festival brought together the five New Mexico regions in a collaborative celebration and exploration of the performing arts that concentrates on building students’ self-confidence, enthusiasm and skills through public performances. In 2007 and 2008, The Lensic has presented outstanding school programs a cash award to honor their work in the performing arts.
Education Program Feedback
“These programs are so important to our students in that they become familiar with other cultural material. In their daily lives, they are virtually restricted to their own culture.”
“All of our students are very art oriented due to their culture. This program gives them a chance to experience the art of yet another culture.”
“This may be the only time my students get to experience something like this. It is wonderful that our music teacher was able to incorporate this music into their [the students’] experience prior to attending!”
“Anytime children are able to take part in the arts in Santa Fe, it impacts all aspects of learning. Many of our children will never come to The Lensic unless the schools bring them. Even for me, the teacher, it’s one of the only times I get to enjoy the theater. What a treat to hear the Mexican tale of La Llorona. Continue offering this opportunity to all children. Thank you for the handouts, good material.”
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