This concept is not a new one however the way the learning experience is delivered is. We allow students to explore and experience a concept from many dimensions. We want to challenge our students in more ways than possible, opening a door to some of our students who in the past may not have connected or resonated with the arts. Eric Booth, author of The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible, Becoming a Virtuoso Educator says in his book: “The arts are the secular common ground, the agora, where people can meet to address the most important issues in life.”
Eric Booth conducted a workshop at a professional development session with Juilliard and inspired us all. Offering performing arts opportunities across whole year groups emphasised his point. We want to challenge our students in ways that go beyond the arts, giving them a voice, a tool, that can nurture their ability to empathise with others, to consider another’s point of view.
Thinking about how you can convey energy to an audience takes students on a journey that explores many aspects of the performing arts, from music, composition, sound effects, technology, the overture, ballet and use of gesture, physical expression, blocking, script writing and pace and lighting, just to name a few. By working as a team, students apply their learning to create a performing arts piece encompassing several arts elements that aim to constantly challenge their thinking and the way they perceive things.