New World School of the Arts presents ARTS AL FRESCO
A strolling experience showcasing dance, music, theater and visual arts.
New World School of the Arts presents its new arts showcase, Arts al fresco, a strolling experience. This event allows guests to leisurely stroll through dedicated art spaces, carefully staged at MDC Wolfson Campus, allowing them to enjoy the arts outdoors and at their own pace, right here in downtown Miami, in a safe and intimate setting. Guests will have the unique opportunity to meet South Florida’s emerging dancers, choreographers, actors, playwrights, musicians, singers, visual artists, painters and sculptors – all while witnessing their creativity come alive.
The showcase, lasting two hours, will be comprised of a visual arts exhibition and numerous dance, music, and theater performances offered in a loop several times each, in specific locations throughout MDC Wolfson Campus. Arts al fresco performances are short and best enjoyed standing up. Some seats will be available and are subject to first come, first served or as needed. MDC Covid-19 Phase 2 protocol will be observed.
ARTS AL FRESCO EXHIBITION & PERFORMANCES
THURSDAY, MARCH 25; 5 M – 7 PM
MIAMI DADE COLLEGE WOLFSON CAMPUS
NEW WORLD SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
25 NE 2 Street, downtown Miami, FL 33132
EXHIBITION AND PERFORMANCE SPACES:
- New World Gallery (Building 5)
- NWSA Garden (Building 5)
- MDC Garage B (Building 5, 6th Floor)
- MDC Park Area (Building 1)
- MDC Auditorium (Building 1, #1261)
- MDC Live Arts Theater (Building 1, #1101)
- MDC Atrium (Building 1)
- MDC Off The Grille (Building 2)
- MDC James K. Batten (Building 2, #2106)
- MDC Digital Screen (Building 4)
Admission to Arts al fresco is Free with registration at Squadup. Information at 305-237-3135.
SQUADUP REGISTRATION: https://www.squadup.com/events/arts-al-fresco-a-strolling-experience
Please download the ARTS al fresco MAP/EASY GUIDE and the official ARTS al fresco PROGRAM before you arrive at MDC Wolfson Campus on Thursday, to help you plan your stroll through all the arts offerings and presentations
Directed by Patrice Bailey, Dean of Theater at NWSA, this new initiative is inspired by New World School of the Arts’ signature Rising Stars and adapted for today’s social environment. “We aim to offer an event that allows our students to showcase some of the work they have learned since the start of this academic year,” said Bailey. “Keeping in mind the restrictions we face as a result of the pandemic; we have designed Arts al fresco as an outdoor arts experience that not only offers guests an opportunity to safely enjoy our artistic offerings, but it also affords them a moment in time to glimpse into our students’ artistry, resilience and determination in the face of current hurdles. Inspired by our annual Rising Stars showcase, which has been our signature event for more than thirty years and which I have directed for more than a decade, Arts al fresco presents a smaller cast due to the new safety standards that must be observed; however, the spirit of our arts conservatory, shared by Dance, Music, Theater and Visual Arts as well as our individual students, faculty and staff will be in full display in each of the presentations. This will undoubtedly afford our nonparticipating students, parents, alumni, supporters and friends the opportunity to experience and take pride in the magic that is New World School of the Arts.”
ARTS AL FRESCO PERFORMANCES
DANCE presentations featured in the Program include Jeffrey Lloyd Smith’s new work in progress, “UPHILL”, showcasing seven dancers as they struggle to advance, pushing their individual and collective burdensome orbs in an uphill battle. Evocative of the struggles of these times of pandemic and relative isolation, the stark simplicity of their journey is balanced by pleasure in seeing the fluidity of dancers moving live and in person, and making this journey masked and distanced, but as a group. Peter London’s new work, “The Nile”, inspired by images found throughout the temples and palaces in Ancient Egypt, suggest rituals and celebrations that might have been done for the Gods and other secular events. Solos will include an excerpt from a work by Robert Battle, entitled “Channels”, and a solo excerpt from Peter London’s college work, “The Nile.”
MUSIC will feature its students across all areas in the department, from high school students in the instrumental and vocal areas to college students from each of the four concentration tracks, including members of the NWSA Wind Ensemble assisted by Brent Mounger, as well as the NWSA High School Jazz Combos in works by Horace Silver, directed by Jim Gasior. A string ensemble will perform Mascagni’s Intermezzo (as recently heard in the online concert, Resilience), Piazolla’s Libertango, and led by Dr. Hayslett, students from his cello studio to perform Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileira’s No. 1. Guests will also hear the continuous voices of students from the NWSA High School Choir and College Opera Theatre Ensemble, led by Alan Denning and Rodney Miller respectively. As guests stroll around the evening’s various performance spaces, students from the music division will serenade them, outdoors, in a variety of small ensembles throughout the evening.
THEATER’S artistic offerings will include the song Magic To Do, from the musical Pippin performed by the college music theater students. Directed by James Randolph, this award-winning musical was recently presented live at the Miami Beach Bandshell to a sold-out house. Several college seniors will also present a portion of their Peron Shows including Julio Otero’s poignant “Half Kidding” and Tatyana Mack’s “R.B.A” which brings to the forefront the always relevant topic of stereotyping.
A dozen monologues and duets performed by the NWSA high school theater students will round off the Arts al fresco Theater program with excerpts from some of the most popular plays of all time including Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Color Purple and My Favorite Year, among others.
PERFORMANCE RUNDOWN / LOCATIONS AT MDC WOLFSON CAMPUS
DANCE Division
Building #5
Garage G2, 6th Floor
UPHILL
5:10pm
5:40pm
6:10pm
6:40pm
Building #1 Park Area
The Nile
5:10pm
5:40pm
6:10pm
6:40pm
Building #1 Auditorium #1261
A Taste of Dance
5:10pm
5:40pm
6:10pm
6:40pm
MUSIC Division
Building #2 Off the Grille
The New World School of the Art Jazz Combo
4:45pm
5:55pm
6:25pm
6:55pm
Building 2 James K. Batten,
Room #2106
String Ensemble and A Few More Cellist
5:10pm
5:40pm
6:10pm
6:40pm
Building #1 Atrium
Members of the High School Choir & Opera Theater Ensemble
5:25pm
5:55pm
6:25pm
6:55pm
THEATER Division
Building #1 Park Area
Magic To Do From Pippin
5:10pm
5:40pm
6:10pm
6:40pm
Building #1 MDC Live Arts
The One Person Shows & A Little Bit More
5:10pm
5:40pm
6:10pm
6:40pm
Building #5 NWSA Garden
High School Duets with a Few Monologues
5:10pm
5:40pm
6:10pm
6:40pm
ARTS AL FRESCO EXHIBITION
DISCIPLINE: INTRA | MULTI | CROSS | INTER | TRAN
In submitting work for Arts al fresco, visual arts students were presented with the concept of Transdisciplinary and Crossdisciplinary practices, its dominance in the art world and how those terms are used interchangeably. “At the core, Intra-Multi-Cross-Inter-Trans disciplinary work is about collaboration among disciplines, people, and/or communities,” explained O. Gustavo Plascencia, NWSA Dean of Visual Arts. “I wanted to challenge the students to work outside of the silos of their own practice, tradition, or cannon and to explore new ways of making collaborations across ideologies, media, and disciplines.”
Building #5 New World Gallery
Arts al fresco exhibition
5-7 PM
About NWSA: Founded by the Florida Legislature more than three decades ago as a center of excellence, New World School of the Arts has educated, trained, and cultivated a generation of artists who have become the artistic leaders of the future. Graduates from the high school and college programs of NWSA are award-winning artists, playwrights and performers with Academy, Emmy, Tony, Grammy and Bessie Awards. They are influential painters, sculptors and graphic designers, and their work thrives in museums and galleries, as well as on stages and concert halls around the globe. Our alumni are a source of inspiration to young artists from all walks of life in our community and in our state, and their success is a testament of the possibilities that emerge when the right blend of support and resources are engaged.
A Florida center of excellence in the visual and performing arts, New World School of the Arts is an educational partnership of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami Dade College and the University of Florida. NWSA provides a comprehensive program of artistic, creative, and academic development through a curriculum that reflects our community and the rich multicultural state of Florida. Through our partners NWSA confers the high school diploma, Associate of Arts degree, and Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees in programs accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance, Music, Theater and Art & Design. New World School of the Arts’ rigorous eight-year curriculum and conservatory-style teaching has empowered students in our community and our nation to become leaders in the arts for more than 30 years.
Providing access is one of New World School of the Arts most important missions. Blind to academic standing at the onset, NWSA’s acceptance policy is based solely on artistic talent. This allows students from all backgrounds, ethnicities and socioeconomic status to compete for their spot in the school’s coveted arts programs based on their individual talent. Once accepted, students are expected to achieve both academically and artistically. Earning respected national merit and leadership-based scholarships such as the Gates Millennium Scholarship, Posse Foundation Scholar, and Presidential Scholar in the Arts, NWSA students have demonstrated over the years that a rigorous arts curriculum not only helps foster their passion and create the next generation or artists, but it also helps students engage and achieve excellence in any academic discipline. Information about New World School of the Arts at 305-237-3135 or at http://nwsa.mdc.edu/
