Mentor Artist Donna Keiko Ozawa joined the production in December to work with the students on stage props and sets. Here are some photos of the process.

Some of the students’ characters required props they could carry on stage. These were fabricated from simple materials: cardboard, wood, craft foam, metal hinges, and stickers. Students learned how to drill, and colored the wood with permanent markers.

Mentor Artist Donna Keiko Ozawa assists Tevin with marking holes for the hinge on the cellphone prop.

Tevin loves woodworking.

Maribel enjoys working with tools.

Jake learns to drill holes for a hinge.

Various cellphones, PDAs and camera props for the show that students made.

Students also used rubber stamps on foam core to create a miniature cityscape to represent San Francisco on one side of  our large prop of the Golden Gate Bridge.

This process also took into account students’ physical and cognitive abilities to create an aesthetic that worked well with theme of the show.  (Spoiler: There is an earthquake involved…)

The cityscape assembled and will be seen off the Bridge (a larger prop not pictured here).

Maggie working on the fascade of a building in the cityscape prop.

Buildings students stamped for the cityscape.

The cityscape prop is light and portable for quick placement on stage.

Can you imagine this cargo ship off the Bay in the distance? (Foamcore, paint, cardboard, hot glue).

Show time is January 12 and 17. Please join us on Thursday January 12th or 19th at 7PM, Tam High’s Caldwell Theatre, 700 Miller Avenue (near the back parking lot) Mill Valley, CA.  Box office opens at 6:30PM and advance tickets are available online as well.

October is a great time to select a program for your school celebrating the unique artistic traditions of Mexico, Central and South America and the Carribean. National Hispanic Heritage Month runs through October 15, celebrating the cultures and contributions of American citizens with roots in these regions, and the important Meso-American holiday of Dia de los Muertos follows right behind on November 1-2.

Youth in Arts is proud to offer your students a wide range of unique arts learning experiences with roots in these diverse parts of the world. Bring one of our artists to your school now, or throughout the year.

Click below to find out more about some of the 45-minute performances available through our School Assemblies Program:

• Balamcoatl Indigenous Meso-American Music & Dance
• Ballet Folklorico by local troupe Ballet Folklorico Netzahualcoyotl or San Francisco-based Ensambles de San Francisco
• Traditional Music from the Andes by Chaskinakuy
• Peruvian Music and Dance by De Rompe y Raja
• Brazilian choro music from Grupo Falso Baiano
• Calypso Songs and Storytelling with Asheba
• Brazilian Capoeira with Maestro Samuka and Capoeira Barauna

Our Artists in Schools program can also provide residencies of any duration in the above music and dance, or visual arts residencies in forms like Cartonería (creation of painted sculptures from recycled paper or cardboard), Huichol yarn painting or the making of traditional Meso-American musical instruments.

National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the cultures and contributions of American citizens with roots in Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The federal observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week and was expanded in 1988 to cover a 30-day period that includes the September 15 independence celebrations for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, as well as Mexican and Chilean independence days on September 16 and September 18 and Día de la Raza (Columbus Day) on October 12. Many communities continue celebrations through October to include Dia de los Muertos on November 1-2.

With help of a generous grant from the California Arts Council and the Laurel Dell PTA, the students of Laurel Dell and Hamilton Elementary were treated to a unique opportunity this Spring.

The multi-part program in Ballet Folklorico was inaugurated with an assembly performances by the Ballet Folklorico Netzahualcoyotl at Laurel Dell, and Ensembles Ballet Folklorico at Hamilton. The troupes performed dances from several regions of Mexico including La Danza de Los Viejitos, which is an allegory for respecting your elders, and Las Amarillas, which shows the beautiful movement of birds. Students learned about each dance and joined along in movements and song!

At Laurel Dell School, Maestro Netza chose to teach the students dances from the Son Jarocho because working with each grade level, he was able to help students share and learn about the diversity of Spanish, Mexican and African Rhythms in Mexico. Netza explained how Africans brought to Mexico as slaves contributed to the styles and rhythms of Son Jarocho. The Jarocho genre evolved from a combination of influences: European, Indigenous and African; making it a Mestizo art form.

The students of Laurel Dell shared the stories of their ancestors from all over the Americas, and through the dances of Son Jorocho, were able to learn more about their own family backgrounds. During their time with Maestro Netza, each grade level learned one of these traditional Sones Jarochos:
Kindergarten: Maria Cirila, About a girl who makes Chocolate
1st Grade: La Guacamaya, about the Macaw bird
2nd and 3rd Grades: La Iguana, Mimicking the movements of the Iguana
4th Grade: El Colas, About a popular boy named Nicolas
5th Grade: La Bamba, The traditional version of the popular song.

The teachers at Laurel Dell also received professional development sessions with Mentor Artist Nydia Gonzalez in which they learned the historical and cultural context of the dances; dance steps; and, how to sing and play instruments to accompany the student performers. This enabled teachers to continue practice when the artist was not there, as well as further integrate the content into academic lessons.

At Hamilton School, YIA Mentor Artist Zenon Barron focused his dance program on the Flowers and Fauna of Southern Mexico, specifically the states of Tabasc, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla and Guerrero. One of the goals of this program was to emphasis the importance of preserving our natural habitats and earth’s animals that are celebrated through traditional dances: Los Quetzales (Colorful Birds), El Zopilote (The Buzzard), La Iguana (The Iguana), Pajaros Azules (Blue Birds), and El Patito (The Little Duck). This process inspired students to explore the imagery and imagine how these animals would move to the rhythms as they learned the steps to the traditional dances.

Each of the students took part in making their own costumes by creating a design sketch and applying their color choices depending on the animal they were depicting in the dance. Each of them transferred the idea to material, creating their costume. This was a theatrical approach, allowing students to further explore the animal movements and attributes.

Students learned to breathe deep, and stretch and strengthen their muscles through some Yoga techniques. A few children commented to Maestro Zenon that they liked learning how to stretch and breathe. One student said that he felt like his heart beat better afterwards. Through dance techniques and floor exercises, students learned to follow choreography creating squares, circles and triangles as a group, and how to move within the limits of the stage space. They also learned how to create the intricate percussive rhythms with their feet, which play a large part in the Folkloric dances of Mexico.

Students at both schools (and some of their teachers!) performed their dance at their school-wide Fiestas, where students were able to compare and contrast the stories, styles, and music of each dance performed, and community members enjoyed the colors and sounds of their festive dances!

Thank you to the California Arts Council for helping us to provide this wonderful program to our community!!

Working with YIA Mentor Artist Brooke Toczylowski in art class the artists learned about plants and trees from the rainforest and created large murals that highlighted their discoveries about science and color mixing. See the previous blog post entitled How Can I Be a Scientist AND an Artist? to check out the process.

After an INSPIRING Teacher Professional Development with Daniel Barash,  a shadow puppet master and the Director of the Shadow Puppet Workshop, the rainforest musical took on a shadow puppet form. Kids created shadow puppets out of simple materials and got excited about practicing their performance. For a packed house they sang songs and bounced their shadow puppets across the three stages.

Julie speaking to MYC students about making the mural.

One of the many Arts Unite Us culminating events was held at The MYC in downtown San Rafael.  Work was presented by students from two Special Day Classes (SDCs) and MYC students of the Intell Clubhouse. The MYC Culinary Arts Program provided the crowd with delicious appetizers and drinks.  Youth in Arts hosted a short program of student presenters.

Grant Grover’s SDC classes from the College of Marin presented their community mural created under the guidance of YIA Mentor Artist Laurie Marshall.  This mural will be mounted on campus at the College of Marin, where it will remind students that “We are all different and we must take care of the Earth!”.

VSA Grant Grover Mural

Students from The MYC’s Intell Clubhouse presented digital media work including Public Service Announcements, digital photography and robotics.  One student spoke about his experience and why he felt it was important to create the work.

Terra Linda’s SDC class taught by Rachel Hughes presented an ASL infused Latin dance choreographed by YIA Mentor Artist Nydia Gonzalez.  The theme of the song was to open your eyes, keep your head up, and enjoy the beautiful things in life!  All students, teachers and family members present joined in the dance!

The event culminated in a fabulous performance by Youth in Arts award winning teen a cappella group ‘Til Dawn.  Thank you to all who attended and we look forward to seeing you at the next event!

Cast members from the show with Elisa Kleven

Youth in Arts’ The Paper Princess and the Piñata premiered to enthusiastic school audiences Friday at the Marin Center Showcase Theatre in San Rafael.

Nearly 700 students, teachers and parents attended the sold out matinee performances of the new musical theatre production, which is based on the book series by Bay Area author/illustrator Elisa Kleven. YIA Director Miko Lee adapted the books for the stage and directed the production.

Original bilingual songs composed by Youth in Arts Mentor Artist Miguel Martinez had the children clapping and singing along in both Spanish and English. The story followed the Paper Princess through a series of gentle adventures, with Elisa’s artwork featured in onstage projections. Beautiful props and scenery also appeared onstage, recreated from Elisa’s illustrations by Miko and YIA Artists in Schools director Suzanne Joyal.

The performance featured Nydia Algazzali Gonzalez as narrator and lead vocalist, with Jalena Keane Lee starring as the Paper Princess. Youth in Arts Mentor Artist Zenon Barron performed several featured dances, including a traditional “bird dance” and a Ballet Folklorico-inspired turn as an animated marionette puppet. Ollin Martinez and Ayame Keane Lee appeared as children who help to create the Princess out of shapes, colors and imagination.

Two additional performances of the piece will be presented to the public Saturday, February 5 at 2 and 4 p.m.

Tickets are available an hour before each show at the Showcase Theatre.

The Paper Princess and the Piñata has been made possible in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the San Francisco Foundation and Autodesk.

Original art by Elisa Kleven

Youth in Arts has been selected by the San Francisco Foundation as one of 14 arts organizations to receive a matching challenge grant to support our World Premiere 2011 production of The Paper Princess and the Piñata!

Before October 10, the San Francisco Foundation will provide a 1-to-1 match of up to $10,000 in donations received in support of this exciting new work.

Donate now to help us secure these funds!

The Paper Princess and the Piñata is based on Elisa Kleven’s award-winning book series. Youth in Arts’ Miko Lee is collaborating with Ms. Kleven and Youth in Arts Mentor Artists Miguel Martinez, Nydia Gonzalez and Zenon Barron to adapt the books for the stage.

The original musical will premiere at the Marin Center Showcase Theatre, February 4-5, 2011, with special performances for student groups and, on Saturday, for families. This project is also supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Click here for more information on this show and other performances in our Youth in Arts Presents series.

And use the Social Media icons below to share this announcement with other friends and supporters of the arts via Facebook and Twitter!

The Global Stage also featured Native American flautist Albert Tenaya and the Filipino-Americans of Marin. Throughout the Fair, Youth in Arts is welcoming professional and community artists from throughout Marin who will share their art and traditions. Stop by and visit 1:30-8:15 through Monday, July 5. For a schedule, click here…

On Thursday, July 1, we kicked things off with Ballet Folklorico Netzahualcoyotl, followed by Native American dance by Eddie Madril and company, a bilingual spoken English and ASL storytelling presentation by Jalena Lee and Pat Sirianni, our own `Til Dawn youth a cappella, and African drumming and dance by Ken Doumbia and Jija.

Check out a few quick highlights:

Stop by the Global Stage from 1:30-8:30 as the Fair continues. A schedule of featured performers for each day is here. For tickets and all the information you need to enjoy the Fair, visit the 2010 Marin County Fair site.

On Friday, May 7^th, the kids of the Twilight After School Program were treated to an excellent display of Mexican Folkloric Dance. The company of young women danced with passion, precision and grace. It was great for our kids to see what can be accomplished with hard work and dedication!