Arts Education
Did you know there is a fun and interesting way to learn geometry? Maybe not… But you would if dancer Becky Coxe, one of our Community Artists, had helped you learn it through dance. Becky is one of the many artists on the Arts Council's Artist Roster who works with students in schools in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. She teaches geometry through the art of dance. Visual artist, Lori Alexander, teaches students about the Renaissance by using elements of painting and drawing to create their own masterpieces. Arts programs like these make an unforgettable impression on young minds.

The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge Presents:
The Performing Arts Institute
October 16 & 17, 2009

The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge through the support of the Dana Foundation presents, The Performing Arts Institute. We invite you to advance your teaching to a higher level and join master artists and educators Ginny Medina-Hamilton, Sonya Robinson & Cissy Whipp for two days of interactive training in dance, music & theater. Participants will learn expanded approaches to teaching & learning through exploration, guided inquiry and reflection. This institute is designed to give performing arts; specialists, teachers and teaching artists the tools they need to:

• Empower arts education to impact students
• Gain more in-depth professional development in the performing arts
• Utilize the newly created performing arts curriculum
• Build 21st Century Skills
• Provide opportunities to network with other performing arts educators

The Performing Arts Institute will take place October 16 & 17, 2009 8:30am-4:00pm at the
Baton Rouge Little Theatre located at 7155 Florida Boulevard

To register for The Performing Arts Institute Contact Toni Brown at 225-344-8558 ext. 231 or by email at tbrown@acgbr.com. Register by October 2nd to ensure availability. The cost of the Institute is $250/Participant. Area hotel accommodations will be available at the Radisson Hotel of Baton Rouge and must be secured by each registered participant. Download the registration form Here

Day 1:
Begin the big picture & 21st Century Skills

Day 2:
A closer look into the newly created performing arts curriculum & putting it all together

Funding for this project is provided by DANA Foundation Arts Education Rural Initiative, which grants professional development programs for arts educators in rural areas of the United States. The Foundation is interested primarily in training for in-school arts specialists and professional artists who teach the performing arts to students pre-K-12 in the public schools.

Presenters Biographies:
Sonya Robinson has 17 years experience as a classroom teacher, teaching artist, and arts in education consultant. As a Lincoln Center Institute Teaching Artist she partnered with colleges and universities to introduce preservice teachers to the pedagogy and integration of aesthetic education. As an accomplished singer and actor, Sonya lives in New Orleans, where she mentors teachers through the AXIS (Arts Experiences in Schools) Program and serves as the Program Development Director for the Music National Service Initiative.

Ginny Medina-Hamilton currently is the instructor of Talented Vocal Music for the Terrebonne Parish School District. She spent nine years as a director of concert and show choirs and musical theatre at Vandebilt Catholic in Houma and has served as adjudicator for Solo, Small and District Large Ensemble Festivals throughout South Louisiana. For the past thirteen years she has been an active member of the District VII Choral Directors Association holding various leadership positions.

Mary Francis “Cissy” Whipp has been working as a performer, choreographer and dance educator for over 25 years. She has presented workshops nationally on integrating dance into the curriculum for the John F. Kennedy Center’s Education Department since 1999. She received her B.F.A.in Choreographic Design from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and her M.A. in Performing Arts: Dance from the American University in Washington, D.C. She has taught for several university dance programs and currently is teaching creative movement and dance at the J. W. James Elementary Arts & Technology Academy in Lafayette, Louisiana.


Partnerships in Arts Education

The Arts Council continues its partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education program, providing classroom teachers professional development experiences that enhance their understanding of the arts and teach effective techniques to reinforce the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum.

The Professional Development program is supported by a grant from the Louisiana State Arts Council through the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Hurricane Katrina Displaced Residents Fund
 The Arts Council’s Education Department offered programs to the residents of the Renaissance Village transitional living community.

Program components included:

After-School Program providing professional artists to teach the arts to school age children three times per week.
Seniors Program providing arts classes once a week.
Community in Concert Program offering special performances and lecture demonstrations presented by Baton Rouge performing arts organizations in connection with their annual performing arts seasons.

This programming was made possible through the generous support of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

Poetry Out Loud encourages youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance and helps them master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation partnered with State Arts Agencies to launch Poetry Out Loud nationwide. The Arts Council’s Arts Education Department is serving as project director for the state of Louisiana. Students from the regions of Lake Charles and Baton Rouge competed at the school level and the regional level, to make it to the State Finals. On Saturday, March15th, six finalists competed for the State Final position at the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge.

In 2008, Mercedes Wilson of Baton Rouge Magnet High won the competition and will represent Louisiana at the National Competition in Washington, DC on April 27-29, 2008. The Arts Council sends congratulations to all the students and teachers that participated around the state. our six finalists for their outstanding performances, and Mercedes Wilson as she represents us in Washington.

School Readiness Through the Arts
Click here to see photographs of the School Readiness Through the Arts Program.
Artist Roster of the Arts Council
The Artist Roster is a current listing of highly qualified artists who are available to teach their area of expertise in schools, the Community School for the Arts and throughout the community.

Accomplished artists in the disciplines of dance, creative writing, music, theater and visual arts are invited to apply. Applicants will be evaluated by a jury composed of experts in arts education, professional artists, community volunteers and representatives of the Arts Council.  Selection criteria includes professionalism, education, training, proven expertise in an arts discipline, and the ability to teach the arts to students. Accepted applicants will be eligible to participate in the Arts Council's Arts Education programs as artists in the classrooms and Community School for the Arts. 

The Council serves an eleven-parish area.  Qualified artists from the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana are encouraged to apply.

Artist Roster application
For more information about these programs or to bring a program to your school, contact Toni Brown, Arts Education & Community School for the Arts Director, at 344-8558 or tbrown@acgbr.com.


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