Schools Outreach Program
These are some of the thank you letters from the students of School District 46. They are quite precious! 500 students and teachers from all over the Coast attended the Nutcracker this year. It was a huge success, not only for the students and teachers, but also for the dancers - as the children in the audience had so much energy - the dancers had some of their best performances!
In 2017 we implemented our Schools Outreach Program. We had students from every school in School District 46 attend full performances of the Nutcracker. The students were bussed in from Langdale to Madeira Park and all points in-between. We had 2 shows just for students at 10:00 am on Monday and Tuesday. Approximately 250 students and teachers attended each performance. These performances were not shortened or watered down. They got to experience the full-production! Some of the students and teachers had never been to the theatre before! They cheered as the music started, burst into applause when the curtain opened and were enthralled for the whole performance.
The school teachers received Nutcracker Study Guides before hand. This comprehensive guide not only included the synopsis of the story, information about the composer, but also gave an all-encompassing look at all the rolls needed to bring the ballet to the stage – Lighting Designer, Set Designer, Costume Designer to mention a few. The students were well prepared and excited to see their studies come to life.
During intermission the students had a question and answer period with the Artistic Director – Kathleen Holmes. The questions they asked were pertinent and intelligent. They really understood what they were experiencing. They particularly loved the special effects of smoke and snow.
What is wonderful – we have the opportunity to repeat this in 2018! We have 2 school shows scheduled for Monday and Tuesday December 17th and 18th.
This is so extremely exciting for us – and we are so thrilled to get the chance to bring this to the Coast!
Thank you to the Sunshine Coast Credit Union for their sponsorship of this exciting new program for the children on the Sunshine Coast!
The gasps of wonder swept through the theatre like a breeze through an enchanted forest. “Angels!” children exclaimed as the ballet's Sugar Plum Fairy danced among the ethereal angels, in billowing clouds. The youngsters dominating the crowd, most of them likely first-time ballet patrons, burst into riotous laughter as the Mouse King is unceremoniously taken off stage. They used their newly learned grasp of audience etiquette to enthusiastically shout “bravo” when the Cavalier crossed the stage in impressive leaps and bounds and “brava” when the Sugar Plum Fairy seemed to float through a graceful series of turns. Since the schoolchildren were watching “The Nutcracker,” it's no surprise that the comical Drosselmeyer frequently had them giggling with his antics.
“It gives them the opportunity to go to the ballet when some of them may not ever have that opportunity,” said Holmes, Artistic Director. “(They were) just in awe some of them just walking in the building.”
Watching the crowds of field-tripping schoolchildren filing into the theatre on the recent winter morning, Holmes said she thought back to her own.
“For the dancers, I think it's fun. They hear the energy of the kids. They hear the laughter, they hear the oohs and the ahhs. That's always a great thing for a performer to feel the energy from the audience,” Holmes said.
“Just being at a different point in my life and in my career, for me, it is always about opening doors for the youth. I go back to myself and my own life, it was ballet that really opened a whole other world of possibilities for myself.
“Those worlds of possibilities for these kids is not always that they're going to become a performer, but it is going to see the theatre for the first time, it's stepping into a cavernous, incredible theater for the first time, just experiencing a theatrical production. Of course, there are those segments of youth that it does light a light bulb above their head, and it does pique an interest. Whether it's music or dance or theater, acting, singing, they understand that there's another avenue … to them that in their day-to-day education with public schools may not be as clearly drawn out to them.”
Support from local businesses and grants should enable Coasting Along Theatre to offer their Nutcracker performances at discounted rates to the schools and students.
“It's just so great for them to be able to come to the theatre and experience live, professionally produced ballet!”
She said she hopes that children who come to the performances have a positive experience with an art form that many are experiencing for the first time.
The school teachers received Nutcracker Study Guides before hand. This comprehensive guide not only included the synopsis of the story, information about the composer, but also gave an all-encompassing look at all the rolls needed to bring the ballet to the stage – Lighting Designer, Set Designer, Costume Designer to mention a few. The students were well prepared and excited to see their studies come to life.
During intermission the students had a question and answer period with the Artistic Director – Kathleen Holmes. The questions they asked were pertinent and intelligent. They really understood what they were experiencing. They particularly loved the special effects of smoke and snow.
What is wonderful – we have the opportunity to repeat this in 2018! We have 2 school shows scheduled for Monday and Tuesday December 17th and 18th.
This is so extremely exciting for us – and we are so thrilled to get the chance to bring this to the Coast!
Thank you to the Sunshine Coast Credit Union for their sponsorship of this exciting new program for the children on the Sunshine Coast!
The gasps of wonder swept through the theatre like a breeze through an enchanted forest. “Angels!” children exclaimed as the ballet's Sugar Plum Fairy danced among the ethereal angels, in billowing clouds. The youngsters dominating the crowd, most of them likely first-time ballet patrons, burst into riotous laughter as the Mouse King is unceremoniously taken off stage. They used their newly learned grasp of audience etiquette to enthusiastically shout “bravo” when the Cavalier crossed the stage in impressive leaps and bounds and “brava” when the Sugar Plum Fairy seemed to float through a graceful series of turns. Since the schoolchildren were watching “The Nutcracker,” it's no surprise that the comical Drosselmeyer frequently had them giggling with his antics.
“It gives them the opportunity to go to the ballet when some of them may not ever have that opportunity,” said Holmes, Artistic Director. “(They were) just in awe some of them just walking in the building.”
Watching the crowds of field-tripping schoolchildren filing into the theatre on the recent winter morning, Holmes said she thought back to her own.
“For the dancers, I think it's fun. They hear the energy of the kids. They hear the laughter, they hear the oohs and the ahhs. That's always a great thing for a performer to feel the energy from the audience,” Holmes said.
“Just being at a different point in my life and in my career, for me, it is always about opening doors for the youth. I go back to myself and my own life, it was ballet that really opened a whole other world of possibilities for myself.
“Those worlds of possibilities for these kids is not always that they're going to become a performer, but it is going to see the theatre for the first time, it's stepping into a cavernous, incredible theater for the first time, just experiencing a theatrical production. Of course, there are those segments of youth that it does light a light bulb above their head, and it does pique an interest. Whether it's music or dance or theater, acting, singing, they understand that there's another avenue … to them that in their day-to-day education with public schools may not be as clearly drawn out to them.”
Support from local businesses and grants should enable Coasting Along Theatre to offer their Nutcracker performances at discounted rates to the schools and students.
“It's just so great for them to be able to come to the theatre and experience live, professionally produced ballet!”
She said she hopes that children who come to the performances have a positive experience with an art form that many are experiencing for the first time.
