Las Vegas Academy

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Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing, and Visual Arts
Las Vegas Academy, Est. 1992
Location
315 S. 7th St.
Las Vegas, NV, 89101
Information
School type Magnet High School
Established 1992
School district Clark County School District
Dean Matt Jackson
Tom Torres
Principal Andre Long
Vice principal Linda Shillingstad and Anita Taylor
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1600
School Colour(s) Teal and silver
         
Publication Accolades
Website http://www.ccsd.net/schools/LVAISPVA

The Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts is a magnet high school located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. It is considered one of the most prestigious arts schools in the United States, boasting the area's top performing arts facilities and faculty. Students are accepted through an audition process and claim a "major" pertaining to performing arts, visual arts, or foreign languages.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Las Vegas High School

The Las Vegas Academy's campus is located at the original site of Las Vegas High School, which was constructed in 1930 and opened in the fall of 1931. Las Vegas High School was the first high schools in Las Vegas but caused controversy at the time for its location being too far from where people lived (which has changed as the city grew around the school). The school originally had three buildings: the tri-level Main building on the corner of 7th St. and Bridger Ave., the Gymnasium, and a third building that was torn down in 1950. Las Vegas High School is now a historical landmark in Las Vegas, representing the best of the art-deco architecture of the 1930s. The school's outer appearance has been maintained but the interior has been changed since its original construction.

[edit] Las Vegas Academy

In 1992, plans for a magnet school for the arts were announced, and on August 23, 1993, Las Vegas High School was re-opened as the Las Vegas Academy for International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts by founding principal Bob Gerye. Starting with only 735 students, the student body has since grown to an excess of 1600 students attending the school pursuing majors in the performing and visual arts, and international studies.

[edit] Theatrical Venues

[edit] Performing Arts Center

The Performing Arts Center is the original theater, built in the 1950s and rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Mr. Petri (whose identity is unknown). It has 1427 seats, and features an art deco façade and old ceramic sculptures on the walls. The building is one of the oldest performing arts structures in Las Vegas. Recent renovations have made the building safe and user-friendly. The theater now features winch motor electrics, a newly renovated stage floor, and theatrical lighting, rigging, and sound systems.[1]

[edit] Academy Theater Black Box

Located at Vocational Hall on the corner of 10th St. and Lewis Ave., the Black Box is a versatile and intimate space that was recently renovated, allowing it to function as a rehearsal and performance space, as well as a classroom. Several of the theater class showcases take place in the Black Box, as well as the Studio Series of shows introduced in the 2006-2007 school year. The Black Box features a wooden floor, a wall of mirrors, and a complete Z-bar riser system which allows for many arrangements and anywhere from 40 to 150 seats, depending on the needs of the show at hand.[1]

The Las Vegas Academy Lowden Theatre for the Performing Arts

[edit] Las Vegas Academy Lowden Theater for the Performing Arts

The Lowden Theater began construction in 2004, and was completed along with the Visual Arts building in time for the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year. The theater is unique and designed specifically with the needs of Las Vegas Academy in mind. Amenities include a theater technologies studio and computer lab, as well as a fully equipped shop and yard for construction. The stage house features a full fly system, an extensive trap and link lift orchestra pit, and a fully-enclosed dark maple orchestra shell. There are two large dressing rooms and a green room that functions also as a communal makeup room. The soaring lobby espouses a modern art deco theme, which ties the old architecture from around the campus into the clean lines of modern utilitarianism. The Lowden Theatre was named after two Las Vegas art veterans, Rob and Sue Lowden.[1]

[edit] Majors

The Las Vegas Academy lists a selection of majors for which students audition and then focus on throughout their four years of high school alongside standard academic coursework. Students go through an audition process in order to be admitted to the Academy. Along with a successful audition, in order to receive admittance into the Academy, an applicant must have a grade point average to a 2.0 or higher.[2]

[edit] Dance

Students are introduced to a wide range of dance experiences and activities that will enhance basic movement technique and creativity. Instruction is given in modern dance, ballet, jazz, and ethnic dance, as well as choreography, creative movement, dance history, and improvisation. The department also offers dance electives for students who are not dance majors.[3]

[edit] International Studies

Students are provided with an instructional program of study that includes foreign language, geopolitical understanding, multicultural appreciation, and knowledge of world regions. The language programs incorporate total immersion in the student's target language with cultural aspects of those linguistic regions. The department offers concentrations in:

  • French
  • Japanese
  • Spanish

[edit] Music

Students participate in comprehensive activities that include instruction in brass, guitar, percussion, piano, strings, vocal, woodwinds, basic musicianship, history, music technology, theory, and world music. Students have the opportunity to participate in bands, guitar ensembles, madrigals, Mariachi ensembles, mixed choirs, orchestras, jazz ensembles, piano ensembles, wind ensembles and small ensembles in both rehearsal and performance settings. The department offers concentrations in:

  • Band

There are several band programs at the Academy: jazz band, chamber band, and symphonic band. Students have the opportunity to join several school trips throughout the year. The bands are divided up into three placement sections: Varsity I, Varsity II, and Varsity III. During the 2007-2008 school year, the Varsity II and Varsity III band majors attended a music festival in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[4]

  • Choir

The choir program is a program for 180 of Las Vegas's most talented vocal students. There are four choirs for which students can audition: Women's Chorus, Advanced Mixed Ensemble, Advanced Women's Ensemble, and the Las Vegas Academy Singers. [5]

  • Guitar

The guitar program at the Las Vegas Academy contains some of the most talented guitar players in the Las Vegas valley. The guitar program was started in the 2002-2003 school year with current guitar instructor and of the Las Vegas Academy Music Department, Bill Swick. As with the band program, the guitar program also contains Varsity I, Varsity II, and Varsity III levels.

  • Mariachi

The mariachi program contains students from all over Clark County who play in a mariachi ensemble with either a violin/viola, guitar/guitarron, or trumpet.[6]

  • Orchestra

The orchestra program at the Las Vegas Academy is one of the most selective and premier orchestras for the most talented orchestral students in the Las Vegas valley. There are currently four levels of orchestras at the Las Vegas Academy. Students play music from orchestra literature, including full orchestra repertoire in collaboration with the Band Department, during their various orchestra concerts during the Academy school year. In 2008, the Las Vegas Philharmonic was lauded as the top full orchestra in the country by the American String Teacher's Association. The top orchestra and select chamber groups are also slated to participate in the prestigious Midwest Clinics for the next school year.[6][7]

  • Piano

The piano program at the Las Vegas Academy has three levels of piano classes for each individual student at the Academy.[6]

  • World Jazz Studies

The world jazz studies program works in syncopation with the band program as students undergo a rigorous and competitive audition process in order to be admitted to the Academy. In recent years, the jazz program has placed as one of the top 3 jazz bands in the west coast. Along with big band, the Academy's combo won the Downbeat Award in 2008. There are three levels of jazz bands: Jazz I, Jazz II, and Jazz III. The department has worked with Anita Brown, Chris Potter, Ndugu Chancler, Randy Brecker, and others.[8]

[edit] Theatre

The theatre department contains two components: Acting and Theatre Technologies. Academy Theatre has produced several celebrated productions throughout its 14-year history, including five productions staged at the International Thespian Festival.[9]

  • Acting

The acting program provides an overview of theater and gives participants many opportunities to perform, from small classroom scenes to major productions. Basic acting skills are developed through improvisation, movement, and exercises for the actors. Acting students learn a broad cross-section of theatre theory and philosophy, and work toward placement in strong college theatre programs throughout the country. Recent productions at the Academy include Sweeney Todd, Cats, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, The Laramie Project, The Elephant Man, Execution of Justice, and The Wiz.

For a more extensive list of Academy Theatre productions, see the List of Las Vegas Academy theatre productions.
  • Theatre Technologies

The technical theatre program provides students with training in lighting, sets, sound, and design for productions held in both large and small venues. Using various forms of technology and class work that centers on proper terminology, safety, and backstage procedures, technical theatre majors develop and build computer skills necessary for the entertainment world. Internships with Celine Dion Associates, the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas, and other companies in the city provide the students with real-world experience and professional contacts.

[edit] Visual Arts

The visual arts program offers young artists personalized instruction and in-depth studio experiences in drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, computer graphics, textiles, sculpture, ceramics, aesthetics, art history, and videography. Majors participate in various art shows throughout the school year in order to showcase their various art works to the general public and community.[10] The department offers concentrations in:

  • Broadcast Journalism
  • Visual Design
  • Photography'

However, Broadcast Journalism is being phased out or being merged with Film Studies and it is unclear what will happen to that.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c http://www.lvacademytheatre.org/history.html
  2. ^ http://www.ccsd.net/schools/LVAISPVA
  3. ^ http://www.ccsd.net/schools/lva/Majors_dance.html
  4. ^ index
  5. ^ Las Vegas Academy Choir Department
  6. ^ a b c http://www.ccsd.net/schools/LVAISPVA/Majors_Music.html
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ LVAjazzband.com - Home
  9. ^ Las Vegas Academy Theatre Home Page
  10. ^ www.ccsd.net/schools/lva/Majors_VAFiles.html
  11. ^ http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Jan-12-Fri-2007/weekly/11885925.html
  12. ^ http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=6528476
  13. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2179180/bio
  14. ^ MySpace.com - baron vaughn (insert made up german name) - Queens, NEW YORK - www.myspace.com/baronvaughn
  15. ^ http://www.viewnews.com/2008/VIEW-Aug-19-Tue-2008/East/23340343.html
  16. ^ a b http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/classic/vegas06/soiree1/soiree1.html
  17. ^ http://www.dancewatcher.com/dancing-with-the-stars-cast-members/
  18. ^ http://www.aetv.com/kingofcars/king_episodeguide.jsp?episode=215369
  19. ^ http://www.wadihs.com

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas_Academy"
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