Ms. Nancy Online

Our next performance at Cerritos, Tuesday, January 29th at 11:30 is a 45 minute opera based on Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Aimed at grades 3-6, students will be transported to colonial America where our wily hero, Figaro, with his band of sneaky barbers and mercenaries, leads us on a delightful musical goose-chase. Ultimately, he outsmarts his adversary and love triumphs as his friend, the Count, wins the hand of his beloved.

The program, produced by the LA Opera, features seven professional opera singers and an orchestra of four. This company, which performed The Prospector for the last two years at Cerritos, has been a Julian favorite and has brought the sophisticated art form of opera to a level children can appreciate. While drawing together the elements of narrative, visual, and musical to tell a dramatic story, themes such as perseverance, class struggle, trickery and women’s rights are discussed. Students attending the performance will be given support documents and assignments.

For those of you who signed up for The Nutcracker, remember to be at the front of Cerritos Performing Arts Center by 11:05 and gather around the Julian sign. They will not seat us until we are all there, so everybody is depending on you to get there on time. Please review with your student the following so they can better appreciate the performance. Content is taken from the curriculum guide prepared by the Friends of Arts Education at the Cerritos Center.

The story…It is Christmas Eve. Maria and her brother Fritz are anticipating with excitement and impatience the celebration that will take place in their beautiful home in Frankfurt. They are wondering if all their guests will come despite the snow storm. Maria is especially concerned about their godfather, Papa Drosselmeyer. The godfather arrives late and brings with him extraordinary presents among which is an unusual nutcracker that turns out to be a young, handsome prince. Thanks to Nutcracker, Maria is freed of undesirable guests, the mice, and travels to a world of magic and enchantment with her prince. They are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy, and entertained by acrobats and dancers from all over the world! Was it just a dream? What do you think?

The story of the story…The history of the Nutcracker tale is as rich as the story itself. Nearly two centuries ago, in 1815, the German writer E.T.A. Hoffman published a story called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, telling how a little girl’s love brought to life her cherished Nutcracker, an enchanted Christmas gift from her mysterious godfather. In 1847, the French writer Alexandre Dumas published a retelling of Hoffman’s story. From this adaption, the Russian composers Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky and choreographer Lev Ivanov created their ballet, The Nutcracker, which was first performed in St. Petersburg in 1892. Why has The Nutcracker remained so popular throughout the world? As the story explains, “if you love something very much, it is always alive.”

Writing application: Do you have a toy or an object that you love so much you wish it would come to life? If so, describe how you imagine that experience. What conversations would you have with that come-alive object? What in your world would surprise your come-alive object? What would you do on your first day together? (Many of my students (particularly boys) have loved The Indian in the Cupboard books which follow this pattern. ) Non-writers can draw a picture of the object and dictate a story.

Cerritos Performing Arts Center has presented another wonderful schedule of events that I previewed a few weeks ago. Out of the 25 performances available, I have requested that we be included in the following:

• Hap Palmer Live! (10/22/07) (Grades Pre-K-3)
• San Jose Taiko (11/6/07) (Grades K-12)
• The Nutcracker (11/27/07) (Grades 1-7)
• Figaro’s American Adventure (1/29/08) (Grades 3-6)
• Aesop’s Fables II (2/5/08) (Grades K-4)
• Letters to Harriet Tubman (2/13/08) (Grades 4-8)
• Little Red Riding Hood and Other Stories (2/19/08) (Grades 1-4)
• The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (2/20/08) (Grades 3-7)
• The Disneyland Band (3/3/07) (Grade 2)
• Ling Jin Chinese Dance (3/4/08) (Grades K-8)
• The Velveteen Rabbit (4/8/08) (Grades 1-4)

While the grades listed have been suggested by Cerritos, we have found over the years that performances can be seen by a wider age range, depending on your particular child. While I have submitted an application for all these performances, we will probably not be able to get all of them as they use a lottery system. However, if we have a representative at the professional development workshop we are able to take the place of educators that don’t show up…and that frequently happens! While the timing of these workshops is inconvenient for all of you because you will have to get a babysitter, they would be very helpful to you as parent educators. And they serve yummy cookies and tea/coffee! Let me know if you are interested in attending a particular workshop. I will attend as many as I can, but I will definitely need some help if we are going to go to all of these! I will send emails to people on my roster when we are confirmed for performances.

Cerritos has just informed us that they have openings available for us because Keesha and Margo attended professional development workshops. Thank you to them! I am taking reservations immediately, so please call me if I haven’t talked to you already. Here is what is available:

Monday, December 4, 2006 @ 11:30 (arrive by 11:05) Grades Pre-K to 2

Christmas is here and Franklin decides to have the best party ever! Beaver takes care of entertainment while Bear cooks the food, sampling everything he makes. Fox gathers Christmas decorations for the perfect Christmas tree that Franklin must find all by himself! Students join Franklin and friends as they go on magical adventures with a dancing snowman, a wacky gingerbread bear, and a trio of playful elves. Everyone, including audience members, celebrate the holiday season with lots of singing, dancing, and the Christmas spirit!

Performed with larger than life animated characters (actors in costumes), this musical features beloved Franklin the Turtle and his friends as we see them in story books. The breathtaking scenery gives audience members the impression of turning the pages of a giant story book. Franklin’s Family Christmas Concert is heartwarming. Young students leave the theater wanting to read all of Franklin’s stories! 

Tuesday, December 5, 2006 @ 11:30 (arrive by 11:05) Grades 4 to 8

A Celtic Christmas features stories, music, songs, and dances from the infinitely rich treasure of Ireland’s cultural heritage. The show recreates the joy and innocence of a night before Christmas in a farmhouse. Neighbors gather around a fire on a long wintry night. They laugh, tell stories, play music, and dance to find joy. Long before Riverdance, ordinary Irish men and women knocked sparks off the flagstone floors of their cottages with jigs, reels, and hornpipes and the rafters rang with the fiery music of the fiddle, bodhran, tin whistle, and the mesmerizing ulleann pipes. Along with Tomaseen Foley, gifted dancers and musicians bring to life such a night, taking us back to a time when television and electronic devices were not yet invented. This is an uplifting performance for everyone!

Russian Seasons Dance Company
Grades 4-12

Friday, October 27, 2006 @ 11:30
The name “Russian Seasons” is a metaphor evoking the many facets of this dance company. From the traditional Kalinka to cutting edge modern dance, Russian Seasons Dance Company gives an overview of the richly textured Russian culture. The traditional dances take us back to a time when men demonstrated their athletic abilities through physically demanding steps on complex rhythms, and women projected an ethereal quality in highly structured dances. The company also performs a breathtaking modern piece with two dancers on skis. The music and the costumes are as varied as the dances. The dynamic and energetic company inspires everyone!

Anaheim Ballet: Carnival of the Animals
Grades 2-6

Tuesday, October 31, 2006 @ 11:30

This one-act ballet with live music and narration presents a novel approach to this traditional work. Anaheim Ballet’s original choreography expands on Camille Saint-Saens’ familiarizing the audience with a few lesser known musical works by the illustrious composer. Freeway Philharmonic provides live accompaniment for the dancers with instruments such as the Chapman Stick and electric viola. In this celebration of the imagination, each aspect of the ballet—the movements, the costumes, the lighting design, and the live music—is a delight for the senses and the narration provides invaluable insight into the world of dance. In addition, students will have the opportunity to meet Anaheim Ballet Co-Director Lawrence Rosenberg during a question and answer session integrated into the performance.

Journeys to the Past    
Grades 3-6

Tuesday, November 7, 2006 @ 11:30

Imagine opening a history book about a Native American tribe, the Acjachemen from San Juan Capistrano in Southern California. The book has many vivid illustrations depicting the Acjachemen’s life. Imagine stepping into these illustrations with a tribe member as your narrator. You experience indigenous cooking, the art of weaving baskets, children’s games, community celebrations, and more.

In this play, a modern-time working mother wishing her life was less hectic, takes us back to her ancestor’s way of life. The talented actress/storyteller Jacque Nunez takes us back to a time when the beautiful Acjachemen Nation flourished along the California coast, through the re-creation of an early California Indian village. This performance features an all tribal cast. Jacque Nunez herself is a ninth-generation Rios (the name given to the Acjachemen by the Spanish) whose ancestors built the Mission at San Juan Capistrano. This energetic and interactive performance engages the audience from beginning to end.

Note: Remember if you sign up, you must come as seats are reserved for you.

I will have the sign up sheets at the table next Thursday for performances or you can call me any time. If you are interested in attending a professional development workshop, please let me know so we can cover them all. They are our ticket in as well as a great way to learn new ideas to take home.

I will be bringing each of you an Educator’s Handbook describing more fully the performances available this season, however here are the offerings by discipline. It should be a fun and exciting year!

DANCE:

• Russian Seasons Dance Company
• Carnival of the Animals
• Korean Classical Music & Dance Company
• Arte Flamenco Dance Theatre
• Pilobolus

MUSIC:

• A Celtic Christmas
• Disneyland Band
• Korean Classical Music & Dance Company
• The Prospector
• A Whisper in the Desert (Sierra Room-Limited Seating)

THEATRE:

• Journeys to the Past
• Franklin’s Family Christmas Concert
• Captain Louie
• Tales of the Ashanti
• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
• The Color of Justice
• Junie B. Jones
• Smokescreen
• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie & Other Story Books
• The Last, The Very Last… Butterfly
• Alice by Whoopi Goldberg
• Leo Lionni’s Swimmy, Fredrick, and Inch by Inch

I will get sign-up sheets to the learning center next week that will indicate dates, descriptions of performances as well as suggested grade level appropriateness.

Today the new season for the Performing Arts Center was announced. My hope is that more parents will attend the professional development workshops this year. When I meet with you at our monthly meeting, let me know what performances interest you. Like other years, the performances feature dance, music and theater, and many use aspects of all the disciplines. Each performance states a target audience age.

A major change in policy is that the center is asking that we not bring children under four if they are not able to sit through a performance. This is so wiggling/talking/crying will not disturb anyone else. I guess there were times when this was a problem last year. Perhaps we can share babysitting so the moms of little people can go to some performances.

Like last year, if our attendance numbers are different than the number of seats we reserve, we will be charged for the ticket. The point is that they want to fill the theater, so please don’t sign up if you don’t intend to come. The center pays $5,000–$10,000 for these artists to come plus travel and overhead, so please honor the gift that someone is giving so we can attend free.

Tomorrow I will put up the schedule of performances with descriptions.