PRAIRIE ACADEMY:

Extraordinary By Design

Jaiquan Laurencin

Grand Prairie Independent School District has been encouraging and exposing their students to the visual and performing arts for years by providing fine art schools of choice for elementary to secondary students. Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy (GPFAA) houses both the middle and high school fine art programs for Grand Prairie ISD, serving as the District’s only all advanced academic campus. Since its opening in 2013, Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy Dance Department’s mission has been to facilitate the technical and artistic development of their young artists in preparation for post-secondary studies and professional careers. Following the school’s vision, to be Extraordinary by Design, GPFAA Dance strives to create a unique educational experience for their students. Aiming to equip their dancers with the tools to become successful, well-rounded and marketable artists in a forever evolving art form.

TWO PROGRAMS: MIDDLE + HIGH SCHOOL

Middle school’s program facilitates the technical development of its young dancers. Teaching them the importance of body and spatial awareness, while equipping them with tools for success in and out of the classroom. Their curriculum concentrates on ballet, modern and jazz, along with performance and audition prep. Beyond movement, students dive into the history of dance and anatomy to create a better connection and understanding for dance. As the students progress from 6th to 8th grade, they are prepped for the expectations and requirements of high school dance. 8th grade is the transitional year, in which students begin to explore dance more artistically with a very small introduction to choreography and sometimes improvisation. A formal audition is required in order for them to attend the high school dance program.

The high school dance program facilitates not only the technical but also the artistic development of its dancers. Allowing them to explore finding their artistic voice. The curriculum focuses on more than ballet, modern and jazz but includes aerial silks as well, a genre the dance department feels aligns with the school’s vision of Extraordinary by Design, thus creating a unique educational experience. Other genres include hip-hop/street styles and cultural dance forms which are mainly provided by guest artists yearly.

GPFAA dance department’s philosophy is grounded on the belief that not every dancer’s career will thrive in performance, so a holistic approach is taken. With that in mind, their focus for high school goes beyond technique and performance. Students are exposed to dance history, dance composition, anatomy for the dancer, pedagogy, and dance production. The goal is to to prep the high school students for college, while creating not just a performance based artist but also a marketable and well rounded artist and leader.

GPFAA dance curriculum leaves room for students to take initiative in their dance education. They are provided leadership opportunities to choreograph and teach utilizing their peers and the middle school dancers. Students help organize events through the members of their National Honors Society for the Dance Arts chapter, practice photography within the department and work as crew members during different shows, such as musicals, in a multitude of different positions. This has created a great learning experience for the students, as some stumble upon different career opportunities within dance. In the past the department implemented a departmental project called pathways where students would choose a career pathway in dance besides performance, teaching and choreography to research and put into their 4 year portfolio. Students would interview multiple professionals in their chosen career pathway and write up ways in which they could use that pathway to provide for a community. In some cases, it has resulted in students finding an interest, or even love, for a career pathway they never knew existed.

Besides exploring career opportunities in dance, high school students are given college readiness opportunities as well. As an all advanced campus, our students take advanced academics in middle school and AP classes in high school. An equal amount of focus is put on academics as is on fine arts. Within the dance department, one week out of the year the high school program holds college week, where students research different colleges of interest.

Alumni are usually brought in during this week to teach masterclasses and hold a Q+A to give their insights on the college dance experience. This has always been a great way not only for our high school students to get a perspective on college dance but for alumni to give back as well. Another opportunity is bringing in current faculty from different universities to work with our dancers. Giving them the opportunity to understand all that it takes to be a dance major at a university. Not to mention teaching them how to create a resume and how to properly apply for their college of choice. GPFAA dancers are accepted into college dance programs such as Southern Methodist University, Alonzo King Lines Ballet BFA at Dominican University, Chapman University, CalArts School of Dance, Texas Christian University, Indiana University Contemporary Dance Program, University of Southern California Gloria Kaufman, Oklahoma City University, Arizona State University and many other college dance programs.

Throughout the year, students are provided with multiple performance opportunities in and out of the dance department. One of the biggest performances for both middle and high school is the all school musical. All seven departments, also known as strands, are involved in putting together the musical that is chosen and directed by the theater department yearly. GPFAA creates a culture where they believe it takes a village to raise just one child. An all school musical is just one action in achieving this culture of support for the students. One amazing aspect about GPFAA’s all school musicals is that it provides an opportunity for students in every department to audition for main roles. Dancers are given the option to either audition for the main ensemble or just the dance ensemble. Along with the Directors choosing one or more students to have a small choreographic number in the musical. These students are coached and directed by the Directors throughout this process every step of the way.

Spring semesters are geared towards the yearly dance department shows. These shows include a guest artist concert, senior choreography showcase and middle school dance showcase. Each year guest artists are brought in to work with the dancers as repertoire for their spring dance concert. Some of these artists include Mike Esperanza, Tokyo, Vincent Hardy and Adam McKinney to name a few. In the senior choreography showcase, seniors are spotlighted in a celebration of their final performance of the year. This is the dance department’s student-led show in which the seniors pick their cast, costumes, and work with a professional lighting designer to light their dance, a process that is overlooked and managed by the Directors. Towards the end of the year, the middle school program is given their own show to showcase the versatility in all the styles they study throughout the year. 8th graders are given an opportunity to work with an outside choreographer, while 6th and 7th graders work with either a junior or senior for their guest artist dance. On the other hand, outside performances provide an opportunity for the dancers to connect with the DFW community and to get a perspective on dance beyond just the classroom where well known DFW performance companies perform.

Since Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy is a school of choice, a formal audition is required to attend. The four requirements are an electronically submitted solo, a head shot, a resume and an in person master class. All applicants must electronically submit a 60 second solo in any style. GPFAA Dance celebrates differences and believes that each student can bring value to the program. Understanding that each candidate may be stronger in one style of dance than the other. Once a solo is submitted electronically, then each candidate is required to attend a masterclass in the time slot of the program they are applying for. A hard copy of their head shot and resume is submitted to the Directors. Each master class requires candidates to take a ballet class to get a gauge of their technique level. While middle school applicants take a jazz class, high school takes a modern dance class. Each candidate’s work ethic, positive attitude, authenticity and willingness to try new things is taken into consideration during the audition process. This can possibly outweigh the technical level of the dancer, especially at the middle school level.

As a fairly new fine arts school, GPFAA Dance takes pride in figuring out progressive ways to better their department for the student’s success in college and professional careers.

Fostering a community where differences are celebrated, dancers are valued for what they bring to the program, while equipping them with tools for success. A community that provides opportunities and experiences that will support furthering themselves as not only artists but leaders of the future.