Gabrylle Bautista ‘24 (Art 1) created her own Frida Kahlo digital artwork– inspired by Kahlo’s self-portraits
Raina Eichhorn ‘23 (Art 2) recreated Still Life with Parrot and Fruit by Frida Kahlo
Dance
Art students created artist copies of famous Latinx artists to celebrate Latinx Heritage.
Last spring, Dance Teacher Joy Thiesen-Braunstein’s
classes pivoted from their preparations for the Spring Dance Concert to a virtual performance. Instead of
Zhoujue Wu ‘21 (Art 2) recreated Migration is Beautiful by Favianna Rodriguez
Claire Wagner ‘23 (Art 1) recreated a sculpture by Fernando Botero using colored pencils
"The Visual and Performing Arts Department teachers always strive to expose students to different variations of art, artists, and artworks. We teach them to find beauty in everything they see, look into diverse worlds of art to find the deeper meaning, and to use their learned skills and talents to create their own masterpieces." —Nadine Baroudi, Ed.M., VPA Department Chair & Visual Arts Teacher
created their own costumes and recorded themselves for an ensemble video performance.
Studies have shown that dance is beneficial for physical, cognitive and emotional function. We typically start class with a warm up stretch, followed by new dance techniques, then dance choreography. When a student has been sitting at a desk for the majority of a day, stretching helps to alleviate tension that may have built up from being sedentary. Many of the dance techniques we learn in class are physically challenging, which aids in the students’ cardiovascular health and muscle strength. Learning new choreography engages their cognitive functions, as students have to learn specific dance steps to precise musical counts and cues (all on Zoom!). Most importantly, dance helps to aid in the students’ mental well being and stress relief by releasing endorphins and providing an outlet for students to express themselves through movement. Dance provides many benefits especially during this time of Distance Learning. - Joy Thiesen-Braunstein, Dance Teacher
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Jazmine Moran ‘24 (Art 1) recreated Fernando Botero's Mona Lisa
choreography with each other on Zoom. They then
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Katelyn Vo ‘22 (Art 3H) recreated a painting by Cundo Bermudez
Abigail Scully ‘24 (Art 1) recreated work by Favianna Rodriguez
dancing live, Mercy students perfected their dance
THE OAKS WINTER 2020 19
