NA NEWS
THE ARTS
18
Encore! A BANNER YEAR FOR THE ARTS by Elaine Brodie, Chair, Arts Department
The performing arts at Newark Academy are thriving. The students are charged and excited by their work, sensing the possibilities that lie ahead when they can come together on the stage after endless hours of rehearsal, to create something that is cohesive and complete – something that moves and inspires, and something that one does not easily find the words to describe. Those visions of greatness, those pinnacles, are made tangible and reachable by the performers who have been there themselves, the teachers. They are driven to share this magic with their students, who, in turn, stretch to reach it.
dance 1
encore
The audience was on their feet in Rose Auditorium last spring as more than 100 beaming dancers took their final bow, their faces flushed with excitement. Before the sound of the last cheer died down, Zoe Kay ’13 stepped forward with a bouquet of flowers for her beloved dance teacher of seven years, Yvette Luxenberg. Choking back tears,
winter musical 2
NEWARK ACADEMY
Zoe told us that she discovered a passion when she took her first dance class in sixth grade, and it forever changed her life. This tearful tribute to her mentor was a poignant moment, one that I felt blessed to witness. What is most remarkable, is that this was just one of many such moments that had unfolded before me last spring.
If you were lucky enough to score a ticket to Newark Academy’s winter musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, then you well know what a delight it was. I grinned from the opening number to the curtain call. The large ensemble cast, pit band and stage crew worked tirelessly for months under the expert direction of Scott Jacoby, who has directed 30 years of musicals at Newark Academy. This dazzling, mad-cap, fast-paced performance was so far above a high school level it was easy to forget that the characters on stage were our very own students. The performance of the narrator, referred to as “Man in Chair” and played by Jake Mundo ’14, was nothing short of professional. For three nights he sparked our imaginations and transported us to another place. He soared in that role and took us along for the ride. The elation emanating from Jake as he took his final bow was so tangible I felt I could have snatched it out of the air with my hands.