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Guitar inst ruc dent Felipe tor Joel Davis works w R while readin obin, 7, as he practice ith stus a song g music. DO N BA
“Everyone is a
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www.SDNEWS.com Volume 16, Number 40
Nation’s first fashion film fest returns for second year BY CLAIRE HARLIN
prodigy in some
VILLAGE NEWS
way. Everyone is born with talent, and we are here to help people find and develop these talents. ” ERIN ROBERTS Founder, Prodigy School of Arts
Learning center
cultivates Music stud ent Hallie B odenstab, 14, pra while Prodig ctices a song y Erin Robe School founder rts accom panies on piano. DON BALCH | Village News
Martial arts instructor John Duczakowski practices punches with Maren Ryness at Prodigy School of Arts in Bird Rock." WILL BOWEN | Village News
innate talent BY WILL BOWEN | VILLAGE NEWS According to Erin Roberts, the founder of Prodigy School of Arts, located in Bird Rock at 5725 La Jolla Blvd., all people have innate talent. They just need to have the right situation and right support to help develop it. Roberts said her mission is to assist kids, teens and adults in finding their prodigy within. For this reason, she founded a creative learning center for voice, music, art, theater, creative writing and martial arts. “Everyone is a prodigy in some way. Everyone is born with talent, and we are here to help people find and develop these talents,” she said. Roberts was valedictorian of her high school in Minnesota. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in music theory and voice from the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. After college, she taught in Minnesota, but after visiting San Diego, she decided to move. “I came to visit my dad and immediately fell in love with this place,” she said. “I really did not fit in well with the lifestyle in Minnesota but felt right at home out here.” Roberts’ music teaching career in La Jolla began by driving around giving lessons in the evenings, while teaching at Bird Rock Elementary School during the day. Her private business soon grew, so she hired her sister, Anna Roberts, to help her. She opened a studio called “Key of Blue Music,” and then bought a separate studio to provide art lessons. She called it “The La Jolla Art Studio.” The next step SEE PRODIGY, Page 4
There’s a new movement touching the worlds of both the fashion and film industries, and it started right here in La Jolla. The 2011 La Jolla The La Jolla Fashion Fashion Film Festival Film Fest (LJFFF) — the will take place at the first fashion film fest in Museum of Contemthe United States — is porary Art La Jolla, in its second year, and 700 Prospect St. will bring professionals, Courtesy photo filmmakers and fashionistas from all over the world to the Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla on July 29 and 30. The event will offer exclusive screenings and debuts, industry-led panels and VIP parties at venues including Barfly, 909 Prospect St., and the Sky Room of La Valencia, 1132 Prospect St. Directors from England, Spain, Peru, Japan, Canada, New York, Los Angeles and Brazil have confirmed attendance, and many more are scheduled but not yet confirmed. Although the event is one-of-a-kind, event founder and organizer Fred Sweet said “any good idea attracts other people.” Another fashion film festival has popped up in New York, so in order to keep the La Jolla festival growing, “We have to stay on our game,” he said. Sweet, the CEO of San Diego Model Management, scoured more than 4,000 films submitted for this year’s festival, and only the best of the best will be shown — about 40 films. Last year’s highlights included the special appearances of many directors, actors and actresses who appeared in the films, as well as the fashion designers who created the wardrobes and the outfits worn in the films. “The audience was engrossed by the sights and sounds of a new worldwide art movement,” said Sweet. “The sensuality, drama and glamour all being played out for the first time on the silver screen.” This year’s line-up boasts a few well-known names: Dior's eightSEE LJFFF, Page 5
Where to go
to light up your night on the
Fourth See page 5