Local Arts Group Joins Forces with Internationally-Acclaimed Organization Expanding Performing Arts in Corona and Eastvale
Full Description:
Expanding Performing Arts in Corona and Eastvale
For the last few years, ICON Performing Arts (www.iconarts.org) and WBZB Entertainment have presented aseries of performing arts educationalworkshops and events for young people in the Inland Empire.
These programs will continue; but now they will “ramp up” with the resources of The Young Americans (www.youngamericans.org). ;
Beginning January 23, 2012, multi-week sessions will commence on Mondays at Rosa Parks Elementary in Eastvale and on Wednesdays at The Young Americans studios in Corona.
At both locations, students (ages:5-18) will divide into peer/age groups and then rotate between acting, voice and dance classeseach week. At the end of their session, they will participate in a themed musical-varietyperformance for family and friends that will feature a short performance by The Young Americans as a gift to the workshop participants.
One of the things that makes the ICON afterschool and summer workshops special is the staff of instructors and directors. The directors and instructors have all had experience teaching, performing and directing internationally as part of The Young Americans International Music Outreach Tours. The Coronastudents will also have a few of The Young Americans participating in the classes each week.
Bruce Sampson, director and developer for ICON, has served as an associate director for The Young Americans for the past few years. “After years of being thanked and told how much we were changing the lives of young people around the world, we felt it was time to bring this to the kids in our own back yard,” Sampson said. “Daily I get emails and notes from kids and parents around the country and overseas. They all say what a positive difference we’ve made in their communities. But in all those instances, we are only in those areas for three days at a time. Here, we have a chance to do something special that is a long-term investment in our local community. We’re very excited about it!”
As part of this partnership, ICON will also expand its Summer Arts Day Camps at the Young Americans studios in Corona. ICON will expand the number of teachers and programs for its week-long series of summer workshops. These themed summer day camps each last one week and run Monday thru Friday from 9am till 5pm. Students take part in creativity classes and exercises in the mornings and then rotate between acting, voice and dance classes in the afternoons. Each week will culminate in a musical-variety performance for family and friends.
There are also plans to bring back ICON’s Singer-Songwriter workshops this summer. In these workshops, teens will get to work with accomplished writers, arrangers and producers as they explore writing techniques and are introduced to digital recording and sequencing.
“There are so many exciting things in the works and we hope to expand to other cities in the coming year or so,” according to Sampson. “We also hope to involve our students in some community performances and events. We’re look forward to sharing our special brand of performing arts with the community!”
Online registrations for the ICON Performing Arts Afterschool workshops will go live Sunday, December 18th atwww.iconarts.orgFor more information, visit the website or call 951-371-5239.
The Young Americans® were founded almost 50 years ago in Hollywood, CA. For all of these years our purpose has remained the same:
To provide our talented Young American student performers (17-23 years of age) with education in music, dance, performance and teaching methods.
To use this training, and the good will and optimism of these young people to support music in schools and its inherent benefits through conducting International Music Outreach Workshops in educational facilities of all types throughout the world. The three-day workshops culminate in a 2-hour concert featuring the workshop participants performing alongside The Young Americans. The performance is the end result, with the core of the workshop focused on providing experiences and tools to students that yield individual, personal growth and understanding.
The Young Americans consists of 250 members from over 39 states and 8 countries around the world. Among its 3,000+ alumni are professionals in music education, fine arts, motion pictures, television, radio, Broadway and recording. The Young Americans® is a 501(c)(3) corporation. Many of our staff work as volunteers, most are former Young Americans; all are dedicated to the proposition that music and dance, along with the enthusiasm, optimism and good will of our student performers, will make the world a better place.
