Celebrating 25 years of artistic and academic excellence.
A Center of Excellence in the Visual and Performing Arts, at Miami Dade College - May  2012

OUR TOWN MARKS THE END OF THE THEATER SEASON

Our Town, by one of America's best and most prolific playwrights, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Thornton Wilder, highlights the talent of the NWSA high school juniors and seniors as they present for the last time this year. Written in the mid 1930's, this play poses questions that need to be asked of our nation where there is a firm belief in God, Country and Family. A great American play that has worldwide appeal, it is believed that Our Town is performed every night of the year somewhere in the world. The reason is simple: its themes are basic to human life and it reveals the cycle of living and dying and how that affects individuals, families and communities. 

"Through the play we discover the kind of place Grovers Corners is; a place where people hope and work for a better life. This is not a play unique to America for that's the hope of all peoples who live, work, raise families, and die; it is simply the cycle of life," notes James Randolph, Director of Our Town and acting instructor at NWSA. "Our Town is a great play and deserves study and revival in each generation; the overall goal of this theatre program is to train the students in all types of material. Just as a great musician knows Mozart they must also know Count Basie and The Beatles."

May 17, 18, 19; 7:30 PM

May 20; 2:00 PM

Louise O. Gerrits Theater

25 NE 2nd Street, 8th floor, downtown Miami

General admission $12 / Students & seniors $5

HIGH SCHOOL SPRING DANCE CONCERT

With a varied program of dances, including the first movement of the Balanchine masterwork, Serenade, first performed in June 1934, the NWSA high school dancers will present the popular High School Spring Dance Concert. The evening will also include the exciting tour-de-force jazz piece, Jazzapalooza, choreographed by Dance Division faculty member Tina Santos, set to a collage of jazz works and danced by twelve talented high school students. Another high-energy piece will be the program's final work choreographed by faculty member Peter London, entitled Celia. It is a work for this year's talented senior class set to the music of Celia Cruz and evoking the dance heritage of her native Cuba. Three world premieres by NWSA faculty choreographers will round off the concert - these include Movement is My Language by Rebecca Cannan; Miniatures, by Josée Garant; and Flux by Dale Andree.

May 17, 18, 19; 7:30 PM

May 20; 2:00 PM

New World Dance Theater

25 NE 2nd Street, 8th floor, downtown Miami

General admission $12 / Students & seniors $5

Information at 305-237-3341

An impressive High School Senior Showcase, in celebration of NWSA's 25th anniversary will be presented at Artseen, in the heart Wynwood, featuring 28 talented artists. The works, representative of the various art disciplines emphasized in the visual arts program, encompass painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and installations. Among the exhibitors are twin sisters Erika and Jessica Suhr, who have collaborated in other shows including "A Piece of Me" during Art Basel. For their final showcase the sisters have created an installation, comprised of a black and white drawing with projected imagery from their childhood. Another must-see work is a series of more than a dozen elongated ceramic figures by Maximillian Gonzalez. In spite of the distorted proportions of his work, Maximillian brilliantly infuses his deformed subjects with gentle human-like features.

June 1

Opening Reception: June 1; 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Artseen Gallery

2215 NW 2nd Avenue, Wynwood

Free and open to the public

Information at 305-237-3620

A DOZEN SILVER KNIGHT NOMINATIONS FOR NWSA

With twelve Silver Knight nominations, New World School of the Arts is represented in most of the categories being judged this year, for the first time in the history of the school. Although the students won't know if they will be taking home the coveted Silver Knight statue, they are thrilled to represent NWSA during its 25th year anniversary and did not hold back in sharing their thoughts. "Silver Knight has given me the opportunity to share my experiences in the theater program I created. I can only hope all our stories will serve as inspiration for future students," said May Erlinger, nominee for World Language who will be attending the University of New South Wales to major in Journalism. Meanwhile, Dylan Guerra, also from the theater program notes, "Using the arts to make a difference as well as getting student voices heard in the artistic community has been my ongoing mission throughout high school. Being nominated in the Drama category is just an honor." From the music program, Francis Collins, was nominated for Voice - she comments, "Silver Knight encourages students to recognize the needs of their community and to act upon those needs, in my case, to promote music for students who wouldn't normally have the opportunity to play or perform."

Whether they take home the silver statue or not, these students are already winners having chosen the college where they will pursue their higher education along with their field of study.

• Art, Megan Perritt - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Biomedical Engineering and Math
• Business, Naomi Davis - Southern Methodist University (Meadows School of the Arts): Dance and Business
• Drama, Dylan Guerra - Southern Methodist University (Meadows School of the Arts): Theater Studies
• English & Literature, Crystal Ferreiro - Syracuse University: Acting
• General Scholarship, Javier Aranzales - Harvard University: Pediatric Neurology (*not photographed) 
• Journalism, Stephanie Rasch-Chaves - Stetson University: Journalism
• Math, Taylor Guy Manning - University of Miami: Tuba Performance
• Music & Dance, Frances Collins - Rice University Shepherd School of Music: Vocal Performance
• New Media, Krystal Ortiz - Emerson College: Acting and Communication Disorders and Nutrition
• Science, David Leon - University of Miami Frost School of Music: Jazz Saxophone Performance
• Social Science, Maite Francois - University of Southern California: Neuroscience
• World Language, May Erlinger - University of New South Wales: Media and Journalism          

THE POSSE FOUNDATION AWARDS THREE MORE NWSA STUDENTS

Kandyse Samuel, Emily Rivera and Alexis Holliday have a very special thing in common, and it's not that they're all graduating from NWSA in just a few weeks. Instead it's that the Posse Foundation has recognized their extraordinary academic and leadership potential and awarded them each with a $160,000 to attend the university of their dream.

With plans to follow a college pre-med track and foreign languages studies, Kandyse Samuel will be attending the University of Pennsylvania along with her posse. Described by her guidance counselor Pamela Cabarcos as "helpful, determined, and hardworking", the vocal music student, who works part time to contribute to her family income while managing to be among the top seven percent of her class, is also highly involved in extracurricular activities. Kandyse has held office in various NWSA organizations since her freshman year including secretary and vice-president of the Future Business Leaders of America and treasurer of the Math Honor Society.

 Alexis Holliday, also from the music program, has chosen to attend Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts to major in Health Science while continuing to train her voice. "This scholarship means the world to me," said Alexis who would have attended a local Florida university otherwise. In the top 13 percent of her senior class, Alexis holds a 5.4 weighted GPA and is involved in numerous extracurricular programs, both in the school and in the community. She is Communications Chair of the NWSA High School Choir, and a member of the National Math Honor Society, Voices of Inspiration Club, and National Spanish Honor Society, among others. Alexis has also volunteered at the Salvation Army where she has lead the Angel Tree Project for the past seven years.

Choosing Hamilton College in Clinton New York, Emily Rivera, a dancer at NWSA, aims to earn a degree in English to then continue to pursue a career in Law. Humbled by the scholarship, Emily confesses, "The Posse Scholarship is the best thing that has ever happened to me. To this day, I am still in absolute shock that out of 1000 nominees in Dade County, I was chosen for a Posse!" Emily is in the top 13 percent of her class and, like her Posse peers, she is a highly motivated and driven student. With mover 600 community service hours, she is the Senior class vice-president, French Club vice-president, and an active member of the national honor Society for Dance Arts. During her junior year Emily was the president of the National Honor Society and the Junior class treasurer.

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Written, edited and produced by the NWSA Marketing and Communications Department

Maria M. Flores    Director of Marketing and Communications      mflores1@mdc.edu