To welcome the new batch of aspiring artists, NWSA has planned the 2013 Orientation Week, a week filled with exciting activities and programs designed to introduce the college students to the many aspects of life in downtown Miami, as well as to familiarize them with faculty and staff, advising and social events, and academics and student life. The week takes off with breakfast and a program for students and their parents to meet other incoming students, Orientation Leaders, faculty and staff, and through a multi-disciplinary performance, sample what New World School of the Arts is all about.   

Click on this photo to see and print the complete Orientation Program

The rest of the week promises to be just as exciting, offering students a plethora of activities that include, among others, financial workshops where students will be introduced to the basics of budgeting and financial management, relaxing Yoga classes to help alleviate the stress associated with being in a new environment , an adventurous community service event to Miami Metro Zoo, where participants will have the opportunity to win a $500 scholarship, and many other workshops that will ease the transition to college and encourage new friendships.

Orientation week will conclude with a Welcome Back Bash where new students will not only be invited to socialize and get tastefully rowdy, but they will also find out who is the lucky winner of the $500 NWSA Scholarship Sweepstake!

Two NWSA dancers have made it from the regional auditions to the Las Vegas callbacks in the fierce competition to be selected to perform in the live shows of So You Think You Can Dance this summer. Gaby Marques, who graduated this year from the NWSA High School, participated in the first audition in Detroit, and went on to Las Vegas. NWSA College sophomore, Tessa Garcia (who attended the NWSA High School for two years before beginning as a College freshman in Fall 2012) auditioned in Memphis, making it through to the recent Vegas call-backs. Good luck to both as the competition continues!

Gaby Marques at the Las Vegas Call-Backs - So You Think You Can Dance

Dance Division 2013 alumni are making their mark in the dance world, already working with some of the country's most prestigious dance companies.  Stephanie Fuentes, who choreographed "=", Rising Star's first student choreographed work this past spring, has been invited to join the Graham II company, which performs the work of legendary modern-dance pioneer Martha Graham. Alyssa Thompson has joined Salt Lake City's Repertory Dance Theater, which just celebrated its 48th anniversary as an anchor component of the Salt Lake City arts community, and a repository of works by an eclectic assortment of prominent choreographers. Says Thompson, "I am very excited to join RDT in its 48th season and grateful to NWSA for teaching me the importance of learning and preserving classical modern dance."

Justin Perez, also from the class of 2013, has been overseeing administration of the Joffrey Summer programs in New York, California (Los Angeles), and now Texas and dancing and performing as part of this experience. "Upon Graduation from the BFA Program at New World School of The Arts I was offered to become the Chief Administrator of Joffrey Ballet School. I have been given the opportunity to give back to the community and travel all over the globe. NWSA prepared me fully to take on this job with the rigorous curriculum and demanding rehearsal schedule as a student - at NWSA you learn time management and patience two necessities needed in any job. Through classes like Dance Teaching Methods you learn how to deal with different personalities and teach all different types of students. Not only did NWSA prepare me for the professional world as a dancer but also as an administrator for any arts program. Thank you NWSA you will always be family."

And last, but definitely not least, Johan Rivera has been invited to join Ballet Hispanico. Now celebrating 42 years of dance and culture, this New York City-based dance company is recognized as the nation's leading Latino dance organization. "Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to audition for one of the companies that I was aspiring to be in while I was in school. Today I am grateful to be a member of that company, Ballet Hispanico, in New York City. My hard work combined with the NWSA training and guidance has prepared me for this moment in my life. I know that the groundwork I received here has helped me cultivate my dancing and will continue to do so for the rest of my career," said Rivera.

In other exciting dance alumni news, Melissa Toogood (NWSA College 2004), who danced with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 2007 through it's final performances in December, 2011, has been nominated for a prestigious Bessie Award as Outstanding Performer in choreographer Pam Tanowitz's work "The Spectators" at New York Live Arts and Rashaun Mitchell's "Interface" at the Baryshnikov Arts Center. In addition, Toogood has performed recently in the work of fellow NWSA dance alum Rosie Herrera and is working on projects with a number of other choreographers.  Says critic Susan Reiter in Dance Australia this month:  "Clearly, choreographers are lining up to work with this compelling, eloquent dancer."

The dance division at NWSA joins the Miami dance community in welcoming the National Dance Education Organization to Miami in October.  "We have been involved in assisting with planning efforts, and will be participating in this important event in a variety of ways. Our College students will have the opportunity to work with modern dance Master Choreographer Bill Evans on Wednesday, October 23rd; I am organizing and moderating a panel discussion on the topic of Auditioning: New Paradigms and Evolving Practices featuring a distinguished panel of guest experts including: Virginia Shuker (Dance Consultant to Miami Dade County Public Schools), Valerie Barreiro (NWSA alum, dance faculty at Miami Arts Charter School, President-Elect, FDEO); Augusto Soledad (Artistic Director, Augusto Soledad Brazzdance), and Darleen Callaghan (Director, Miami City Ballet School)," commented Mary Lisa Burns, dean of the dance division. In addition, NWSA Founding Dean of Dance, Daniel Lewis, will be presenting the annual Dance Now! Miami Dance Sampler at Little Haiti Cultural Arts Center to introduce NDEO participants to the vibrant range of dance that thrives here in the greater Miami area.  

The NWSA Theater Division just sponsored The Blender, a collection of eight short plays by High School 2012 alumni playwright, Dylan Guerra. "New World School of the Arts was my home for four years; I rehearsed, ate, performed and studied at New World every day from 7:30 in the morning to 9 at night. It was at New World that my first play got produced in an event called "The New Playwright's Festival". I owe almost all of who I am as an artist to the faculty and nourishing environment New World provided. Each playwriting class, each acting class, and every rehearsal helped me grow as an artist, individual, and led me on a path to success. It is an honor to be able to come back to my roots and perform at New World again," state Guerra.

The Blender breaks away from typical theatrical conventions as all actors are on stage throughout all eight plays and often provide sound effects during the shorts. Instead of blackouts, the production deploys cohesive transitions to the next play, each segue is set to contemporary music. All eight student-actors play multiple roles in the production, ranging from an illiterate, overbearing sister, to a German doctor who believes he has found the cure to a killer plant outbreak.