LAFAYETTE (LA) –The Performing Arts Society of Acadiana (PASA) has announced an incredible lineup of dance, theater and opera as entertainment for its Daytime Performances for Students series. Experiencing live performances for students and teachers is an important educational opportunity that takes learning out of books and classrooms, and brings it to life onstage. The Daytime Series events, for middle and high school students from throughout south Louisiana, will take place during the 2009-2010 school year.

 The series kicks off on Monday, September 19, with a sizzling blend of African, modern ballet and hip-hop stylings by Evidence Dance Company. Next up will be Montana Rep’s dramatic staging of To Kill A Mockingbird on Monday, October 19. The series concludes with a special daytime performance of the opera Porgy and Bess on Wednesday, March 7, 2010. All performances will be at 10: 30 a.m at the Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette. Tickets for these performances are $5 per person and reservations must be made through the PASA office by calling (337) 237-2787.

 In advance of each performance, PASA provides each attending student an informative study guide, BackStage Pass, which is printed courtesy of The Daily Advertiser. This guide prepares students and teachers with information and activities that will enhance the value of attending the performance and underscores the educational fundamentals that are core to curricula.

 ”Teachers and principals appreciate that our materials connect these performances to the Louisiana Content Standards Foundation Skills,” says Jacqueline Lyle, PASA’s executive director. “Of course, it’s obvious that these events promote the arts component of a curriculum. However, we want to make sure that students get the value of all the ways in which the foundation skills–communication, problem solving; resource access and utilization; linking and generating knowledge; and citizenship—are reinforced by what they see and experience. For example, we make sure that students appreciate the education, teamwork, cooperation and coordination that it takes to mount a performance. These components are as much a part of a performance as the artistry.”

 The performances for the 2009-2010 school year will provide students with a wide variety of performing arts experiences, all of them of the highest quality and professionalism.

 The first event in the series, a dance performance by Evidence Dance Company on September 21, has been generating buzz with audiences worldwide with its storyteller-approach to modern dance. Choreographer, principal dancer and artistic director Ronald K. Brown demonstrates his anthropological pursuits when he joins his dance company Evidence, in a blend of African, modern ballet and hip-hop stylings to tell stories. This performance will include his fascinating piece Two Year-Old Gentleman that melds Louisiana’s Mardi Gras Indians into a comment on rites of passage from boys to men.

 PASA Executive Director Jackie Lyle says, “Our daytime series has attracted students from Lafayette Parish and several parishes around south Louisiana.” Lyle continues, “It is very satisfying for us and for our sponsors to make this extraordinary resource available to our educational system. For many students, these events may be the only live performances they ever attend.”

 Next up on the series on October 19 is the Montana Reparatory Theater Company’s dramatic return to the Heymann Center stage with its staging of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The novel is a must-read for every student and the performance is a must-see for teachers and students.  A classic tale of honesty, integrity and courage is as timeless today as it was when it emerged 50 years ago. Set in a fictional southern town, its colorful characters include the memorable Atticus Finch and the unforgettable recluse Boo Radley.

 To Kill A Mockingbird is also part of the Big Read Acadiana program. The Big Read is an initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts to engage communities across the nation in celebrating great literary works through a diverse array of activities. Several elementary, middle and high schools across Acadiana are participating as Big Read project schools. Find out how your school
can be a part of this literary movement by calling the PASA office for more information.

 Finally on March 8, 2010, Porgy and Bess the distinctively American opera closes out the daytime student series with a sweeping tale of love, loss and triumph over despair. This tale features the music of great American composers George and Ira Gershwin. Every students should attend a live professional opera and Porgy and Bess features a cast of 30 performers and a live orchestra. Performed in English with projected supertitles this opera features a memorable score that includes the well-known songs “Summertime”,” I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So”.

These performances are presented by PASA with the sponsorship support of lead sponsor Capital One and the Wilkinson Family Foundation

 ######

Founded in 1988, the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana is a non-profit organization that presents live entertainment at the Heymann Performing Arts Center and other local venues, creates in-school arts activities, offers daytime performances for students and initiates outreach programs such as PASA PLUS and Play It Again, Lafayette. PASA presents annual performances of opera, dance, drama and a variety of musical acts.

  Admission for each event is $5 per student or chaperone. Teachers and principals wishing to have their students attend, or seeking more information, should contact the PASA office at (337) 237-2787 or visit the PASA website at www.pasaonline.org.

–
Apiyo Obala
Community Relations Director
Performing Arts Society of Acadiana
P.O. Box 52979
Lafayette, La 70505
(337) 237-2787