IAA welcomes students affected by LA county fires for Day of Healing through Art
The Idyllwild Arts Academy is offering an opportunity for self-expression, creativity, hope, and healing at its “Day of Healing Through Art,” a special event for students whose homes, schools, families, and communities have been impacted by the recent devastating wildfires. Students, age 13-17, will be visiting Idyllwild on March 21 for a day of “art, reflection, and relaxation.” Emma Haber, in charge of publicity for the Academy, told the Town Crier that, as of the March 13, 32 students had responded to the invitation. This event is free and open to the public, but guests must register for a ticket in order to attend.
The visiting students will participate alongside regular IAA students from around the world. There will be a reception at 10:30 in the morning, then students will choose two or three workshops from a list including offerings from the dance, theater, filmmaking, visual arts, and fashion departments. The workshops include theater improv, ballet and hip-hop, songwriting, cinematic storytelling, and jewelry making.
Tara Dutton Sechrest, Vice President, Enrollment Management & Strategic Partnerships, provided some details about the workshops. Students of the Film and Digital Media Department, under the direction of Chair Catalina Alcaraz-Guzman, are creating an “immersive interactive film set” which will “highlight the magic of perspective, framing and creativity in film making.” The workshop is titled “What We See in You is Wonderful.” Like other workshops that day, it will be “hands-on experimentation” focused on “self-expression, resilience, and the celebration of each student’s unique story.”
Fashion Chair Kentaro Kameyama will conduct a workshop titled “From Feelings to Fashion.” There will be an introduction to the Alexander Technique, a body awareness method that many actors and musicians find helpful. The visual arts workshop is titled “Somatic Body Mapping & Automatic Drawing,” and will use art to help students make a map of their own physical experience as a path to “mindful self-awareness.”
Sechrest concluded “We believe that art is the greatest teacher of humanity, leading to constant and necessary growth. This will be a day of joy where everybody can dive into their art.”
In the evening, all are invited to the Spring Dance Concert. The concert will feature two special events: the full one act ballet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, choreographed by IAA Dance department faculty Johnathan Sharp and Ellen Rosa-Taylor, and an excerpt from Esplanade, by Paul Taylor (1930-2018) as part of a Paul Taylor Intensive. The concert will take place at 6:30 p.m. in Bowman Hall, will be open to the public, and live streamed.
Students can register at: idyllwildarts.org/event/a-day-of-healing-through-art/
