Fine Arts News

List of 9 items.

• Dynamic Dance by Victoria Arizpe and Heidi Arouty, Middle & Upper School Dance

  Each year, SJS offers dance students the opportunity to work with highly acclaimed guest artists in the dance community. Whether it be a choreographic piece or a master class, working with such artists gives the dancers a glimpse of what it feels like to work in a professional setting and is an extremely valuable part of their dance education. They offer a wealth of knowledge, a variety of styles, different approaches, and provide a wisdom and depth of learning stemming from their individual dance journeys and unique experiences. Such exposure to a variety of creative processes gives our students insight as they cultivate their own experience.
  
  

  

  
  This year, St. John’s is happy to welcome guest artists Jesus Acosta, Dawn Dippel, Hutch Hagendorf, Jonnesha Hawkins-Minter, Aaron Medina, and Pattie Obey. Each of these artists was chosen not only for their choreographic talent, but distinctive style and expression of dance. From modern and contemporary ballet to dynamic jazz and hip hop, our dancers are challenged, inspired, and receive numerous informational gems from these talented choreographers to add to their proverbial toolbox. 

   

  Late last month, Upper School dance students also had the privilege of working with Broadway performer, choreographer, and former St. John’s student, Parker Esse. The energetic class not only challenged their technical skill, but pushed dancers out of their comfort zone, requiring them to add spoken narrative to a movement combination. The change added a layer of dynamic energy, expression and an element of storytelling which wasn’t present before.  In a Fine Arts first, Dance and Theatre departments collaborated to present an artist’s forum, during which Esse was able to share his artistic journey with students and answer questions related to a professional career in the entertainment industry. The event was well attended and provided informative and insightful information.

   

  The privilege of working with these master teachers and artists brings newness, excitement, and energy to our fulfilling curriculum.  These opportunities are unique and invaluable experiences for our dancers, and we are grateful to these creative artists and the St. John’s community for their support of our program.
  
  

      
  

      

• Middle School Musical: Legally Blonde, JR.

  November 14, 4:30 p.m. & November 15, 7:00 p.m.
  Lowe Theater

  

  Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin

  Book by Heather Hach

  Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Picture

   

  Based on the award-winning Broadway musical and the smash hit motion picture, Legally Blonde JR. is a fabulously fun journey of self-empowerment and expanding horizons. The show's instantly recognizable songs are filled with humor, wit and sass — leaving cast members and audiences alike seeing pink!
  
  

  Legally Blonde JR. follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes, snobbery, and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. When Elle's boyfriend, Warner, dumps her and heads to Harvard, claiming she's not "serious" enough, Elle takes matters into her own hands, crafting a showy song-and-dance personal essay and charming her way into law school. Befriending classmate, Emmett, and spunky hairdresser, Paulette, along the way, Elle finds that books and looks aren't mutually exclusive. As Elle begins outsmarting her peers, she realizes that law may be her natural calling after all.
  
  

  Legally Blonde JR. features large, energetic dance numbers with an expandable cast of sorority sisters, law school students, hairdressers and more.

   

  Brooke Wilson directs the cast of 52 Middle School students, and Brendan Emig masterfully directs the well-known music, which Heidi Arouty enhances with her creative choreography. Teresa Fogler is designing the fun and iconic costumes. Sean Morgan, Thomas Murphy, and Michael Burka boldly lead our stage tech team and build our impressive set and whimsical props with support from our Johnnycake & Shortcake members.

   

   

• Havel Ruck Projects

  Opens October 31 
  Meow Wolf Houston - Radio Tave
  2103 Lyons Avenue, Houston, 77020
  Tickets: www.meowwolf.com 
  by Dan Havel, Upper School Art
  
  

  
  It all began with a phone call I received last fall in the middle of my school day. It was someone from Meow Wolf, the immersive art and entertainment company, inviting me to be involved with their new venue coming to Houston. But let me back up a bit.
  
  

  You see, I have been a practicing artist and art educator for over 40 years. This year marks my

  30th year teaching Visual Arts at St. John’s. I’m also a parent of a St. John’s alum. My daughter

  Olivia is a lifer who graduated in 2016, and currently is the upper school choral director at St. Andrews school in Austin.

  

   

  I grew up, went to college, and besides a stint in New York, spent my early art career in Minnesota. After moving to Houston in 1991, I met a sculptor named Dean Ruck, who was also interested in immersive art installations. In 2005, we teamed up to create Havel Ruck Projects, a public art collaborative. In the past 20 years and a dozen projects, Havel Ruck has garnered international attention for repurposing condemned

  homes and building materials into public art experiences. Meow Wolf were fans of our work, so they gave us a call.

   

  After receiving a budget and floor plan for our room, we developed a concept to use steel air ducts to create a crazy rendition of a large room-sized ventilation room full of intertwining tubes. The project’s underlying environmental message of “Mechanical Room” addresses human’s attempt to control the mechanics of nature for their benefit, but instead harm or alter it. With Houstonian’s history of floods and hurricanes destroying infrastructure, we all know too well that the power of nature will always win.

   

  After writing up a proposal for “Mechanical Room,” including creating a scale model, the project was accepted by Meow Wolf. Havel Ruck Projects had one year to develop and create our project before installing it the following fall. At the same time, we had signed a non-disclosure agreement with Meow Wolf, so we could not tell our friends or family about our involvement with Meow Wolf.  We had to wait a few months before we were given permission to begin onsite. This gave us the time to order and stockpile supplies and collaborate with Meow Wolf’s sound, lighting and video artists to create lighting and soundtrack for the room and video loops of natural phenomena on six monitors within the installation.
  
  

  

  Eventually, in July we were given permission to construct our installation in the Meow Wolf space. After two months of 8-10 hour shifts, 100s of feet of ductwork, and over 10,000 screws, Dean Ruck and I completed “Mechanical Room.”

   

  The install calendar overlapped the beginning of my school year, so I spent August teaching during the day and working until 8-9 p.m. at Meow Wolf at night. Suffice to say, I am happy the project is complete and pleased with our results. A creative life can be a bit TOO busy at times. I am happy my life is back to the everyday activities of teaching. I have cherished my decision early on to live a creative life. As a longtime teacher, I am lucky to have the chance to pass along my passion for the creation of art to my students at St. John’s.

   

  My hope is that “Mechanical Room” offers an immersive experience that heightens your awareness of nature’s beauty and power and work to protect our amazing planet.

   

   

• Piano Showcase Saturday, November 16, 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Lower School Commons and Music Rooms

  More than 100 Lower, Middle, and Upper School students will participate in the 23rd Annual St. John's School Piano Showcase. This event was created especially for students who study piano at St. John's School. It is designed to give students the opportunity to discover and develop interest and proficiency in many areas.

   

  The event provides an opportunity for each student to showcase their proficiency in performance skills and piano technique while introducing and reinforcing theoretical concepts, sight-reading, harmonization, arranging skills, and various styles of improvisation. Students will receive a written critique and a score of their performances from an independent judge in a private audition on the day of the event. With "Excellent" or "Superior" ratings, participants may qualify to earn awards across the span of several years. The event is designed to be motivational and provide students, parents, and teachers with valuable insights into the participants’ annual progress.

   

  Faculty from regional universities and distinguished independent pedagogues will serve as judges for the event. Students who earn awards and honors will receive special recognition following their performances at the Spring Piano Recital at the end of the year on Saturday, May 3.
  
  
  

• Middle & Upper School Fall Band Concert November 21, 7:00 p.m. Lowe Theater

  Please join us for the Middle & Upper School Fall Band Concert on Thursday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the Lowe Theater. The concert will feature the Middle School Beginning Band and Intermediate Band, as well as the Upper School Symphonic Winds and Jazz Ensemble. Enjoy a variety of traditional concert and jazz music including "Samba de Soleil" by Roland Barrett, "Egyptique" by William Owens, "You Better Sleigh!" by JaRod Hall, and "Pink Panther Mambo" by Henri Mancini. This concert promises a wonderful evening of live music and celebration, and we invite all concertgoers to please join us in Stasney Hall immediately following for a reception honoring our student musicians.
  
  
  

• Candlelight Service December 6, 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; Prelude begins at 6:45 p.m. The Church of St. John the Divine

  

  For over 75 years, the St. John’s community has come together at the Church of St. John the Divine to celebrate the holiday season with wonderful music and heart-warming fellowship. With over 300 students involved, this family celebration is a major event for the entire school community.
  
  

  The service includes a procession of choirs, seasonal hymns accompanied by organ and orchestra, spiritual readings by students and faculty, an address by Head of School Dan Alig, and performances by the St. John’s choirs and Chamber Strings. This year the choirs will perform "Cantate Domino" by Enrico Bossi, "Glory to God" by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, selections from Benjamin Britten’s "A Ceremony of Carols," "Night of the Father’s Love" by Pepper Choplin, "Winter Lullaby" by Pink Zebra, and Bruce Saylor’s choral-orchestral cantata, "With Anthems Sweet." As is our tradition, the service will close with "Wonderful Peace" by Gustav Nordqvist, sung by choristers surrounding the congregation and illuminated only by candlelight.
  
  

  The event will be available to view via livestream here. Afterward, the Wassail Party will be held in Flores Hall with caroling performances by Kantorei and holiday music from the US Jazz Band.
  
  

  To assist in the success of the evening, the School asks that audience members refrain from saving seats and standing in the aisles. Parking will be available in the Taub lot, Middle School lot, and Senior Lot as well as the parking garage, with limited parking on the North Campus. All open parking areas will be staffed by security. The Sanctuary doors will open at 6:30 p.m. If your family has special seating needs, please contact Anthony Leakey or Jeri Franke.
  
  
  

• Kantorei Caroling Performances

  Every December, Kantorei spreads Christmas cheer through the city of Houston with a caroling trip. They have sung at hospitals, retirement homes, The Alley Theater, and TUTS, to name a few venues.
  
  

   

  Kantorei’s Caroling Schedule:

  Friday, December 6

  The SJS Wassail Party (following the 7:00 p.m. Candlelight Service)
  
  

  Thursday, December 19

  The Museum of Fine Arts Houston – 4:30 p.m.

  Houston Methodist Hospital – Crain Garden Performance Center – 6:00 p.m.

   

• Lower School Winter Art Showcase December 9-20

  Throughout this first semester of the school year, our Lower School students have been busy producing beautiful and imaginative works. We invite all of the St. John's community to turn out to enjoy the artwork of the Lower School art students at this year's Winter Showcase. Opening December 9 and running through December 20, the showcase will feature pieces created by our youngest Mavericks. We look forward to seeing you there! 

   

   

• Alumni Spotlight: Karli Fisher '21

   

  

  As I round out my senior year at Emerson College in Boston, I am very grateful for all of the artistic endeavors and opportunities I have been exposed to and continue to seek out as I find my own path in the creative world. This past summer I was an Arts Administration intern with SpeakEasy Stage Company, a theatre company here in Boston, where I got to do a bit of everything to learn about and help with the everyday functioning of this theatre company. And before that, I spent the past spring semester living and studying abroad in London, where I completed a Theatre Studies program, taking classes traversing the history of theatre in England, looking at the theatre industry in London today, and learning about all sorts of theatrical styles and epochs. I even got to take a six-week long acting course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Meanwhile, I got to see around thirty productions during my time in London! Being around so much lively and bold theatre was a constant source of inspiration and I continue to bring this essence with me as I explore my own writing and develop my artistic taste and style.
  
  

  Over the last couple of years, I have found a real love for both dramaturgy and playwriting, two avenues I have gotten to try my hand at while at Emerson. In December, we put on a production of my first play, In the Waiting Room, for which I was both the playwright and assistant director. This play is a surreal piece inspired by Elizabeth Bishop’s poem of the same title. This fall, I am beginning to work on my Honors Thesis, which will focus on Frances Steloff and her running of the Gotham Book Mart in New York City; for this project, I will write both a play about Steloff and the bookshop as well as a more standard research thesis exploring the impact of community artistic spaces. Meanwhile, I am still an actor! This semester, I will be acting in a short film as well as doing a play with a student theatre troupe. Coming up in the spring, I will be the production dramaturg for our New Play Workshop here with Emerson Stage. I look forward to engaging with these projects and seeing what creative opportunities the future holds!