The Las Vegas Academy of the Arts is a magnet high school located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Students are accepted through an audition process and claim a "major" pertaining to performing arts, visual arts, or liberal arts.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
History
Las Vegas High School
The Las Vegas Academy's campus is located on the site of the first high school in Las Vegas. The school uses two of the buildings which were constructed in 1930 and opened in the fall of 1931. Las Vegas High School was the first high school in Las Vegas but caused controversy at the time for its location being too far from where people lived (which has changed as the city grew around the school). The school originally had three buildings: the tri-level Main building on the corner of 7th St. and Bridger Ave., the Gymnasium, and a third building which housed manual arts (shop classes) and in later years government classes. It was torn down in 1969. The two remaining buildings are listed as the Las Vegas High School Academic Building and Gymnasium on the National Register of Historic Places, representing the best of the art-deco architecture of the 1930s. The school's outer appearance has been maintained but the interior has been changed since its original construction.
Las Vegas Academy
In 1992, plans for a magnet school for the arts were announced, and on August 23, 1993, Las Vegas High School was re-opened as the Las Vegas Academy for International Studies and Performing Arts (Visual Arts was added the following year) by founding principal Bob Gerye. Starting with only 735 students, the student body has since grown to an excess of 1700 students attending the school pursuing majors in the performing and visual arts, and international studies. (The CCSD Board of Trustees officially changed the school name in November 2014.) Las Vegas Academy has been honored by the U.S. Department of Education as both a New American High School and a Blue Ribbon School. The Arts Schools Network (ASN) awarded LVA the Outstanding Arts School 2013-2014 and Exemplary Arts School status for 2014-2016.
Best Arts School Video
Theatrical venues
- Academy Theatre Black Box
- LVA Performing Arts Center
- Las Vegas Academy Lowden Theater for the Performing Arts
Majors
The Las Vegas Academy lists a selection of majors for which students audition and then focus on throughout their four years of high school alongside standard academic coursework. Students go through an audition process in order to be admitted to the Academy. Along with a successful audition, in order to receive admittance into the Academy, an applicant must have a grade point average to a 2.0 or higher.
Dance
Students are introduced to a wide range of dance experiences and activities that will enhance basic movement technique and creativity. Instruction is given in modern dance, ballet, jazz, and ethnic dance, as well as choreography, creative movement, dance history, and improvisation.
Liberal Arts
Students are provided with an instructional program of study that includes foreign language, geopolitical understanding, multicultural appreciation, and knowledge of world regions. The language programs (French, Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese the coming year) incorporate total immersion in the student's target language with cultural aspects of those linguistic regions. Additionally, students take courses in a program of studies which may include Communications, Fine Arts, and Humanities. Liberal Arts students participate in extended Advanced Placement classes. This will soon not be a major starting next year and will become elective choices instead.
Music
Students participate in comprehensive activities that include instruction in brass, guitar, percussion, piano, strings, vocal, woodwinds, basic musicianship, history, music technology, theory, and world music. Students have the opportunity to participate in bands, guitar ensembles, madrigals, Mariachi ensembles, mixed choirs, orchestras, jazz ensembles, piano ensembles, wind ensembles and small ensembles in both rehearsal and performance settings. The department offers concentrations in:
In 2014 the school received its 12th Grammy Signature School Gold Award.
Theatre
The theatre department contains three components: Acting, Musical Theatre and Technical Theatre. Academy Theatre has produced several productions throughout its sixteen-year history, including five productions staged at the International Thespian Festival.
Visual arts
The visual arts program provides instruction in animation, digital illustration (commercial design), film (video production and film studies), fine arts (visual design), graphic design, photography, and sculpture (ceramics and design crafts).
Notable alumni in entertainment
- Ne-Yo, R&B artist
- Michael "Michaelangelo" Snyder, singer/songwriter with Universal Music Publishing Group
- Matthew Gray Gubler, actor on Criminal Minds
- Rutina Wesley, actress on True Blood
- Julianne Hough, singer/cast member of Dancing With the Stars
- Baron Vaughn, actor/comedian
- Du-Shaunt "Fikshun" Stegall, winner of season 10 of So You Think You Can Dance
- Victor Mondragon part of the Sinaloa Cartel
- Aaron Turner, runner-up of season 10 of So You Think You Can Dance
- Dane Chalfin West End and Recording Industry Vocal Coach, President of The British Voice Association
- Lemisha Grinstead of 702
- Kameelah Williams of 702
- Molly Bernard, actress on "Younger (TV Series)", and "Alpha House"
Source of the article : Wikipedia
EmoticonEmoticon