Part III - TeenARTS Campers Express Themselves - Show Tonight!

In this final installment, two campers will share their love of theatre and dance. See more from the campers at their end of camp show called "Express Yourself" TONIGHT at 7:30pm at the HSA Theatre.

Meet: Gabrielle Newland- Babson and Jazz Jones
Theatre and Dance at HSA TeenARTS Summer Intensive


Gabrielle Newland- Babson, Age 13

HI! My name is Gabby and I have been attending the Harlem School of the Arts TeenARTS this summer. My fellow campers and I are taking many different art classes such as theater. Theater is one of my favorite classes because it forces you to think in terms of using your mind and your body to be/create another character. It also challenges us to use our emotions to become or act out one of our own creations.

Mr. Willie Teacher (our theater teacher) has been working with us. He has us play many different theater games such as the question game. We form two lines that become two teams. There will be two people facing each other, asking random questions and when one of the two people run out of questions to ask (hesitates) that person will go to the end of the line of the person that did not hesitate (the winner). Games such as this help us develop better improvisation skills, thinking on the spot. They also help us become better actors and/or become more interested in the idea of acting and performing on stage. Theater, as well as other art classes, will be in the final camp show called “Express Yourself”. It’s on August 11, 2011 at 7:30pm in the HSA Theater.

Jazz Jones, Age14

My Name Is Jazz Lauren Jones and I LOVE to dance. Dancing is a natural sport for me and it helps me escape any problems that I may be having that day. Dance is a great thing to do because you can never be wrong and creativity is the key. I've been dancing since I was three years old and when I get older I would like to become a choreographer and a professional dancer just like Laurie Ann Gibson and Debbie Allen. My inspirations are the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company, The Dance Theater of Harlem and of course The Harlem School of The Arts. I am a part of The Summer TeenARTs Summer Intensive Camp at HSA.

During The Summer Program here at HSA I have been able to participate in a hip hop/modern/contemporary dance class lead by Ms. Maria Mitchell. Ms. Mitchell has taught us how to count and dance in odd measure timing just like some big Artists including Lady Gaga. We are also working on an improvisation piece choreographed by The Dance Group in The Tee ARTS Summer Camp 2011.

Being a part of Teen ARTS gives you a lot of exposure into the form of Art. For example, the people in the Dance Program were given a ballet class from The Dance Theater of Harlem led by Mr. Robert Garland. The class was very fun and entertaining.

Being at HSA has been a great experience for me because it is filled with lots of fun, and the people are very nice and outgoing. At the end of camp we have a show that we come together and create using the things that we learned from our classes. It’s called Express Yourself. The show this year takes place on Thursday, August 11 at 7:30pm at our very own HSA Theater. It will be an amazing show and I think that everyone should come out and watch the accomplishments that we have achieved during our time at camp.

Part II - TeenARTS Campers Express Themselves

In part two of this three part series, two campers will share their introductory film experience. See more from the campers at their end of camp show called "Express Yourself" on Thursday, August 11 at 7:30pm at the HSA Theatre.

Meet: Taylor Faulds and Calaysha Byrd
Film at HSA TeenARTS Summer Intensive

Taylor Faulds, Age 13

My name is Taylor. I am part of the Harlem School of Arts 2011 TeenARTS Summer Camp Intensive in the initiative, film, which is a sub category of the TeenARTS program. I love film. We created a film called "The Nerd,” and it’s about finding your inner beauty. Now we are creating a spoof. My fellow campers in my group are in these films too. I really like our teacher, Ms. Nikyatu Jusu.

In film class, we learn the basics of a camera and how to use the editing software called Final Cut Pro. We learn about all different types of film. The films that we do are called short films which are 45 minutes or less. Documentaries are films that document life of others. We learn many other things about film, characters, and cameras, editing and more. I really enjoy being a part of TeenARTS and HSA. I love the arts and being part of HSA truly engages me in the arts and lets me explore my craft.

Calaysha Byrd, Age 12

My name is Calaysha and I love to dance. One course that I have been taking with my fellow campers is Film. We all enjoy this class and we love our teacher Ms. Nikyatu. She has taught us many things about the basics of film. We have been learning the basics of a camera and all the materials we need to make a film. One of the basics that we’ve learned is to white balance a camera. It helps the colors be more accurate. Another thing we learned was different positions of the camera— medium shot, high shot, low angle shot, a pan shot and many more. So then we decided to put our skills to the test and create a film called "The Nerd".

"The Nerd" is a Short Film that the film class has created. It consists of a girl who is known as a nerd, but then a really popular girl shows her that it’s not what's on the outside it’s what's on the inside that counts. So Pia (the nerd girl) gains confidence and then she doesn't care what anybody thinks of her. All of a sudden all of the bullies start to be nice to her and she starts to gain the attention from boys that she crushed on. Many girls were jealous of her, but to her that was just the first sign of popularity, and she lived happily ever after.

Personally I like the film class and I enjoy it so much! You can view the film that we created, "The Nerd" below.

3 Part Series - TeenARTS Campers Express Themselves

Over the next week, HSA will introduce you to several of our TeenARTS summer camp intensive participants. In this three part series, four campers will share via the HSA blog what it has been like for them to deeply explore their artistic interests in preparation for their end of camp show called "Express Yourself." Please join us in celebrating their accomplishments on Thursday, August 11 at 7:30pm at the HSA Theatre.

Photo: TeenARTS Performance 2011

Meet Anjette Rostock - Age 15
My HSA TeenARTS Summer Intensive Experience

As a teenager in New York City, the arts have become a major part of my life. Since I was young, I have always found joy in learning and experiencing life through the arts. The Harlem School of the Arts has been a part of my life, allowing my love for dance to be expanded into many different forms of dance like Ballet, Modern, Hip-Hop, and many other styles as well. I’ve recently become a part of the summer intensive TeenARTS camp, where my friends and I get to do all of the different types of arts we love such as dance, visual arts, theater, film, slam poetry, and even marketing to help promote our end of the summer show.

The dance/film group has been taught how to create dance pieces to odd meters of music by Miss Maria Mitchell, and they have also began to create their own dance piece along with the music group. This group has also been working on many different projects that involve short documentaries and features. The music group is learning how to play percussion for instance snare drums, African drums, and more; they began to create their own music on Garage Band. The visual arts/theater group does writing, makes pyramids out of boxes, and works on their own art projects. This group is also writing on slam poetry about many different subjects of their choice.

For six weeks, these nineteen campers have been preparing a show that encompasses all of the different types of arts in many different ways. We are using all of the different places that are a part of the HSA building for our show. The show was created and influenced by all nineteen of us. Our show, Express Yourself, is on August 11, 2011 at 7:30pm in the HSA Theatre.