Articulations
Georgetown High's annual musical needs your help, Ballet Austin's foundation passes the cool million mark, and there's new art at the convention center
By Robert Faires, Fri., Feb. 6, 2004
Into the Schools
The recent survey results from the Performing Arts Research Coalition indicated that 90% of Central Texans support the concept of arts education. And you'll find other research that shows how critical exposure to music and the arts can be to students' overall development. Still, the arts are among the first to be threatened when budgets get tight. Over at Georgetown High School, there's a long and rich tradition of producing a musical every year, one that involves students building the sets, designing the costumes, and performing as actors, dancers, and orchestra members. But that tradition may be coming to an end. There's talk that the school will cancel the annual musical if this year's production doesn't make a profit. Obviously, that would be a great loss for the kids with an interest in musical theatre, but it's a loss for the school as well, a sign that imagination, creativity, and cultural achievements aren't worth preserving for our youth. If you count yourself among that 90% that's pro-arts-education, why not help save this theatrical tradition? This year's show is Into the Woods, and since nobody else is doing Sondheim right now, that's all the more reason to get into the schools. Into the Woods will run Feb. 5-7, Thursday-Friday, 7pm, Saturday, 2 & 7pm, at the Center for the Performing Arts, Georgetown High School, 2211 North Austin Ave., Georgetown. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children and seniors. For more information, call 512/943-5100 x7260.
Cool Million
Congratulations to Ballet Austin on passing the $1 million mark in its Ballet Austin Foundation fund. A recent donation from the Sarah and Ernest Butler Family Fund helped the 5-year-old fund reach this milestone. The foundation was established to support Ballet Austin's operating budget and help the organization continue to pursue its mission. For information, call 476-9051.
Artwork Ho!
Check out the new art in the Austin Convention Center. As of January, the facility has two new works to attract and intrigue visitors. Margo Sawyer's Index for Contemplation, an abstract installation composed of more than 400 powder-coated and zinc-plated metal sculptural elements that come together to create a pattern of shape, form, and color, has been added to the walls of the west lobby in the expansion. Rolando Briseño's Macro/Micro Culture, a series of 36 giclée prints in 12 triptychs, has been added to the interior wall of the north lobby. For more information, contact the city's Art in Public Places Program, 397-1455.
If you're in Big D this weekend and hankering for a bit of capital culture, you're in luck: Holly Williams of the UT Department of Theatre & Dance is guest choreographer for the Contemporary Ballet Dallas production Terpsichore's World. The show is Saturday, Feb. 7, 8pm, at McFarlin Auditorium on the Southern Methodist University campus.
