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Taking the World's Best into Houston's Neighborhoods
Society for the Performing Arts and Neighborhood Centers Inc. partner to introduce the arts to hundreds of area adults and children
 

Happy faces and thunderous claps filled the room as cast members of Drumline LIVE delighted students of the Promise Community School – Baker-Ripley Campus. The interactive lecture and drum performance in early November officially kickoff of a major partnership with Neighborhood Centers, Inc. and Society for the Performing Arts (SPA), aimed at providing access to the arts in Houston’s communities through dance and music group presentations at Neighborhood Center locations.
Learning from the Pros!
Drumline LIVE cast members give one-on-one
attention at Promise Community School
Baker-Ripley campus as part of their lecture
demonstration. (Left to right) Teacher Nicole
Oakman, Drumline LIVE cast member Dunwoody
Mirvil, kindergartner Audri Gonzalez, Drumline
LIVE cast member Eddy Falcon, first-grader
Joshua Soliz and Drumline LIVE cast member
Alex Blake III.
 
The goal of the initiative is to connect families with specific cultural ties by uniting them with artists from those cultures, and create dynamic places for interaction between classically-trained dancers and musicians and new audiences. 
 
"In Houston’s most diverse neighborhoods the performing arts have the potential to bring people together like nothing else," says Angela Blanchard, Neighborhood Centers President and CEO. "Overcoming barriers of language, history and culture, we come together in the shared language of the arts. This is a unique and special opportunity brought about by partnerships. We believe partnerships are at the heart of success in every neighborhood and we are proud that SPA wants this partnership with us in all the neighborhoods we serve."
 
"It’s a natural fit,” said SPA Executive Director and CEO June Christensen. "With SPA’s diverse roster of performance artists and Neighborhood Centers’ diverse communities, we can work together in taking the arts and renowned artists directly to Houston’s neighborhoods."
 
Plans for this partnership include, but are not limited to:
  • Providing visual-arts instruction by local art teachers to five Neighborhood Center after-school programs in conjunction with SPA’s 13th Annual Student Visual Arts Contest.
  • Conducting a trust workshop led by members of Diavolo Dance Theater for an after-school program at Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center.
  • Exhibiting select artwork from SPA’s13th Annual Student Visual Arts Contest at Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center.
  • Showcasing some of Houston’s own dance and music groups in evening performances for entire families to enjoy at various Neighborhood Centers locations throughout the season.
  • Hosting a Cinco de Mayo celebration at Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center.
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