EXPLORE A CAREER IN TECHNICAL THEATER-JOB SHADOWING
A new program of Ordway Center is an invigorating work/school opportunity for high school juniors and seniors exploring careers in technical theater. Students will shadow theater house crew in the areas of sound, properties, electrics/lighting, and carpentry, gaining them a head start in pursuing a career in technical theatre.

Interested students will go through an application process and up to two students may be selected to shadow the four house crew members. Students commit to up to six on-site visits over a three month period, with each visit lasting between one to four hours. Each student will be paired with a mentor and will shadow each member of our house crew at least once.

For more information, or to apply for the job shadow program, contact Human Resources at 651-282-3060 or drichard@ordway.org. The application deadline is in April for program participation in the 2006-2007 school year.

ENROLLMENT TO THE SAINT PAUL CONSERVATORY FOR PERFORMING ARTISTS OPEN FOR THE 2006-2007 SCHOOL YEAR
The Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists is accepting applications for enrollment for the 2006-2007 school year. Space is limited. In response to the continuing interest in the Conservatory, additional information sessions have been scheduled. These sessions will include a tour of the facilities at Ordway Center and River Centre and will be paired with a Q and A about the school.

Meet at the Landmark Center, Suite 522, Saint Paul.

Upcoming information sessions are:
Wednesday, March 22, 2006; 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 5, 2006; 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Monday, April 17, 2006; 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Through the Ordway Center partnership, fifty-six high school students from The Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists sat face to face with four stars from the cast of Les Miserables for a question and answer session about the industry, life on the road, and their career paths.

TANGOS-SCHOOL PERFORMANCES STILL AVAILABLE
How would you describe the tango?  Luis Bravo, creator of the Broadway hit Forever Tango and the new production of Tangos, says, "Tango is a feeling that you dance... a story that you tell in three minutes.  More than just the dance, the Tango is a music, a drama, a culture, a way of life."

Experience Tangos first-hand with your students at Ordway Center this April 24th and 25th.  Performance times are at 10:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. each day.  Call 651-282-3115 to order tickets or for more information.

TANGOS PUBLIC PERFORMANCE AND MILONGA  
On April 23, 2006 Ordway Center presents Tangos. Prior to the 5:00 p.m. performance come to the World Party, which will include a performance by an Uruguayan band-Jose Curbelo and Friends, an art-making activity, a display of South American art, and food for purchase. The World Party Starts at 3:30 p.m. in the Marzitelli Foyer and is free to all ticket holders.

The Tango Society of Minnesota partners with Ordway Center to host a post-performance milnoga-a traditional tango party. The milonga immediately follows the performance in Ordway Center's Drake Room, which will be transformed into an Argentine salon. The popular Tango orchestra, Mandragora, will provide live music, and a cash bar and buffet will be available. Milonga tickets are $10 in addition to the performance ticket. Milonga tickets are limited, and go on sale April 10, 2006. To purchase tickets to the Tangos performance and the milonga, contact the Box Office at 651-224-4222 or http://www.ordway.org/.

CULTURAL ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY
The Marketing Committee has started to meet and the Development Committee is in the process of forming. Immediate goals for the Cultural Advisory Council include increasing membership and creating a Council brochure that will be produced in time to distribute at the Flint Hills International Children's Festival. They are also preparing information for the new website where, for the first time, the Council will have its own web page. Council members have been vital volunteers by staffing information tables all over town. Thank you.

The meeting structure for the Council is changing to bi-monthly Full Council meetings starting this month. Committee meetings will be held in the interim months. Each Full Council meeting will start with a half hour devoted to individual meetings of the four Cultural Committees followed by a convening of all Council members.

HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE FESTIVAL
Each year the Festival continues to grow in size and depth of experiences. This would not be possible without the support and participation from our community members. There are many ways to be involved with the Festival-find a way that fits you best:

1. Attend a Performance
2. Become a Children of Uganda Youth Ambassador
3. Submit art to the ARTwalk
4. Participate in the ARTmoves PARADE
5. Donate a Bike, wagon, scooter, or helmet to the ARTmoves PARADE
6. Volunteer during the Festival week and before!

For more information for any of these contact Jennifer Duncan, the Festival Assistant at 651-282-3035 or jduncan@ordway.org, or go to ordway.org and click on the Festival section.

CHILDREN OF UGANDA YOUTH AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
The Children of Uganda Task Force has been meeting bi-weekly, planning for the Children of Uganda's visit to the Twin Cities. The main purpose is to engage our community in welcoming the rich culture and tradition of East Africa and Uganda to Minnesota. The Task Force is putting together a team of forty Youth Ambassadors who will greet the Children when they arrive and host them during their week here. In the weeks leading up to the Festival, Youth Ambassadors will learn about Uganda, participate in team-building exercises, and create postcards, gift baskets, and banners. Youth and teens between the ages of 7 and 18 are invited to join. The application deadline is March 31, 2006. Applications and guidelines can be found on the Ordway Center website.

ARTwalk-OPEN CALL FOR CHILDREN'S ART
In its third year, the ARTwalk has become an integral part of the Flint Hills International Children's Festival. Celebrating children's creativity through an exhibit of pre-K through 12th grade visual artwork in downtown Saint Paul, this year promises to include even more schools and community organizations than the last.

Submission deadline: May 1, 2006.

For more information, submission forms, and releases, please check out the Ordway website. You can also email artwalk@ordway.org. Artwork will be installed the week of May 8, 2006 and will be displayed through June 5, 2006.

ARTmoves PARADE-BIKE DONATION DRIVE, APRIL 22, 2006
The bike donation drive supports the ARTmoves Parade by procuring bikes and tricycles for children to use in the Parade workshops. Bikes donated to Ordway Center are given to youth to create into art pieces for Parade participation, and participants are able to keep them after the project is completed.

This year we hope to have more than 100 bikes collected for the parade. A bike donation event will take place Saturday April 22, 2006 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in from of Ordway Center. The event will include bike decorating with Twin Cities artists, children's entertainment, a bike safety workshop, and treats. 

Clean out the garage and bring your extra bikes and your children to our bike donation event on April 22, 2006. Bikes may also be dropped off Friday April 21. Please contact David Shack for more information at 651-282-3017 or dshack@ordway.org

VOCALESSENCE WITNESS WORLD PREMIERE OF TRUTH REACHES THOUSANDS
In the second year of our partnership with VocalEssence, Ordway Center welcomed more than 7,000 students and teachers to four school performances of Truth, a celebration of and tribute to the life of Sojourner Truth.

Truth included a choral ballet performed by the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and TU Dance. Paired with Truth was a short concert by the acclaimed Fisk Jubilee Singers. The VocalEssence WITNESS program has been in existence for 17 years, founded with the mission to celebrate the contributions of African Americans to the fine arts and to our shared American cultural heritage. WITNESS goes beyond the performance experience to embed its mission into schools' curriculum, through classroom workshops with WITNESS Teaching Artists, a teacher's professional development session and an in-depth curriculum guide. Fifty partner schools engaged in the extended WITNESS program-studying Sojourner Truth's life and responding to it through various art forms.

A sold-out public performance on Sunday February 19, 2006 was part of Ordway Center's planet Ordway® Target® Season.

SECOND ANNUAL ARTS DIALOGUE DAY INSPIRES, AGAIN
Students from Highland High, Saint Paul Public Schools, and Washburn High, Minneapolis Public Schools, once again joined media artist and educator Robin Hickman and Ordway Center staff for a day of reflection and creative response to a performance at Ordway Center. 

Two weeks earlier, the students attended the VocalEssence WITNESS performance of Truth in Ordway Center's Main Hall and, inspired by the show, began a dialogue about modern day oppression and the importance of leadership in social justice in today's society.

On March 1, 2006, the almost 70 students had the opportunity to express themselves artistically under the guidance of professional artists in the Twin Cities.  The group split up into four workshops: theater with actor and playwright Kimberly Morgan, spoken word with hip-hop artist Adonis Frazier, movement with dancer and choreographer Roxanne Wallace, and mural-making with visual artist Ta-Coumba Aiken.

At the end of the Arts Dialogue Day, students shared their performances, poems, and artwork with the larger group and once again inspired us, and each other, with their talent and insight. 

One student summed up her day up saying, "It was a very positive experience.  I [had] never used emotion when writing spoken word; it was very fulfilling."

EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT INTERNS ASSIST ORDWAY CENTER IN PROGRAM SUCCESS
The Education and Community Engagement Department is fortunate to have many interns exchanging time for experiences. Thank you...

Melissa Toft, Education Intern
Melissa began working with us in September of 2005. Slated for the fall internship, she approached us asking to stay on through the Festival. We were thrilled! Melissa has an extensive background in arts and politics with an individually designed BA from the University of Minnesota concentrating in art (photography), political science, global studies and social change. She has shown her photography at various places in the Twin Cities and is a working member of OVERexposure, a group of local photographers interested in using photography as a tool for making social change. Melissa is also currently doing choreography in the Minneapolis Public Schools for Youth Performance Company. At Ordway Center Melissa is writing and designing study guides, providing event support, and managing all statistical data for Education and Community Engagement.

Previously Melissa has interned with Public Achievement while participating in the HECUA's Metro Urban Studies Program, has worked with the Education program at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, and has spent time volunteering at other local organizations. In the future she hopes to find a job that works to integrate the arts and social justice into classrooms and communities.

Keirsa Johnson, Hecua/Community Engagement Intern
Keirsa joins us from HECUA (Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs). She is a student at Saint Thomas University and this semester is taking part in HECUA's MUST program. MUST, Metro Urban Studies Term, focuses on inequality and poverty and an organization's response to those issues. Keirsa, whose major is in Peace Studies, will be focusing on three primary projects: community work around Children of Uganda, the Cultural Advisory Council's role and place in Ordway Center's commitment to community building, and funding and granting opportunities for economically stressed communities.

Career and Community Learning Center Interns
Through a budding relationship with the Career and Community Learning Center (CCLC) at the University of Minnesota, five students, in two different classes, are working on Education and Community Engagement projects.

A proposal to CCLC for the Asian American Arts and Culture class was submitted to find students interested in working on the events surrounding San Jose Taiko. There were two students interested, Abraham Kim and Brea Evans.

Abraham Kim has studied issues of racism as it relates to Asian Americans and Asians living in the United States, and is new to working in the arts. Abraham is assisting the Cultural Advisory Council on outreach to Asian Pacific communities. He will also be writing an article on the culture of taiko for the San Jose Taiko program.

Brea Evans is also a student at the University of Minnesota. She is interested in connecting Asian students to the performing arts and will be working with student groups throughout the Twin Cities to make them aware of the company's performances.

For the first time this semester, CCLC is working with the Architecture Department on a service learning oriented design class. The 100 freshmen in the class were assigned to organizations and asked to design something. A team of three students, Andrew Tisue, Matthew Trost, and Ashley Tridgell are working with us to design the ARTmoves Parade and the collateral materials to support it. They will be looking at the best way to lay out the 25 units that will make up this year's parade. They will also be designing a poster and flyers to invite people to create units and join in the fun.

CONGRATULATION TO JOANNE SHENANDOAH-2005 PLANET ORDWAY® TARGET® SEASON ARTIST-FOR BEING RECOGNIZED WITH A GRAMMY® AWARD
Sacred Ground - A Tribute to Mother Earth took home the Grammy for Best Native American Music Album at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, February 8, 2006.

The album is acclaimed for its mix of electronic grooves and traditional styles and was praised as one of the coolest collections of contemporary Native music to be released in years. The compilation album features some of the most well-known and renowned Native American artists working today, including; 2005 Grammy winner Bill Miller, two time Grammy nominee Joanne Shenandoah, and Grammy Winners Primeaux and Mike, best selling artists Robert Mirabal and Walela (Rita Coolidge, Priscilla Coolidge, and Laura Satterfield) and highly acclaimed artist Star Nayea.

The entire album was conceived as a companion to the acclaimed documentary, which recently aired on PBS stations across the country, as well as a positive call to action to save the environment.

Education at Ordway Center is sponsored by 3M. Additional major funding is provided by Ordway Circle of Stars, The Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation, General Mills Foundation, hundreds of individuals, foundations, corporate contributors, and by the patronage of thousands of theatre attendees.

To be added or removed from this newsletter distribution, please reply to education.news@ordway.org.