THE SHANGRI-LA CHINESE ACROBATS-Sunday March 18
3:30 PM World Party
5PM Performance

About the Performance:
These amazing performers have traveled all over the world sharing their talents and culture in this high energy event. Watch as they balance plates, chairs, and each other all with grace and ease! Through martial arts, acrobatics, and contortionists, this troupe brings these ancient Chinese traditions to life. They manage to wow audiences of all ages despite language barriers. A visually stunning performance filled with music, death defying feats and beautiful costumes. The Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats are in town for two days only! Two school performance and one for the public! 

About the World Party:
The pre-show World Party is open and free to all ticket holders. The world party includes art-making activities, performances, and food available for purchase. Create Chinese lanterns, ribbon sticks, and buttons, watch performances by the Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center and enjoy food from Bamboo Gardens.

Click here for more information and tickets

MATTHEW BOURNE'S EDWARD SCISSORHANDS COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
April 10-15

A new theatrical adaptation of Tim Burton's classic film, Edward Scissorhands fills Ordway's Main April 10-15, 2007.

Leading up to and during the one week engagement, Ordway Center is please to announce community programs around this theatrical presentation.

Events include:

1. Film Preview Event at the Saint Paul Central Library 
Sunday, April 1, See the Tim Burton film that inspired the new stage adaptation. The event is hosted by Jamie Rocco and is free, no ticket needed.

2. Pre-show Lectures
Before all performances, join Jamie Rocco, Ordway Center's Vice President of Programming and Producing Artistic Director in a discussion of adapting the film to the stage. Mr. Rocco will also share interview clips of Matthew Bourne-the creative powerhouse behind the stage sensation. Free to all ticket holders.

3. Post-show Discussions  
After all performances, remain in the theater to discuss the performance and get an inside look of the production. Free to all ticket holders.

4. Master Classes  
Community Choreographers and Dancers come together to learn from Matthew Bourne's artistic staff. Date and Time TBA.

5. Kid's Night on Broadway
Thursday April 12-let children explore the essence of a Broadway show. Buy one adult ticket and get one child free! Pre-show activities and snacks hosted in the Marzitelli Foyer.

Click here for more information about Edward Scissorhands

WAI-Saturday April 21
6 PM World Party
7:30 PM Performance
9:30 Dance Party with WAI

WAI is an explosive group of musicians, singers, and dancers from New Zealand. We are so happy to welcome these 2004 Festival artists back the Ordway stage. This group of 5 will perform entirely in their indigenous language of Maori. WAI creates a one of a kind sound through various vocal rhythms, body-slapping, breathing techniques, and many different instruments native to New Zealand. WAI (the Maori word for water) are world renown performers receiving two nominations from the BBC World Music Awards in 2002.

Once you hear their beat, you will be hooked for more.

Click Here to listen and for more information and tickets

BIKE DONATION DRIVE / FESTIVAL KICK-OFF EVENT-April 21, 10AM-2PM

At the core of the ARTmoves Parade are art bikes.  Weeks leading up to the Parade youth create these art bikes in community workshops, and bikes are provided to participants who do not have one. Each donated bike is paired with a participant, and exhibited  in the parade. After the parade may participants may take their bike home!

To achieve this, Ordway Center looks to the community to donate bikes to be used in the ARTmoves Parade. Bikes of any size and condition are welcome.

The bike donation drive launches on April 21 with the Festival Kick-Off Event. Donate your bikes and enjoy a day of family activities of art-making and music. If you are unable to attend the Kick-Off Event, bikes may be dropped off at the Ordway Center Stage Door of 5th street all day and anytime 24 hours a day until April 29!

For more information email engage@ordway.org

Plans for the 2007 Flint Hills International Children's Festival are well underway! Canada, Mexico, France, Morocco, and Eastern Europe are all represented in the Festival performances between May 29 and June 3. As always, performances will be presented in three indoor spaces at Ordway Center for both school matinees and public performances. These shows frequently sell out, so visit the Festival's website and order your tickets today! Remember the Family Pass Package is a great way to enjoy both the Festival and The Science Museum!

SCHOOL WEEK TICKETS
School Week tickets are $3-6. For more information and to order tickets, call the Educator Hotline at 651-282-3115. Don't forget-bus subsidies for all schools in Minnesota!

FAMILY WEEKEND TICKETS-June 2 and 3

Schedules and ticketing information can be found online at www.ordway.org/festival

FESTIVAL POSTER CONTEST-MY ART SPEAKS FROM THE HEART-RECEIVED A RECORD NUMBER OF ENTRIES!

We have been so pleased with the outstanding response from schools across Minnesota and Wisconsin for this year's young artist's art contest. More than 200 entries have been received in a variety of mediums-from tissue paper collage to painted canvas. Ordway Cirlce of Stars sponsors this contest. Winners are selected from each grade (preK- 12).  Youth whose artwork is selected win an award and invitation to a special reception hosted by Ordway Circle of Stars. Everyone's a winner because all contest participants will be exhibited in the ARTwalk from May 4th until June 5th. If you missed it this year, remember there is always next year!

Also, we are now accepting entries for the ARTwalk-an exhibition of student artwork. All art should must be submitted by April 23. Work will be on view all over downtown Saint Paul and is a great compliment leading up to and during the Festival.

Click here for ARTwalk Information

FESTIVAL RESIDENCIES BEGINNING THIS MONTH

ARTbuilds 2007
2006 was our inaugural year for the ARTbuilds sculptures inside Ordway Center and is back again for 2007! Artist in residence and project coordinator Armando Gutierrez G. is working with teams at each school participating. This year there are four schools that have been selected: Patrick Henry High School, Austin High School, Saint Paul Academy and Avalon Charter.

Armando is assisting students to design and build these grand pieces of art! New this year is the involvement of professional architects from the American Institute of Architects. Thanks to architects Choy Leow and Marie Parish for their help! Also thanks to Hormel Foods for donating the building materials! The canned food that is used is donated to area food shelves after the Festival.

Digital Kids
Best Buy is sponsoring our 4th consecutive year of the Digital Kids film project. Resident media artist Usry Alleyne is working in Frost Lake Elementary and Cityview Performing Arts Magnet leading them through the documentary process. The subject of their film is focused on the Festival. Students are to film interviews with the visiting Festival artists. Throughout this process they learn the fundamentals of documenting, interviewing, editing, and researching. Some of these budding film makers get a chance to sit in on a set of workshops that will occur during the festival. They film their classmates in the workshops and showcase their entire final edited documentary in the box office lobby at the end of the Festival!

K-12 Public Art
Now in its seventh year, the K-12 Public Art Project connects visual art students and teachers with professional teaching artists in the area to create an outdoor public art piece for exhibition at the Festival. This year, Northeast Middle School from Minneapolis Public Schools will design fabric hoops and sails using the sumi-e technique.  Students at Bridge View, in the Saint Paul Public School district, will create art kites. 

Each year, students involved in the process research their theme, learn about the art form's tools and materials, design their project, and create their final work-all under the expert instruction of their arts specialist at school and professional visual artists. The final work is shown through the Festival week and students, teachers, and artists involved in the project docent the work and engage Festival-goers in hands-on demonstrations.

All of the 2007 K-12 Public Art pieces are presented around the Festival grounds in an aerial exhibit of color and pageantry. Thank you, Delta Dental for sponsoring Skyful of Smilies, a vital partnership for this project!

Arts 25 Residency
Arts Education Consultant Joanna Cortright and composer Wynn-Anne Rossi work with 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes to learn the foundations of musical composition inspired by visual art in preparation for their attendance at the DO Jump! performance of At Such A Dizzy Height. The project is supported by the Saint Paul Public Schools through the Arts 25 program. Franklin Music Magnet from Saint Paul Public Schools will be this year's school.   The American Composer's Forum will also partner on this project.  

Chagall Village 
Inspired by the vision of Festival artists DO JUMP! who are  performing a dance piece "From Such a Dizzy Height,"  based on the paintings of Marc Chagall, a group of Saint Paul Public School educators will design and create a Chagall Village installation at the 07 Festival.  Visual art and media specialists from Webster Magnet are working on a partnership with dance specialists from Four Seasons and Linwood A+, to create with their students a two-foot high Chagall-inspired village. The installation will include miniature wooden houses, dancing figures from Chagall's paintings, costumes, video and may include live dance.  The piece will be installed on the Festival grounds and exhibits throughout the Festival.

ARTMOVES PARADE--Saturday June 2, 1pm-STRUT YOUR STUFF

Join us for this year's ARTmoves parade! Grab a friend and build your own art that moves in this annual fun filled event! Past year's parades have included everyday objects and has evolved into a collection of colorful and zany bikes, wagons, giant puppets, music and more. Youth, along with adults are encouraged to come dressed in whimsical costumes accompanied with creations that shake, rattle and roll on down the Parade route!  All are welcome to be a part of this most enjoyable event and Ordway Center Education staff can assist any group to get started!! Call us and get involved!                       

Click here for more information

VOLUNTEER AT THE FESTIVAL!!

Hundreds of dedicated volunteers contribute their time and talents to the Festival each year.   Volunteers assist Ordway staff with Festival preparations, installing artwork, making performing artists happy through the week, greeting patrons during Family days, assisting stage managers, and working in the Butterfly Tent. Volunteers are needed May 28 through June 7, 2007. 

Click here for more information and to register

DON'T MISS THE 2006 FESTIVAL DOCUMENTARY ON TPT!

"The World We Create: An International Children's Festival," a program that the Ordway Center for Performing Arts produced in partnership with Twin Cities Public Television's Minnesota Channel, is being aired Saturday, March 31, 8:00 PM

Watch this program on TPT-Channel 17 on broadcast television, satellite and most cable stations; see Channel 13 on the Comcast Cable system in Minneapolis.

Calling all TYA Professionals! Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is proud to welcome ASSITEJ/USA's triennial conference One Theatre World 2007:Rattling Cages May 31- June 2. This network of professionals in the field of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) will meet, network, exchange ideas and see performances with colleagues from around the world. The theme this year is Rattling Cages: A time to explore theatre for young audiences in new, vibrant and exciting ways. More than 250 conference attendees will join us for the Flint Hills International Children's  Festival, attend workshops, see a performance from award winning performer Will Power and listen to keynote speaker Stephen Schwartz world renowned composer (Pippin, Godspell, Wicked). We are thrilled that ASSITEJ has chosen this year's Festival as a backdrop to the exciting conference planned, and know that this unique opportunity can help showcase the incredibly rich and diverse artistic landscape in the Twin Cities.

For more information and to register for the conference visit assitejusa.org

VocalEssence WITNESS Young People's Concert

Thousands of students and their teachers filled Ordway Center's main hall on February 26 and February 27 for the four WITNESS Young People's Concerts produced by VocalEssence. The concert, subtitled Singing the Legacy of Rosa Parks, featured solo and ensemble music with performances by the Augsburg Jazz Ensemble, Erika Siguake, Hannibal Lokumbe and Jevetta Steele, with the VocalEssence Chorus and VocalEssence Associate Conductor Sigrid Johnson. There were also K-12 students involved in the concert, including an African dance piece by students from the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. Thank you to all who participated!
 

For more information go to vocalessence.org/witness

2005 FESTIVAL ARTIST WINS GRAMMY

Congratulations to Dan Zanes, on his recent Grammy win! He, along with his musical group Dan Zanes and Friends, took home the award for Best Musical Album for Children "Catch That Train". Way to go! His music brings together all different types of people and is fun for all ages.

For more information visit danzanes.com

BARBARA STREISAND FOUNDATION GIFT GIVES GIFT TO SAINT PAUL CONSERVATORY FOR PERFORMING ARTISTS

Congratulations to the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts for receiving a $10,000 contribution from the Streisand Foundation and they are expecting $10,000 worth of audio and visual equipment from Streisand's record label. She along with the foundation choose an arts organization in each city that she tours in. After her visit last year she decided upon the Conservatory!  The school plans to use the equipment to help build a recording studio and the cash donation is set to be used for staff and curriculum for development to support the school's music program.

To learn more visit spcpa.org

LARRY YAZZIE-NATIVE AMERICAN FANCY DANCER-TO PERFORM IN AUSTRALIA

Former Festival performer and good friend Larry Yazzie will travel to Australia in March to be a part of a ceremony that united people from all over the world in an effort to help heal the Earth. The World Council of Elders is a group of indigenous people from around the world who were concerned about global warming affecting the upcoming Olympics and other sports events in Europe. Their hope is to create harmony between cultures and the earth. 

To learn more go to the native pride website

RECENT PLANET ORDWAY SEASON ARTIST-BALL IN THE HOUSE- RELEASE NEW ALBUM

We are happy to announce that Ball In the House pop/R & B a cappella all male group and 2005 planet Ordway performers released there album entitled Granit Ave in January! For the past four years they have been the singers responsible for the music for the Cool Whip ad campaign and have had a strong following all around the country. You can purchase their new CD at Best Buy or check them out live because they are currently on tour! We also would like to congratulate their founder and one of the singers Jon on his new baby!                                             

To learn more visit ballinthehouse.com

ORDWAY CENTER WELCOMES NEW EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT INTERNS

Natalie Bowers, ASSITEJ Intern is currently enrolled in St. Mary's University Masters in Arts Administration program and has joined the Ordway team to provide logistical and programming support for the ASSITEJ Conference. She has worked with ProjectSuccess and is currently the Program Lead for Teens Rock the Mic. She is thrilled to be a part of the Ordway team!

Erin Gomach, Education Intern, is a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She received her B.A. in Theatre Arts and Communications. Erin is an actress and was involved with several successful performances at the University of Minnesota.  She is excited to be working in the education department and looks forward to helping out with the Festival!

Eliza Rasheed, Community Engagement Intern, is a recent graduate of Macalester College where she received her degree in both Theater Arts and Political Science .  Eliza has been working on planet Ordway World Parties, the Art Poster Contest and other community engagement programs.  She just finished performing at the History Theater in 100 Men's Wife and will be presenting her own work at the Playwright's center soon.

Elizabeth DeWerff, Festival Assistant is currently in her second semester at both Ordway and as a St. Mary's Graduate Student in the Arts Administration program. She has been working diligently on making this year's Festival a complete success. Thanks to Elizabeth for all of her hard work this past fall and winter!

This team of interns will be at Ordway Center through the Festival.

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.