RSA Arts Department

Overview

Welcome to the RSA Arts Department! During their three years at RSA, students receive intensive training in their chosen Arts field. Upon graduation, our students will be ready to audition for performing arts high schools, and will have a strong foundation in not only their craft, but in all of the Arts. Through our partnership with the Lincoln Center Institute, the arts will be integrated into all academic curricula, and will culminate in seeing a professional performance. At RSA, we are passionate about the arts and have designed a program that supports that passion.


 The Arts Block
The Arts Block is one school hour a day during which students will break from their regularly assigned class and go to an Arts class (Visual Art, Band, Dance or Chorus.) For the first year, the Arts Block is the Sixth Grade Arts Exposure class. In the seventh and eighth grade, the Arts Block is the Arts Major classes.


 Sixth Grade Arts Exposure
Choosing an Arts Major is a difficult decision. To ensure all students understand their options for the Arts Major, they will take the Arts Exposure Class. For most of the sixth-grade year, they will cycle through Visual Art, Band, Dance and Chorus. At the end of the cycle, students will be evaluated by all of the art strand teachers to determine their permanent placement into an art major for the 7th and 8th grades.


 Sixth Grade Arts Exposure Curriculum

During the sixth-grade year all Arts Exposure Classes will cover the following curricula to ensure that the students have a strong foundation to proceed to the Arts Major.
* Building Vocabulary
* Identifying and Demonstrating various techniques
 * Historical Foundation       
* Reading, Writing, Studying, Analyzing and Critiquing
 * Cultural Connections        
* Developing skills for presentation
* Discipline


 The Arts Major
The Arts Major is the heart of the Arts Department at Renaissance. Having completed the Arts Exposure classes, students undergo the process of Arts Major placement (Visual Art, Band, Dance or Chorus) that will follow them for their tenure at RSA. Students are placed in their Major based on audition and teacher recommendation only. Once chosen, students will not be allowed to change majors. Students are committed to their major, and will have specialized courses in that major.


 The Arts Major Curriculum
The arts major course is designed to prepare our students to audition for specialized performing arts schools. All Art Major classes will cover the following curricula to ensure that the RSA student has the self discipline, technical and performing skills to meet the standards of specialized performing art schools.

* NYC Blue Print for the Arts Standards                  
* The National Standards for the Arts
 * Intermediate and Advanced content standards       
* Higher level technical skills                                      
* Special performing groups
* Sept to Dec audition prep (during and after school hours)
* Portfolio Work                                                        
* Audition strategies
* High School Directory and selection of schools workshop
* Arts Diploma                          

    Visual Art

    6th Grade Arts Exposure:      The students start out with an introduction to the seven Elements of Art (line, color, shape, form, value, texture and space) and then are asked demonstrate five of the Elements (line, shape, value, texture and space) in a project entitled “Photocopy Fool Ya”. At this time the students are also introduced to the rubric method of grading and how to engage in analytical talk about their own and classmates' work.

    The students then discuss Dr. Betty Edwards' theory of Left-brain and Right-brain thinking modes as applied to observational drawing. The students engage in the right-brain mode of thinking while drawing a 2D image (an illustration of Igor Stravinsky by Pablo Picasso) placed upside down from observation. The students participate in several exercises to explore actually seeing objects as they are, as opposed to how they think they are or a summation of how they are (graphic symbols).

    Students then apply their new-found knowledge of observational drawing to contour line drawing. Students draw the contours of several small objects for practice.  The challenge is to give the illusion of form (or three-demensional objects.)

    Finally, the students create oil pastel drawings from observation of candy still-lifes incorporating color and demonstrating all 7 of the Elements of art.

    Arts Major: Students will study different styles of art, artists and art making while developing a portfolio of their work. Students will visit area art-centric high schools and in 8th grade prepare for high school audtions. Spring semester 8th grade students will work on a mixture of independent projects and design problems.


    Dance

    6th Grade Arts Exposure:     Students will cover the basic foundations in classical ballet and modern dance, as well as, identify and compare dance styles. Students will learn how to coordinate kinesthetic and spatial awareness using dance as an art form.  Students will learn how to elongate several muscles of the body, increase stamina, and body alignment. 

    Arts Major: Over the course of the semester students will progress into the intermediate and advanced stages of Ballet and Modern dance. Students will learn the fundamentals of Jazz & Cultural Dance, its folklore, songs and rhythms.  Students will learn choreography in preparation for a school concerts and Specialized High School auditions. 


    Band

    6th Grade Arts Exposure:     Students will explore various musical styles by playing percussion and keyboard instruments. Students will learn to read and notate music, as well as develop a vocabulary of basic terms in musical language.

    Arts Major:     Students will learn to play one of the following instruments: flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone horn, electric bass, drums, violin, viola, or cello. Once chosen, students are committed to their instrument for their tenure at RSA, and will play a varied repertoire of music as an ensemble.


    Music and the Brain

    As part of the arts exposure, some students will also study the keyboard through a partnership with Music and the Brain. MATB is an organization which studied how involvement in music encourages brain development.


    Chorus

    6th Grade Arts Exposure: Students will explore various musical styles by singing. Students will learn to sing using the solfege system and the Kodaly hand movements. Students will also develop a vocabulary of the basic terms in musical language.

    Arts Major: Students will sing in a Choir. The Choir will explore a varied repertoire of music such as traditional European to Folk Spiritual and Contemporary.


    Performances and Showcases

    All students will perform and showcase their art during the school year.

    6th Grade Arts Exposure:     Performances will be heldat the end of each eight week cycle during the school day for special school assembly only.

    Arts Major:     Performances will be held twice a year. Our Winter Concert will be held in December and our Spring Concert will be held in June. Concerts will take place in the evenings in the school auditorium. A calendar of events will be distributed well in advance, as well as instructions for concert dress.


    Grading Policy

    Students will receive grades for all Arts Classes at RSA. The policy for the grade is as follows:

    Class Participation and Projects: 40%
    Performance Participation: 30%
    Homework: 20%
    Tests/Quizzes: 10%

    Please note that Performance Participation is a significant part of the grade. All students are expected to attend performances and showcases for their Arts classes.