to script for his students. During last year’s performance
of The Scarlet Letter, for instance, he asked his students
to conduct research in a variety of secondary literature
about public shaming to make the topic—and the
emotions surrounding it—more real to them. This fall,
students are tackling high school favorite The Great
Gatsby from Daisy’s perspective. Through this approach,
Charles hopes his students will be able to uncover new
layers of complexity in the novel’s treatment of love and
money.
During the three-week Library Dances unit, students
spend approximately 50 percent of their time on stage
rehearsing for the performance. In that sense, the class is
more than just a new way to teach classic literature—it
also guarantees that every student in the Upper School
participates in live theater at least once before they
graduate. More than 100 Laguna students have already
gone through the program successfully.
The dance styles that students perform are influenced
by the type of dance State Street Ballet is studying at
any given time. The four professional dancers who are
present throughout the rehearsals then join students
onstage for the final performance.
Charles, who is also the Executive Arts Editor of the
Santa Barbara Independent, feels passionately that this
collaboration between Laguna students and professional
artists in the Santa Barbara community represents
an important and distinctive feature of the school’s
experiential education program.
“Having access to these professional artists is
priceless,” Charles says. “When the dancers compliment
students on their work, it’s a kind of praise and
recognition that I can’t give them.”
Library Dances at Laguna has already gained
significant recognition. The audience for last season’s
production of The Scarlet Letter included nationally
known choreographer William Soleau, as well as the
directors of the State Street Ballet, Rodney Gustafson
and Leila Drake Fossek.
“This is a real opportunity for our school—for our
students—to be noticed,” Charles says. “It gives a whole
new meaning to the term ‘literary arts.’”
Library Dances lessons are
50 percent classroom,
50 percent art.
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