Page 23 - Laguna Blanca Magazine Summer 2018

JANE AIR

When Laguna Upper School English Instructor & Humanities their hard work and determination culminated in a captivating
Program Director Dr. Charles Donelan set out to teach Charlotte performance in March 2018.
Brontë’s beloved novel Jane Eyre to his AP English class this school This ambitious aesthetic feat was not only cross-divisional in its
year, his goal was to create a learning experience that would be truly inclusion of both AP English and Middle School performing arts
unforgettable. students, but it was also cross-disciplinary, as it showcased a mix of
That’s where aerial dance comes in. Thanks to a partnership reading, acting, and dancing.
between Santa Barbara Centre for Aerial Dance and Laguna Blanca’s “Jane Air turned out to be a perfect match for the idea of project-
English and Performing Arts departments, the 19th century literary based learning, which is where we get students out from behind the
classic took flight and transformed into a powerful aerial performance desk and into a mode where they’re 100 percent immersed and in the
fittingly entitled Jane Air. moment,” says Dr. Donelan.
Last summer, Dr. Donelan composed the adaptation of the The collaboration of Middle School and Upper School students
novel for the stage and soon thereafter began collaborating with set the stage for lasting relationships to be formed throughout the
choreographer Ninette Paloma, director of the Santa Barbara Centre intense weeks of rehearsal. Trust-building, according to choreographer
for Aerial Dance. Laguna’s Theatre Director Dana Caldwell also Ninette Paloma, “was an imperative part of this entire process.”
shared her talent on the project. “Ninette led these students on a journey of exploring the book,
After weeks of rehearsals last November and December, the show Jane Eyre, through exploring their relationships with each other as
was forced to be put on hold as the Thomas Fire and Montecito Middle School and Upper School students and through exploring
mudslides hit our community. Although the students and instructors their own individual boundaries and overcoming fears,” Caldwell SUMMER 2018
faced many disruptions to their rehearsal schedules and routines, says. “It has been a joy to watch.”
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