Yesterday, we had a very musical morning at Encore with our President’s Day Broadway Workshop! Through songs from Wicked, Hamilton, and Newsies, our students learned both choreography and music in one whirlwind day. Our teaching artists led one group through choreography to a song that recently graced the silver screen; does “Popular” sound familiar? The other group took a chance to “Seize the Day” with the Newsies. And all together our students dusted off their finest British accents to sing “You’ll Be Back” from Hamilton.
This workshop gave students the opportunity to fill their day with music, some songs they knew by heart and others they had never heard of. They learned about King George III through a sort of “love letter” to the United States as imagined by Lin-Manuel Miranda. They perfected how to “toss toss” their hair like the oh-so-popular Galinda. They even journeyed back in time to strike with the newsies of New York.
But it’s hard to find an Encore program that doesn’t give students some opportunities to play and have fun! It was the students’ day off, after all. Teaching artists also led students through fun theatre games to help bring the group together. They focused on ensemble building and listening-and-responding. All the learning and playing came together at the final share where students performed their songs for their supportive audience. Parents and friends even got personally serenaded at the end of the share!
A highlight of the day for me was watching students share their favorite songs with one another during lunch. A speaker played select songs from each of the three shows, and whenever someone’s favorite song came on, there was an impromptu dance party with some students singing every word and others dancing along just for the fun of it! It was a beautiful thing that happened naturally from their shared love of singing, dancing, and all things musical theatre.
If you’re looking for more opportunities to sing and dance, we have two upcoming sessions of winter classes that include “Disney Grooves” and “Broadway: Emerald City” among other awesome titles. Check out our website for all our upcoming offerings!
Photos by Cindy Kane. Blog contribution by Parker Nelson.