Our Final Photographic Journey

         The photography class continues to take memorable photographs in Spoleto, despite the sadness of the upcoming departure. There is a bitter sweetness to capturing the last moments. All of the students have enjoyed building relationships with the local community and creating a visual tapestry of their memories.

Students were introduced to the local Red Cross of Spoleto. Under Serafino's guidance, they continued to learn about portraiture and capturing the moment. In addition to increasing the students' technical abilities, the students also got the wonderful opportunity to interact with the community.

 On Monday, the creative writing and photography students went out on the much anticipated sunflower field trip.

                                     Students worked on getting the best angles for each shot.

                                          The students collaborate while reviewing photos. 

Serafino has been working on teaching the photography class about traditional photography. He showed them how to take polaroids, and is taking a polaroid of every student to showcase their personality. Each student will have an incredible piece of memorabilia to take home and keep for the rest of their lives.

 Each student’s ability to take portraits that are well lit and compositionally balanced has grown tremendously.

Though the sunflowers weren't as lively as they had hoped, the students enjoyed posing in them and create lasting memories. They found that in a way, the sunflowers symbolized the end of our journey in Spoleto. 

The students' final gallery exhibition will take place on Saturday. They look forward to sharing their work with their friends and family upon their return. 

Visual Arts Final Week

For this final week the students are working exclusively on their self-portraits and personal experience project during both the morning and evening sessions. Significant progress was made with the morning gesture drawing sessions and now the goal is for the students to continue applying their new skills to their final projects as they resolve them. The work is becoming stronger with each day and I expect it will continue to do so until the last session. We're excited to showcase our final work this Saturday!

Voice and Drama Week 3

We can hardly believe that it is now the last week in Spoleto, but voice and drama students are quite excited by their growh and readiness for the final student showcase this coming Saturday.

In the first weeks, singers worked on vocal technique, such as breathing, diction, phrasing, and dynamics. They have now committed their pieces to memory and are staging their ensemble scenes while receiving specific coaching this week.

In the morning performance class, Jack has been teaching both vocal and drama students how to create an imagined reality using the five senses, while simultaneously focusing their energy on a specific partner or target within the new world. Experiential walking tours of the town during which students conduct a sensory inventory have strengthened the ability to fulfill this critical task. The tours have been followed by journal reflections that raise awareness of technique to the conscious level. The latest excursion asked students to experience the streets of Spoleto as an Italian local, ending the walk with an espresso at a local café.

 All have learned how to live truthfully in imaginary circumstances and to allow a specific character goal or "objective" to shape their performance. The results are more authentic, engaging, and sincerely expressive performances. (See photos below).

Pairs practice character objectives in improvised scenes during performance class.

Students rehearse Sondheim's "You Could Drive a Person Crazy."

Singers stage "Aprite," a duet from The Marriage of Figaro.

A trio practices "Three Little Maids" from The Mikado.

Spoleto Selfie Sunday

Spoleto Selfie Sunday (Fun-day)

This week was filled with various actives, events, and performances for the students.  There were three faculty recitals, a second student performance night, trips to the beach and Siena, a Spoleto Palio (see previous post), a talent show, and a competition for best self.

On Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday the faculty shared their work with the students.  The audience was treated to musical performances, visual arts portfolios, and mixed media performances.  Each teacher took time to explain his or her process and the significance of each piece.  It was inspiring.

After performing two Shakespeare pieces, drama teacher, Jack Zerbe, assisted Serafino Amato, photography teacher, with his presentation.  Serafino showed his photos and read captions from his 2012 publication.

After showing some of his portrait work, Raul Miyar, visual arts teacher, explains the amulets/talismans that he makes for his graduating students at the Altos de Chavon School each year.

Jan Guffin, creative writing teacher, shares a personal essay and a poem.

Anna, pianist, and Jill, flutist, play a duet.

At the student performance class, our participants included four singers, four visual artists, four photographers, and all of the writers.  The following photos are a selection from Friday evening:

Alethia explains her process for her self-portrait.

Rachel explains her photograph taken at the convent.

Avery reads from a journal entry written at the local park.

Kat reads from her "pink" journal entry, from the park.

Lucy sings.

Kristen sings.

Maddy reads her journal entry from the park.

Sophia sings.

Hannah explains her artistic process.

India reads her journal entry from the park.

Kristen sings.

       

Two of the team cheers from Saturday's Spoleto Palio:

We had some great submissions for the Sunday Selfies:

Zoe, Abby, Claire, and Maddy.

Emma, Annie Lee, Hannah, Matt, Elizabeth, and Kas.

The talent show on Sunday night was a big success.  We had a wide range of acts.  This was the final portion for the Spoleto Palio and the winners were announced... congratulations Chiocciola!

Bee shares some original jokes.

Noah read an original poem.

"Denim" performed en masse.

                       

A più tardi!

Siena

The beautiful, striped Duomo di Siena.

A Day in Siena (and a Spoleto Palio)

This past Saturday we traveled to Siena.  The two sites that the students toured as a group were the Duomo, Santa Maria Assunta, and the government building, Palazzo Pubblico.  These sites accentuated the secular and sacred balance that permeated the Sienese Republic in the Renaissance.    Throughout the week the Arts and Architecture and Arts and Ideas classes discussed the importance of this city in the early Renaissance throughout the week.  

The Duomo in Sienna boasts work by Donatello, Michelangelo, Pisano, and Pinturicchio, among others.  The students were familiar with these artists through their recent work in the above mentioned classes.  Mary Beth Immediatta, Arts and Ideas teacher, wrote the following about the students' work this week:

Our second week in Spoleto was a busy one for students in Art and Ideas as students continued to refine their aesthetic sensibility, began reading selections from Dante Alighieri’s masterwork and continued to apply a philosophical aesthetic, and historical lens to the towns to which they travelled.

On Monday the Art and Ideas class met in San Domenico, a church around the corner from the school.  A copy of Raphael’s last work, The Transfiguration which hangs on a side wall, provided students with an  opportunity to discuss aesthetic elements of a work initially completed by one of the great artists of the  Italian Renaissance.  As students discussed the work from perspectives of both form and content, they were unfazed by the stature of the original painter and offered their evaluations, commenting on many of the same disparate elements that have been identified by and have caused such disagreement among art critics for the last several centuries.

Just as students were gaining a new found confidence in their ability to render aesthetic  judgment, at  the midway point of their time in Italy, the course focus shifted somewhat as they began a new journey, accompanying Dante the pilgrim on the journey he undertook in the middle of his life, a journey recorded by Dante the poet from exile. For the remainder of their time in Art and Ideas, students will explore various Cantos from Commedia, examining the architecture of hell, suggesting alternate 21st century orderings of evil and remaining attentive to the sights, sounds, smells presented by Dante the pilgrim and Dante the poet, using the same sensory approaches with this great masterwork that they have applied using town as text throughout their course of study.

Palazzo Pubblico (public palace) that sits on the Piazza del Campo in Siena.

Art and Ideas also continues to provide students with space for reflection and synthesis, with an opportunity to integrate their experiences as they travel with the work they are doing in their  major classes, and with the opportunity to link centuries old primary sources with their own experience of Italian towns.  Prior to their trip to Siena, students read selections from Boccaccio describing the horrors of the Black Death.  Whether standing before the unfinished nave of the duomo, peering at Pisano’s  pulpit or reflecting on the Massacre of the Innocents embedded in the marble floor in Siena’s cathedral, students experienced a deeper understanding of Boccacio’s words.

The Arts and Architecture class focused on the structures in Siena.  The central square, the Piazza del Campo, was constructed by the leaders of the Republic - the Nove - in the early Renaissance.  The Palazzo Pubblico served as the home and office of these nine leaders.  Beautiful frescoes by Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers still adorn the walls of this building.  Alison and Whitney explained the importance of these works of art to the students within the Palazzo.

The far end of the Piazza del Campo.  Fellow, Rush, stands in the center.

On Friday, the Contrade of Siena were explained to the students.  The city was (and still is) divided into seventeen districts, Contrade.  Every year these groups participate in a no-holds-barred horse race in the Piazza del Campo.  On Friday, the students were divided up into ten Contrade themselves for a weekend competition (a Spoleto Palio).  The festivities kicked off in Siena as the Contrade found their respective districts within the city, snapped selfless, purchased colorful flags, and prepared for the evening's race (palio).

The istrice (hedgehogs) pose in front of the Palazzo Pubblico.

The whole group (with some contrade flags) pose in front of the Palazzo.

Annie, of the chiocciola (snail) contrada.

A domani!