Day 2!

Mindy & Sergio

Gabby & Betsy on the bus

Skylar

Nicky gets into character

Counselors enjoy the improvisation during the Theater Spotlight

Garret makes sure everyone stays hydrated

Amber & Alie

Rochelle

Darci & Kameron

Valerie & Kyana

Mary, Mahallea & Angelica

Hello AXP Familia! Expert Counselor Alie here with a fabulous report for the day!!We began our morning with our normal routine, breakfast and then creative expression and arts workshops. The kids all seem to be having a great time! You are all going to be so impressed with the new skills your kids come home with! After those, we ate lunch and then went to a theatre spotlight class with an AXP instructor. The kids really broke out of their shells and took lots of creative risks that I'm sure they can't wait to tell you about! As staff members, we were so proud of the way the kids embraced the true Arts-X-Press fashion and went out on a limb. After that, we had a really good time in a great team building exercise you will have to ask them all about! After that, we went to a symphony in the cities concert to see the wonderful Pacific Symphony. The kids took a backstage tour and got to meet the Pacific Symphony conductor, Carl St. Clair. The kids really had a great time and learned a lot so they could have a good time watching the Symphony. You are going to hear so many stories! Everyone, kids and staff alike, is having a wonderful time. Tomorrow is going to bring many more great adventures as the students go see the famous Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. You'll hear more about it on here tomorrow! Thanks for checking in!!! :)

A few pictures from Week 3 so far...

Dance Workshop

Visual Art Workshop

Amber's quad takes the cake for decor!

Rochelle's counselor group

???

We love the cafeteria!

Instrumental Music Workshop

Our Theme of the Week is INSPIRATION!

Today we discussed the meaning of our theme, "Inspiration".  The students helped define what it means to be inspired and shared some of their personal inspirations with me:

Inspiration:  Something that motivates you to do or be something more.  Its like a dream coming true. 

Some of our students are motivate by people they know.  Dori is motivated by her music teacher because she works hard and is true to her music.  Colin is inspired by his 4th grade teacher because she inspired him to do his best.  Cassie is inspired by Taylor Swift's poetry and singing and Jose is inspired by the movies made by Steven Spielberg.

Diana L. is inspired by many things; food music and art! Emma is inspired by the vastness of space, it makes her feel safe.  Makaela is inspired by nature because it brings out the best in her landscape drawings.

Many of my students, like most of us, are inspired by their families.  Mahallea is inspired by the care her parents give her.  Olivia by her mother for encouraging her to do new things.  Jessica's mother inspires her by bringing joy to each day and spending time with her.  Gabby's sister and parents inspire her to step out of her comfort zone and be the best she can be.  Katie is inspired by her mom because she always supports her and loves her for just being herself.  Alijah is inspired by his dad.  Anna is inspired by both of her parents because they do so much, often without getting any thanks.  Brian's parents inspire him because they always have something to do but can always squeeze time in for him.  Diana M. is inspired by her mother because she encourages her to do good in school.

Now they ask, what is your inspiration?

Posted by Kameron's Creative Expression workshop

Week 3 has arrived!

Week 3 has arrived, and after some games to learn everyone's name and a terrific lunch, we got to find out what everyone has been dying to know--which Arts Workshops we'd been assigned to! We're off for an afternoon of creativity before we go to the Barclay for the National Choreographer's Initiative tonight.

We are so happy to have our beloved Eddie Oliver back with us this week!

Week 3 Bus and an Eddie Update

One more magical week left!
 For those of you in Week 2 who missed the fabulous Eddie Oliver on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, we are very happy to report that he is doing much better and will be back on Saturday to teach instrumental music for Week 3. If you want a chance to give him the big hug you didn't get to give him as you boarded the bus, you can come to this week's Parent Presentation on 8/2!

In case you're missing your packing list or medicine labeling form, they can be downloaded here:
Packing List
Medicine Labeling Form
Then we'll see you on the bus! Bus schedule pdf

Bus A

Placentia-Yorba Linda

Education Services Center

4999 Casa Loma Avenue

Yorba Linda, CA 92886  

Student arrival time: 7:45 am

Bus Departs: 8:05 am

Garden Grove

Garden Grove Unified District Office

10331 Stanford Ave

Garden Grove, CA 92840

Student Arrival Time: 8:25 am

Bus Departs: 8:45 am

Santa Ana

Santa Ana Unified District Office

1601 E Chestnut Ave.           

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Student Arrival Time: 9:10am

Bus Departs: 9:30 am

Bus B

Saddleback Valley

Saddleback Valley Unified District Office

25631 Peter A Hartman Way

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Student Arrival Time: 7:50am

Bus Departs: 8:10am

Irvine

Irvine Unified District Office

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92604

Student Arrival Time: 8:35 am

Bus Departs: 8:55 am

Newport-Mesa

California Elementary

3232 California Street
Costa Mesa, CA                                             

Student Arrival Time: 9:15 am                             

Bus Departs: 9:35 am 

Parents, check back here to see what Week 3 is up to. Then we look forward to seeing you at our Parent Presentation on Tuesday. It begins at 6:45 at Newport Mesa Church, 2599 Newport Blvd. on the Vanguard Campus.
View Larger Map

See you soon!

Don't Forget!

Parents,

Thank you for all those that attended the Parent Presentation tonight. It was a great evening! We had a great turnout and I know for a fact that your artists appreciated you attending. You know you loved the LLAMA song! Don't deny it. 

Just a few reminders:

It is imperative that you are on time tomorrow. Like I mentioned tonight, the worst thing is after the kids are so excited to share their experience with you but instead they end up waiting around for you. Once again, here are the bus arrival times:

Santa Ana: 10:05 AM

Garden Grove: 10:35 AM

Placentia-Yorba Linda: 11:05 AM

Newport-Mesa: 10:00 AM

Irvine: 10:25 AM

Saddleback Valley: 10:55 AM

It has been an absolute pleasure to borrow your kids for this week. They are extremely bright, talented, and fun. Remind them to not forget the magic they felt this week and remain a part of the Arts-X-Press family. I know I never forgot and it has been a part of me for almost 10 years. You did a great job raising such fine young artists. Keep up the good work.  :)

This is me signing off for Arts-X-Press Week 2, 2011. 

Mo

Coordinator, Week 2

Hello from Claire's Creative Expression Workshop!

We've been having wonderful experiences these past few days, creating art, singing, dancing, playing instruments, eating delicious food and going on amazing workshops. Here is some of our thoughts and feelings from member of our group.

The Pageant of the Masters and the Festival of Arts were amazing and the artwork was beautiful. Ali

I really enjoyed seeing Mary Poppins because of the difficult dancing and amazing voices. It was truly magical. Grace

Personally, I loved the the wedding Singer. All the music got the crowd pumped, everyone was so talented and I just love comedy. As amazing as that was, making new friends is still the best! Gigi C.

I've loved all of our excursions. Everything has been fun. I can't pick one thing over another. Arts-X-press rules! Scott

I really liked going to the festival of the Arts and Pageant of the Masters. Good job, 
arts-X-press! Gianna M.

What I love about arts-X-press is the way we get to learn about the arts. I'm having fun and making new friends. Angelarose

I really enjoyed the Pageant of the Masters. Amazing! And I love the people, the staff, counselors,
and campers, and making new friends.  Angela

The drummer at the Wedding Singer was amazing! I couldn't stop watching him. Orlando 

My favorite was Mary Poppins. I loved how they made her fly. It was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Gavin

The excursions were amazing and I'm having an amazing time. David

The arts and crafts at the Festival of the Arts gave me a chance to try out new forms of arts and see how they are made. Taylor

Arts-X-press has opened a whole new door to having fun and learning. I love it! And I don't want to go! Meaghan

My favorite excursion was the Wedding Singer. It made me imagine how my parents would dress in the eighties and that was really funny! Sofia

I liked the Wedding Singer and making new friends. Julie

Arts-X-press has inspired me more than any other experience I've had. I was pleasantly surprised by everything that happened and I am happier than ever before. Melissa

Yes! All that and more. :) Claire

A magical day 3!

This is Mo, coming to you live from the Admin. Suite. 

I somehow mustered up the strength to reflect on our day today. Maybe because it was absolutely incredible and really reminded me of how lucky we are to be able to do the things we do here at Arts-X-Press!

Day 3 has always  been my favorite day of Arts-X-Press. Today we all loaded the buses and headed to beautiful Laguna Beach. First stop was the Festival of the Arts where we saw some amazing artists display their best work. Not only did we see great art, but we got to make some of our own! Your kids made some spectacular Raku Pots (beware: the smell takes some getting used to), did some printmaking and did their own version of scratch art. 

We got to take an exclusive backstage tour of the Pageant of the Masters production. We saw how the paintings come together, the make-up is done, and how much time, energy, and man power it takes to make this show a success for almost 80 years! 

After their artistic skills were warmed up we headed to Heisler Park where we had dinner, got to prepare a little bit for the talent show, and got to relax a little bit.

Just when we thought the evening could not get any better we had a VERY special guest join us, Carl St. Clair! (Yes, the Carl St. Clair). He had some very inspiring words to share and gave everyone some great advice and encouraged all the students to follow their dreams and make a difference in the world. Always a great pep talk from Carl. 

Once that was all said and done, the moment we had all been waiting for arrived---Pageant of the Masters. The Arts-X-Pressers were in awe of what they were witnessing. They absolutely loved the show and were completely engaged through the entirety of the show. Having gone to many, many, Pageant shows myself, I definitely thought this was one of the better ones I have seen. If you have the opportunity to go, definitely do it! You will not regret it. 

This group of kids has so much energy it was funny to see it completely fade as the evening started to wrap up. Now they are all safe and sound and in their [somewhat] comfy beds. An unforgettable day at Arts-X-Press! I am positive you will hear about it and it maybe described better than what I was able to conjure up at 12:30 am after a full day! ;)

Reminder: Today is the parent presentation. Below is the map and more details. I will see you there! :) Make sure you say Hi!

Mo
Coordinator, Week 2

Parent Presentation - TUESDAY night

We can't wait to see everyone at the Parent Presentation on Tuesday*! It begins at 6:45 pm at Newport Mesa Church, which is at 2599 Newport Blvd. in the corner of Vanguard's campus. Parking is free, the whole family is welcome, and your campers can't wait to show you what they've accomplished this week.
*In the original posting, this said "tonight." But of course, today is Monday.  The parent presentation is indeed on TUESDAY. The days start to blend together around this point. My apologies, Blogmaster M

Arts X-Press Day 3

Hello Family!

This blog is brought to you by Lisa, Creative Expressions teacher. Your students are having a fabulous time creating stories! Saturday the students made fun Mad-Lib stories that got their imaginations rolling! Yesterday and today we worked on in depth story telling regarding character and plots of several artworks that they will get to see at Pageant of the Masters! I asked the students to share with you about something they experienced over the last few days and here is what they had to say:

I loved going to the shows and meeting new people - Jenna S.

Getting to meet some of the cast of Mary Poppins and also getting to see new people - Makayla L.

Getting to see "The Wedding Singer" musical and making new friends. - Ashley D.

Getting to see "Mary Poppins" was amazing and exciting. I can't wait for Pageant of the Masters! - Madison G.

The bus ride to "The Wedding Singer" was awesome. - Jacqueline C.

AXP is a place where you experience things that last a life-time. Every second I enjoy being here. - Sanha Y.

I love everything at AXP. It is amazing and so are the people. - Naomi G.

I love going to the musicals. I've never been before and I really enjoyed them. - Jimmy B.

I enjoyed the Improv class. - Gillian G.

I like seeing the theater the most. - Jonathan H.

I like everything here at AXP. This place is amazing and I believe my experience here will last a life time. - Sofia O.

What I <3 most about AXP is how everybody is different and nobody will laugh at you or call you weird for being creative. - Katie K.

I never realized how much I loved musicals. - Alex W.

What I liked the most was the excursions. - Daven S.

The excursions are what I liked most at AXP. - Garrett B.

Visual Arts is my favorite activity at AXP. - Richard Y.

I really liked the workshops and C.E. because we express ourselves. - Jianna V.


Well, that's it for now folks. See you tomorrow night at the Presentation! You'll be so impressed by all the talent!!

-Lisa

Day 2!

Hello Family!

This edition of the AXP blog is coming to you from the counselors Darlene and Amanda Panda!! YAY! Today was a very busy day. We started out with an inspirational session of Creative Expression (that rhymes!). Everyone seemed very excited about what they were working on. Afterward we dived right into art workshops! We heard wonderful things about visual, vocal, dance, instrumental, and drama! Everyone is turning into a real rock star, Picasso, and Yo Yo Ma! We can't wait to show you what we have been working on Tuesday night at the parent presentation! Everyone is in for a real treat!

For lunch, we had the privilege of dining with two real life Pacific Symphony Orchestra members. After lunch we had a FANTASTIC time at our theater workshop put on by the FAB-U-LOUS Amy Louise. Everyone took a risk and showed off their improv skills, comedy, creativity, and teamwork in some theatre games. Make sure you ask your artists about their experience in theater workshop, you are guaranteed some hilarious stories! Also, PAFIGLIANO!! Ask your artists later ;)

Finally, it was SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS time! We had a quick dinner and then we were off to see "Mary Poppins the Musical" at the Segerstom Hall. It was phenomenal. The singing, dancing, British accents, stage stunts, and special effects made the entire show a unique and magical experience! When we thought the night could not get any better, SURPRISE we found out we were going to meet some of the cast and ask them our own questions! Intelligent questions were asked and everyone learned the secrets and tricks from the pros that make a production like Mary Poppins amazing!

Now your happy campers are peacefully sleeping in their dorms, dreaming about what is in store tomorrow! This is Amanda Panda and Darlene, signing off! MAKE BELIEVE :)

Day 2 Pictures (so far)

So far Day 2 has been full of fun, with Arts Workshops and Creative Expression this morning, then a theater workshop this afternoon. Here are a few pictures!

Making Believe in CE

Every morning we get together in our Creative Expressions classes. We spend each morning writing about a goal we have for the day and a discovery that we made the previous day.

"Today I discovered to keep on going in acting and that I can do it without losing my other talent (playing instruments). And that you can have more than one talent. And that you can change your talent at any time or learn a new one." - Lily

"Today I discovered that I actually have the ability to get ready in 15 minutes. I have always taken a really long time to get ready but I did it with three minutes to spare! And my group was the first group out!" -Madison L.

"One goal today would be to make a new friend to hangout with when alone. It's always great to meet someone new." - Julia

"My goal is to do AWESOME in vocal today." -MJ

We also wrote a make-believe story about a person in our class using a make believe related adjective that started with the same letter as their name.

Once up on a time, there was a girl named Majestic Marissa. Majestic Marissa had a unicorn named Rainbow. One day, Rainbow was acting strangely when Marissa went out to the field to say hello. "What's wrong, Rainbow?" Majestic Marissa asked. Rainbow neighed towards the sky and pounded the ground nervously. Majestic Marissa followed his gaze and looked upwards. Dark purple storm clouds covered the sky. So she ran into her castle, dragging the anxious unicorn behind her. As soon as the two had stepped safely over the threshold, it began to rain, but not just any rain. It rained giant, hot pink rain drops! Majestic Marissa then turned to Rainbow. "Thank you for saving me! My hero!" She never left Rainbow's side again. The end. -by Sophia M.

We then made an acrostic poem to the words "Make Believe". Enjoy the differences in poems written by girls and poems written by boys. :)

Mystical Madeleine and Malificant Maddie rules AXP.
Amazing fairy godmother's grant us wishes of gold.
Kings and Queens teach every class.
Evil witches casting spells everywhere.

Busy fairies buzz through the air leaving fairy dust everywhere.
Eternal Evan will never die, it scares us all.
Lovely Princesses rule every dorm.
Immortality is expected.
Elegant elephants fly with ease
Vicious vipers crawl every where.
Everything and anything is possible. 
-by the two Maddies


Monkeys eating goblins
Astronomers discover Mario on Pluto
Kicking wood made a black hole
Eating tuna made the sun disappear

Bananas take out Justin Bieber
Evan ate a time machine
Lunatics eat lava
In my room a dog at a mattress whole
Elephants ate their legs
Volcanoes erupt ice cream
Eggs robbed a bank.
-by Evan and Joey

The last thing that we did was put all of our acrostic poems into one big class poem. Enjoy the writings of Hercules Helena, Make Believe MJ, Surreal Sophia, Joyous Julia, Lovely Lily, Glorious Gloria, K-amazing Katelyn, Eternal Evan, Joystick Joey, Doctor Danny, Super Selah, Mystical Madeleine, Majestic Marissa, Malificent Madison, Ketchup Kevin, and Magical Michal.

Magical creatures lurk in the corners of my room
An afollophogus apologizes appropriately after appropriately appetizing an antelope.
Ketchup falling from the sky
Every night Peter Pan comes to my window


Believe in the unbelievable
Elves sitting on dragons' tails eating enchiladas
Laughing hyenas chasing Bigfoot
Incredible Medusa turned my goldfish into stone
Eating tuna made the sun disappear.
Visible people are not really there
Everyone sleeping at the castle.

Week 2 begins!

Everyone arrived on campus safely and happily and the fun is underway! We have already had a delicious lunch and the first meeting of our arts workshops and are excited to go to the Carpenter Center for "The Wedding Singer" tonight.

We got the beat, the arts-X-press beat!





Week 2

We can't wait for Saturday!

In case you're missing your packing list or medicine labeling form, they can be downloaded here:
Packing List
Medicine Labeling Form
Then we'll see you on the bus! Bus schedule pdf

Bus A

Placentia-Yorba Linda

Education Services Center

4999 Casa Loma Avenue

Yorba Linda, CA 92886  

Student arrival time: 7:45 am

Bus Departs: 8:05 am

Garden Grove

Garden Grove Unified District Office

10331 Stanford Ave

Garden Grove, CA 92840

Student Arrival Time: 8:25 am

Bus Departs: 8:45 am

Santa Ana

Santa Ana Unified District Office

1601 E Chestnut Ave.           

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Student Arrival Time: 9:10am

Bus Departs: 9:30 am

Bus B

Saddleback Valley

Saddleback Valley Unified District Office

25631 Peter A Hartman Way

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Student Arrival Time: 7:50am

Bus Departs: 8:10am

Irvine

Irvine Unified District Office

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92604

Student Arrival Time: 8:35 am

Bus Departs: 8:55 am

Newport-Mesa

California Elementary

3232 California Street
Costa Mesa, CA                                             

Student Arrival Time: 9:15 am                             

Bus Departs: 9:35 am 

Parents, check back here daily for updates. Then we look forward to seeing you at our Parent Presentation on Tuesday. It begins at 6:45 at Newport Mesa Church, 2599 Newport Blvd. on the Vanguard Campus.
View Larger Map

See you soon!

The Final Countdown

Hey hey hey,

Today we embarked on another great day at arts-x-press! Although we had no excursions today, we still had a jam-packed day here at Vanguard. After a long night at the Pageant of the Arts, we were all grateful to sleep in a little while longer. After filling up on a hearty breakfast everyone went to their Creative Expression classes and put our creative minds to use. While some kids blogged, others wrote acrostic poems and worked on haikus. Then we all met up at the letters and dispersed to our art workshops. Whether dance, visual arts, voice, instrumental, or theater, we all finalized our pieces for the parent work in progress presentation, and added last minute touches. Then we took a quick lunch break to get some energy for the rest of the day. Later we enjoyed a special treat when we got to work with musicians from the Pacific Symphony. A song was written specifically for us at arts-x-press and we came up with different combinations of the melody. Then we got to practice our percussion skills and have a question session with the musicians. The instrumental spotlight was followed by a vocal spotlight where we learned harmonies and found confidence in our voice. After that we squeezed in some time for practicing for the talent show and rehearsing for the parent presentation. Then we ate a fast dinner all anxious to see our family and show our friends the progress we have made. We all went to the show and it was awesome! It was great to see what everyone had been working on for the past couple of days. The performance definitely stayed true to this weeks theme of Collaboration. Creative Expression classes also gave a preview of what they had been working on, and everyone expressed how much arts-x-press has influenced them and impacted them. After our three minute hellos to any visitors, we went to our talent show where everyone was amazing. We saw a wide variety of talents and it was great to see everyone perform their art form. When the show ended, the kids walked over to a surprise party that the counselors            had planned. Then we went back to our dorms and settled down and packed up. Tomorrow the buses will bring us back all home, and though no one wants arts-x-press to end, we can't wait to see our family and friends! 

CE day 4

Day 4 of Gemma’s Creative Expression class!

Featuring the collaboration of Vivian, Matt, Leigh, Kelsey, Dustin, Annamaria, Lily, Dion, Shawna, Mikayla, Claire, Denise, Thao, Fiama, Evie, Noah and David

Each day we write in our creatively decorated journals about a DISCOVERY and a GOAL. 

Some DISCOVERIES we have made:

            I can write my name backwards.

Even if someone says something is real, to other people it is make-believe.

I love tacos.

If you believe in yourself, you can do anything.

Some GOALS we have set:

Make new friends.

Learn more about myself.

Take more risks.

Try my hardest in my Arts Workshop.

We express ourselves though our poetry.  At the parent presentation we will share with you our class ACROSTIC poem.  As for now, here are some “I AM…”  poems.

            I am an artist

            I wonder if I will make it big

            I hear the chattering audience waiting for the show

            I see the bright lights

            I want to sing and dance

            I am an artist.

                                    By Mikayla

           

            I am Kelsey Bray

            I wonder if I will ever make it to Broadway

            I hear Mikayla getting irritated that I’m in seventh grade and older than her

            I see a family around me and supporting me

            I want to have a great time and meet new friends

            I am Kelsey Bray.

           

            I understand the concept of math

I say I can do anything

I dream about anything

I try to be the best

I hope to go to Harvard

I am the best and the only Fiama Pschaidt

Yesterday we got the opportunity to work together at the Festival of the Arts, creating scratch art, Raku pots and printmaking.  Looking forward to sharing our artistic risk-taking with you!

And finally, we found last night’s Pageant of the Masters: breathtaking, alive, exotic, out-of-this-world, truly amazing, fascinating, emotional, entertaining, fantastic, kewl, inspiring.

See you very soon!!!

Day three = victory!!!

Hellooo from arts-x-press!!!
Wow what a day!  Today after a scrumididdlyumtious breakfast, the kids headed over to CE (creative expression) to write poems and reflect on yesterday's performance of the Wedding Singer.  In some classes, the campers even got to act out the parts of the show!  The kids were so excited about CE today, and they were talking about it all throughout the day.  Then, we all went over to workshops and worked on improv, self-portraits, and routines.  We sure are a talented bunch of kids!  For lunch today, we had chicken tacos, salads, self-made sandwiches, and OF COURSE our favorite ice cream cones!!  Mmm yummy.
Then... for the highlight of the day that everyone was looking forward to: Pageant of the Masters!!!! When we first got to Laguna, we went on a tour of the theater, and we checked out the sets, lighting, costumes, makeup, and wardrobe! It was such a unique experience! Then we decorated ceramic pots and worked on scratch art and printmaking. The kids and staff all get to keep their pieces of art! Later, we walked all around the art festival and looked at all of the pieces, and thought of questions that we would go ask the artists later in the evening when we got the chance. After about an hour, we left the Pageant area temporarily so we could go to Heisler Park. It was beautiful! We were at a big grassy area overlooking the ocean. It was so peaceful and relaxing! The kids prepped for the talent show in their groups and everyone is starting to get verrryyy excited. Some people are taking big risks and doing things for the show they never even knew they were capable of! Whoppee!! For dinner we had a delicious pizza party, thanks to Dominos! Then, before we knew it, the St. Clair family was there! Carl St. Clair came and did excercises with the kids, teaching everyone the difference between listening versus hearing, and looking versus seeing. It was perfect for preparing us for Pageant of the Masters! When we got back to the theater, we sat in our seats and the show began! The "Only Make Believe" theme of the show was so well presented! The section with the dragons seemed to be very popular with EVERYONE! 

Our Creative Expression Group has done some impressive and insightful work in the past few days.  They have journaled daily about Inspirations and Realizations that they have made during camp.  Many of them found their "Magic Moment" while attending the performance of The Wedding Singer at Musical Theatre West yesterday afternoon.  A few of them had never seen a musical before, and even the musical experts were impressed by the hilarity and the energy of the production.  Please enjoy our OWN version of The Wedding Singer, complete with some musical interludes that may remind you of a simpler time:  The Eighties!

Day Two! WooWoo!

From the Counselors:
Why Hello Hello,
Today at arts-x-press was quite enthrallingly magical! We started our day early with a wonderful wake-up call by our lovely counselors. After which we visited the artsmart where the children were able to purchase our wonderful arts-x-press merchandise. Then we headed over to the cafeteria to enjoy a wonderful breakfast, provided by Vanguard, of french toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, and of course some H-2-Oh-Yah!!!!! After feeding, the children went to their creative expression classes where they would a achieve what we at arts-x-press refer to as expressing ourselves creatively. There after the kiddies went to their arts workshops where they could come together to collaborate on their art and what art means to them. Following our arts workshop session everyone rejoined each other for a scrump-diddly-umptious lunch of a sub or hot dog with salad. Afterwards we went on our excursion. We saw The Wedding Singer at the Carpenter Center and the kids had a charming time. The kids had a wonderful time watching such a colorful show. We all returned to Vanguard in time for some nice din-din (dinner) of tacos!!!!!!! And finally we closed our day with a very heartfelt bonding session where the kids had the opportunity to openly appreciate two people. All in all it was a very busy and exciting day at arts-x-press!!!

Here are some photos from tonight's theater workshop. We created family portraits, but not of any ordinary family--it could be a family of animals, objects, or anything we could imagine. We tried to make it look like a real family, including at least one "black sheep." Can you guess what these families are? Can you spot the black sheep?

Collaborating with the Animals

Last night we were lucky to experience the lovely Pacific Symphony Orchestra along with the incredibly talented 5 Browns perform the Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens. Three of the Browns narrated and two performed along with the PSO.

So this morning, when trying to decide what to present on the blog, we decided to create our own Carnival of the Animals. We started out with some collaborative brainstorming to determine how we wanted the performance to look. Then we divided up the roles- five of us took on the role of the 5 talented pianists and the rest of us became animals. You can't, of course, play the role of aniamls without costumes so we got to work artistically. And now, with a few sheets of construction paper, some glue and glitter, a few sound glitches, snorts and giggles, a lot of collaboration and imagination and tons of charm, we present to you, the Carnival of Michal's CE Animal Class!

Update 9:54 p.m. -- sorry about the technical difficulties with viewing the video. You should be able to access it at this link. Let us know if the problems persist!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bti4zIPJ9U

ps- we just realized that it's sideway and can't change it! of well, it just adds to our heaping charm :)

Week 1, Day 1

 Everyone arrived on campus safely and we had a great time learning each others' names. Following a delicious lunch in the cafeteria, we got to find out which Arts Workshops everyone had been assigned to. We are really looking forward to tonight's excursion to Verizon Wireless Amphitheater to see the Pacific Symphony! We got to have lunch with Pacific Symphony cellist Ian McKinnell and are psyched to see him onstage tonight with the 5 Browns. Check out this article in today's L.A. Times about this amazing quintet!

Visual Art Workshop

Theater workshop

Creative Expression

Vocal music workshop

Verizon Wireless Amphitheater