Starting Arts
Starting Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving arts education for children in Bay Area schools. At Bishop, Starting Arts provides our students with classes in Dance, Visual Arts, Music, and Theater. Students experience each art discipline during a six-week session taught by a resident artist. For more information, visit the Starting Arts website.
Dance
In dance, students use movements that carry them across the room as well as movements of different parts of their bodies while staying in place. As they learn to vary their movements by using different degrees of force or energy, the movements become dynamic. By joining movements, students can perform brief dance sequences that express emotions with a beginning, middle, and end. Through folk and traditional dances, students learn more about why, when, and where people dance and how dances are similar or different.
Visual Arts
In visual arts, students explore a variety of artists and techniques. They utilize the world around them to gain inspiration to create masterpieces. Students also get the opportunity to express themselves in a variety of ways.
Music
Singing and playing classroom instruments improve students’ listening skills, accuracy, technique, and understanding of musical forms. By learning more about music from around the world, they can recognize the influence of various cultures on music. They also learn how practice and rehearsal improve their performance.
Theater
In theater, students learn to identify and describe important elements of theater, such as character, setting, conflict, motivation, props, stage areas, and blocking. Acting through facial expressions, gestures, and movements helps students develop characters. By participating in theatrical experiences, they gain many opportunities to demonstrate their problem-solving and cooperative skills.