Arts Alive! experience brought to the classroom
DREW STONE
News Writing Student
The headless horseman swept across the stage with a pumpkin on its shoulders when a group of OCCC students attended “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” ballet as part of a class assignment.
The performance took place Oct. 30 at the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theater in the Civic Center Music Hall in downtown Oklahoma City.
The students had enrolled in the OKC Arts Alive! course that meets once a week for eight weeks on Friday evenings. Class time is split between attending performances and arts events, and analyzing what they experienced.
Students offered mixed opinions of the ballet, which converted Washington Irving’s 19th century short story into a narrative dance brought to life by the Oklahoma City Ballet and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.
The OKC Arts Alive! class exposes students to a wide variety of performing arts, many of which are new to some students.
“I came across this class when looking to sign up for a humanities course,” said Spanish major Angelica Sanchez. “I was hoping to get my foot in the door on what it felt like to go to a theater or ballet. It brought something new to life that I can enjoy.”
The students attend ballets, musicals, and theatrical performances over the course of eight weeks to earn three humanities credits.
Students get to experience not only different style performances, but also performances with vastly different settings, ranging from the expansive 2,481-seat Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theater to the intimate setting of the 106-seat CitySpace Theater.
Ruth Charnay, Communications and the Arts department director, is the professor. She said she developed the course when she realized many people remained oblivious to the city’s offerings in the performing arts. Before becoming a college administrator, Charnay worked for several years as a professor.
“As I was teaching, I noticed many students saying there was never anything to do in Oklahoma City,” Charnay said. “I wanted students to grow an appreciation, to show them there are arts in Oklahoma City.”
The students had already experienced “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” musical on Oct. 23, meeting shortly before the performance to discuss what to watch for and again after the performance to discuss everything from the selection of actors to the message behind the story.
“We love being able to host the OKC Arts Alive! course,” said Richard Charnay, Civic Center Music Hall events manager.
“Education is important to us. That’s why we have outreach programs from grade school to high school.
“We have to look at who our audience is going to be in several years.”
The OKC Arts Alive! course will be offered again in the fall of 2010. It meets on Friday evenings and begins at mid-term.
For more information, contact Charnay at 405-682-1611, ext. 7143.
