Author: Desiree DeMolina

The Alliance for the Arts offers summer arts classes for infants and preschoolers, beginning in June. These courses are designed to provide young children opportunities to learn, experiment and eventually master the skill at their own rate.

School of Rock begins June 5 and runs on Tuesdays through June 26. The course offers students the opportunity to learn how to create songs and record them, rock out on an instrument and play music while making friends. Dance in Color begins June 7 and runs on Thursdays through June 28. Fundamentals and form for hip hop, dancing, ballet, lyrical and jazz are taught. Both classes are for preschool ages 4 and 5 and cost $90 for Alliance members or $115 for nonmembers. Classes are instructed by April Cox.

April Cox has been a general education teacher for Lee County Schools for the past 11 years and was a preschool director in southwest Florida. Cox was a summer arts camp instructor for the Alliance for the Arts and has directed numerous drama productions in the past five years.

Music and Movement is a 30 minute interactive musical experience, led by San Francisco Bay Area’s beloved children’s musician Megan Schoenbohm. Infants, toddlers and preschoolers (ages infant-5) are accompanied in the class by a parent, grandparent or caregiver. Rhythmic and tonal patterns will be practiced encouraging growth in both babies’ and grown-ups’ musical understanding. Movement and dance will provide a visual and visceral musical lesson in addition to being fun and engaging.

Music and Movement runs Mondays, beginning July 2 through July 23. The cost is $60 for Alliance members or $75 for nonmembers.

Alliance membership saves 20 percent on classes and workshops. To become a member, Visit www.ArtInLee.org/Join.

For more information or to register visit, visit www.ArtInLee.org/Education or call 239-939-2787.

The Alliance for the Arts has limited space available for visual and performing arts summer camps for grades 1-6. The program is coupled with a one-of-a-kind, family-friendly summer gallery exhibitions.

Summer Arts Camps allow children to discover their creative abilities by taking part in visual and performing arts with a different theme each week. Alliance camps focus on painting and visual arts, theatre, music and dance instruction, which come together for an art exhibition and performance each Friday afternoon. Camp is held at the Alliance located at 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers, FL. Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with extended care available from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. for a fee. Summer Arts Camp is $160 per week for Alliance Members or $200 per week for non-members. You may become a member to receive a 20% discount.

Themes include:

• June 4 – June 8: Once Upon A Time
• June 11 – June 15: Trapped in a Video Game
• June 18 – June 22: Robot Mayhem
• June 25 – June 29: The Search for Yellow Beard’s Hidden Treasure
• July 9 – July 13: Are You Game?
• July 16 – July 20: Broadway: Another Opening, Another Show!
• July 23 – July 27: Super Heroes
• July 30 – August 3: Let’s Rock Out!

For the duration of the summer, the Alliance will present two educational gallery exhibitions to enrich camper experiences.

From June 1 – June 30, the Alliance invites campers to explore historical spaces and artifacts in new ways through its exhibition, Augmented Reality. With Augmented Reality, the Alliance will superimpose virtual world over what’s actually in front of you through cutting-edge technology.

The traveling Smithsonian Exhibition Hometown Teams: Sports in American Communities is on display from June 30 – Aug. 4. This project gives patrons an opportunity to share these stories, celebrate local legends and collect memorabilia from the community. The show provides educational initiatives about sports and ideals such as team work, fair play, leadership and respect.

For students in grades 6 -12, the Alliance also presents Musical Theatre Intensive, held at Broadway Palm’s rehearsal space in Royal Palm Plaza and offers students the unique opportunity to work with Broadway Palm’s resident Choreographer Amy McCleary and with actors from current Broadway Palm shows. Camp runs 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Daily arrival time 8:45 – 9 a.m. with no extended care available. There is a final performance each Friday at 3:00 p.m. Each week is $175 for Alliance Members or $220 for non-members. Camps run June 4 – 8 and July 9 – Aug. 3.

For more information on Summer Arts Camp or Musical Theatre Intensive Camp, visit www.ArtInLee.org/SummerCamp or call 239-939-2787. You may become a member at www.ArtInLee.org/Join to take advantage of discounts.

Teen volunteer and scholarship applications are also available. Volunteer positions are offered to students at least 14 years of age who want to gain experience and confidence through assisting the Summer Arts Camp Education Team. Scholarship applications are awarded on need and based on availability of funds. They are due by April 30 and rewarded by May 14.

Summer Arts Camp is kindly sponsored by Family Thrift Center in Fort Myers.

Artists from all over Florida submitted more than 530 pieces for consideration in the Alliance for the Arts’ Annual All Florida Exhibition. The juror, Mark Ormond, narrowed the list to 57 pieces which were unveiled to the public during an opening celebration on March 9. The exhibit will continue until March 29 at 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers, FL 33919.

Betsy DJamoos was awarded $1,000 for Best in Show for her abstract piece “Natural Vibrations.” Elisabeth Arena  won a $250 Golden Colors Gift Certificate for her 2^nd place for her graphite work “The Contemplative Crow.” Gay Germain won $100 for 3^rd place for her acrylic piece “Sculpture Garden Reductive III.” David Belling, Sherry Rohl, Tammra Sigler and Buck Ward were awarded Juror’s Choice Awards.

“My intuition guides my palette, brush strokes and knowing when the painting is finished,” says Best In Show Winner DJamoos. “All my paintings start out with intuitive marks on a white canvas and the piece evolves from that flow.”

Full list of exhibiting artists include: Kaitlyn Handley, Hilda Champion, Beverly Yankwitt, Paul Dengler, Alane Enyart, David Belling, Betsy DJamoos, Susan Rienzo, Roxanne Hanney, Carolyn Steele, Ellen Miller, J.T. Phillippe, Elisabeth Arena, Imani Gibbs, Sherri Hubby, Maggie DeMarco, Tammra Sigler, Grayson Stoff, Buck Ward, Stephen Staack, Barbara Groenteman, Gregory Presley, Katrina Parker, Paula Rucket, Julio Pacheco Delgado, Deborah LaFogg Docherty, Megan Kissinger, Jeff and Dale Ocasio, Taylor Scalzo, Susan Ritter, Gay Germain, Christine Di Staola, Diane Schultz, Carol Stream, Vae Hamilton, Sharon Rodgers, Dirce Kennedy, Jolie Black, Mariapia Malerba, Luba Drahosz, Dianne GreenWoman Wickes, Peter Zell, Roseline Young, Sherry Rohl, Mark Wlaz, Victoria Milne, Tracy Owen Cullimore, Susan Martin and Deborah Martin.

“It’s exciting to host artists from across all the pockets of Florida,” says exhibitions coordinator Krista Johnson. “The submissions truly showcase the breadth and creative talent of Florida’s independent artists.”

The Alliance for the Arts presents a limited run of Grounded by George Brant March 22-25 at 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers, FL 33919. The production is directed by Theatre Conspiracy Founder and Artistic Producing Director Bill Taylor and stars Katie Pankow as The Pilot. This one-woman show targets our assumptions about war, family, and the power of storytelling.

Grounded is the story of an ace fighter pilot who becomes pregnant and gets reassigned to operating drones from a windowless trailer on an Air Force base in the desert outside Las Vegas. Hunting terrorists by day and coming home to her family by night, the boundaries between reality and the screen – between the desert where she lives and the desert where she fights – blur as the pilot struggles to navigate her dual identities.

Katie Pankow is a classically trained actress based in South Florida. She has previously starred in Lend Me A Tenor, BIG ARTS Strauss Theatre; Swell Party, Theatre Conspiracy; The Odd Couple (Female Version), Off-Broadway Palm, Ajax in Iraq, University of Florida. A bit of a jack-of-all-trades, Katie is a published poet, an award-winning radio news journalist, and a decorated artist.

“This visceral production demands a strong female actor who can own the show and we’re thrilled to welcome Katie, one of the best in southwest Florida,” says Bill Taylor. “Grounded is a riveting play filled with powerful storytelling about the dualities of war and family.”

Individual tickets to each show are $25, $11 for students or $22 for Alliance members. Performances run March 22 – 24 at 8 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee on March 25.

To purchase tickets or for more information, call the box office at 239-939-2787 or visit www.ArtInLee.org/Theatre.

What the Critics Say

2012 Smith Prize Winner – Recognizing outstanding achievement for plays focused on American politics

“Gripping” —The New York Times

“A searing piece of writing”—The Guardian

“Compelling and provocative” —San Francisco Chronicle

“As close to perfection as is possible to imagine…Grounded is a powerful, hallucinogenic experience.” – What’s On Stage

“Thought provoking, thoroughly engrossing…pulses with the rhythms of an epic war poem” – TheatreMania