Arts Events

Arts Alive Week 2023

A two-week celebration of Visual and Performing Arts at Newman! 

A dance production inspired by Broadway musicals, directed by Gabrielle Thompson

December 11 & 12, 7:30 pm in The Jackson Theater
Sonoma Country Day School | 400 Day School Place, Santa Rosa

Tickets:
Students/Senior Citizens: $10   |   Adults $15    |    Children 5 & under: Free

Online ticket sales will end on Sunday Dec. 10th at midnight. Tickets will be sold at the door on Monday Dec. 11th and Tuesday Dec. 12th starting at 6:30pm before the show.

The spring dance performance, These Four Years, was a yearbook brought to life by Dance Director Gabrielle Thompson and our incredible dancers.  It was heartfelt, deeply personal, and a true reflection of the Newman experience.

The dancers impressed the audience with courage, talent, energy, heartfelt expression, and creativity. The opening number choreographed by senior Dance III Honors student, Nina Verhoeff, set the tone by taking the audience down memory lane with the song “School Day” by Chuck Berry, then shifting the piece into a sudden twist of modern day hip hop flare with a Missy Elliot Remix. As the show progressed with dances inspired by science class, daydreaming, running late, friendships, social pressures, personal challenges, and joyful movements of team spirit and sports, the dancer’s ownership of their pieces shared powerful moments that left lasting impressions. A beautiful and deeply moving duet performed and choreographed, by Willow Harm and Isabella Blakey, honoring Willow’s sister, Amber Harm, touched all of the hearts in the audience. 

Other Dance III Honors choreographer’s such as Priyanka Sharma, Ella Jones, Gabriella Sinatra, Caronline Doughtery and Cianna Foppoli, collaborated and created dynamic original works to express their connection to high school life. Congratulations to all of the dancers for their commitment and hard work this year. A special thank you to Amanda Wood, Parent Volunteer Coordinator, the teachers who performed, and the parents who helped out at the show. The Cardinal Newman Dance Program is extremely grateful for all of the support shared in the arts.

Curtain Call Productions’ “Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Ghost Machine” by David MacGregor was a smashing success! The story takes place in Sherlock’s “gentler” years. His companions worry that he has lost his edge and urge him to take on a new case. Cue the entrance of Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison—two feuding geniuses with new inventions that could change the course of human history—only both inventions have gone missing.

Alex Loxley performed as Sherlock Holmes with all the requisite cape-swirling panache, all while demonstrating an amazing feat of memorization being on the stage for nearly the entirety of the show. The villainous femme fatale Marie Chartier (the evil daughter of the late Professor Moriarty) was played by the charming Amy Chai. Shawet Shibeshi and Paolo Maraviglia were highly convincing as the famed inventors Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. And as every hero
needs a love interest who can hold off a villain at sword-point (while wearing a corset), Sherlock’s leading lady Irene Adler was played by Bella Alvear. Harlan Heibel brought the perfect touch as the charming and tender-hearted John Watson. The show was supported by the crew, Michela Comfort and Christian Chandler, and directed by Ms. Hayden-Town.

Our Newman Visual Artists celebrated Arts Alive with an open gallery night in April 2023.  Student-artists displayed a wide array of projects, including ceramics, charcoal, pastels, and a colorful collection of upcycled tardy slips. 

Throughout their time in the Fine Arts program, students-artists learn the symbolic, expressive and descriptive qualities of the elements of art, and build the vocabulary of an artist. These concepts are learned through hands-on experience and prompts designed to focus and inspire their work. As students build their portfolio, they work with a variety of media and have the space and opportunity to play with shape, perspective, and scale.  Many of their projects are developed individually, providing them the space to express their own style and interpretation.  Other projects are collaborative, like the AP Studio Arts annual hand-painted surfboard.  These collaborative projects require students to collectively brainstorm ideas and work as a team to refine and execute their vision, incorporating the voice of every member while maintaining a cohesive vision.  Each group takes their own approach to artistic collaboration, but in each instance, they must engage those 21st-century soft skills like problem-solving, empathy, flexibility, and leadership. 

Join Mr. Hasbany and The Arts Alive crew for Advisory Improv!

Tuesday, 12/5  | Dance Room | During 1st Advisory |  10:05am-10:40am.