18,000 STUDENTS "TAKE TO THE STREETS" AT 46th ANNUAL BLUE RIBBON CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL

Photo: Back row from left, Laura Adler, Blue Ribbon President Julie Goldsmith, Jill Reilly, Kacey McCoy, Marcy Hammerstein, and Children's Festival Co-Chair Raylene Meyer pose with children during the 2016 Blue Ribbon Children’s Festival at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on February 17, 2016, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Ryan Miller)

More than 6,000 fifth grade students (two groups of 3,100 students each) from all over Los Angeles County kicked off the 46th Annual Blue Ribbon Children’s Festival (Festival) today with a simultaneous performance of a Hip-Hop dance on The Music Center Plaza. Over three days, more than 18,000 students will participate in the Festival, California’s longest-continuing free arts education program. After weeks of in-class preparation, the students attended a live performance at The Music Center for free and then performed a special piece choreographed just for them. For many students, the Festival is their first opportunity to experience a live performing arts event.

The Festival is presented by The Blue Ribbon of the Music Center, the premier women's support organization of The Music Center. Founded by Dorothy Chandler in 1968, The Blue Ribbon is committed to giving students access to the best of the performing arts from a young age.

This year, participating students from more than 240 schools throughout Los Angeles County explored the many dimensions of Hip-Hop culture, in the performances they watched, in their own dance and in the curriculum materials developed to complement their performance and their overall experience at The Music Center. Students saw music and dance performances in the iconic Dorothy Chandler Pavilion by both Black Violin and Rennie Harris RHAW.

As classically trained instrumentalists, Black Violin has been credited with melding the traditional with popular culture, creating a groundbreaking musical category that blends classical music, Hip-Hop, Rock, R&B and Bluegrass. The group, which includes Wilner “Will B” Baptiste on viola and Kevin “Kev Marcus” Sylvester on violin, has performed on Broadway, at the legendary Apollo Theatre and for President Barack Obama’s inaugural ball, among many locations all over the world.

Rennie Harris RHAW (Rennie Harris Awe-Inspiring Works) is a dance company that focuses on youth and urban culture. Since the age of 15, Dr. Lorenzo “Rennie” Harris has been a voice for the significance of “street” origins in any dance style. Dr. Harris founded RHAW in response to the overwhelming interest from teens and young adults to join his internationally renowned company Rennie Harris Puremovement, a Hip-Hop dance company dedicated to preserving and disseminating Hip-Hop culture.

18,000 Students “Take to the Streets”/The Blue Ribbon Children’s Festival

The two companies perform six times for the students, twice per day on all three days of the Festival. Following each performance, the students join together in a choreographed dance that incorporates music and movements from the live presentation. The choreography for the student dance was inspired by the many dimensions of Hip-Hop, including its improvisational nature and the influences of “street culture.” Students perform to Black Violin’s Brandenburg.

According to Julie Goldsmith, president of The Blue Ribbon, the totality of the Festival is key to its impact. “From engaging in the curriculum and their in-classroom rehearsals, to witnessing a live performance and performing themselves, children who participate in The Blue Ribbon Children’s Festival are tremendously enriched by their deep dive into the arts. Despite the roller coaster ride that arts and music programs have experienced in schools over the years, we have remained steadfast, opening the eyes of more than 830,000 students in Los Angeles to the power of the performing arts.”

“We know the arts transform lives and foster innovation, which is why arts education programs such as The Blue Ribbon Children’s Festival are critically important to motivating students and sparking their creative juices,” said Rachel Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “Thanks to many highly dedicated Blue Ribbon volunteers, the work of our Education team, and the teachers in our community who are passionate about the arts, we can help inspire children to take risks and achieve their dreams.”

Each year, The Blue Ribbon Children’s Festival invites fifth grade students from schools throughout Los Angeles County to be a part of the high-energy event. More than 75 Blue Ribbon members volunteer over a three-day period to keep the Festival running smoothly. Participating schools receive curriculum materials, background on the performing companies and classroom activities to help prepare students for the performance. Educators teach their students about audience etiquette, what to watch for during the performance, history and terminology, as well as the choreography for their dance performance. This year, students explored the history of Hip-Hop culture, learning how it evolved with influences not only from both the East and West Coasts, but also from many different ethnic groups in the U.S. The choreography for the student dance was developed by Music Center Master Teaching Artist Tiffany Jimini Bong.

Following their performance, each participating student receives a keepsake book, A Journey Through The Music Center, which describes The Music Center’s four theaters and various aspects of live performances. Thanks to a gift from Blue Ribbon member Maxine Dunitz, every student who attends the festival receives this book, which is updated and reprinted annually.

Over the years, students attending the Festival have seen performances by the LA Phil, the LA Opera, American Ballet Theatre, The Joffrey Ballet, and Diavolo Dance Theater, among others.

During last year’s Festival, participating students set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDSTM title for the Largest ribbon dance for the greatest number of people at a single venue who simultaneously performed the same choreographed dance using ribbons. This achievement celebrated the Festival’s 45th consecutive year.

About The Blue Ribbon

A champion of the performing arts, The Blue Ribbon is the premier women's support organization of The Music Center. Created in 1968 by Dorothy Buffum Chandler to raise funds for The Music Center, its education programs and its resident companies, The Blue Ribbon has contributed more than $73 million as part of its commitment to uphold artistic excellence in programming on The Music Center’s stages and arts education for youth. For more information, visit musiccenter.org/blueribbon and follow The Blue Ribbon on Facebook and Twitter (@BlueRibbonMC).

About The Music Center

The Music Center is Los Angeles’ home to the world’s greatest artistic programs and events. With four iconic theaters and four renowned resident companies – LA Phil, LA Opera, Center Theatre Group and the Los Angeles Master Chorale – and recognized for its illustrious dance programming, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, The Music Center is a destination where audiences find inspiration in the very best of live performance, as well as nationally recognized arts education and participatory arts experiences. The Music Center also programs and manages Grand Park, a 12-acre adjacent greenspace, with year-round free programming. For more information, visit musiccenter.org and follow The Music Center on Facebook and Twitter (@MusicCenterLA).

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