In my opinion, “the arts” are about the most important subject your child can undertake.
We have finally arrived at the penultimate production of 2022. A year that has taught us so much about so many things, and one that in many ways will shape the way we do things in the future.
It’s been said many times before that this show in particular is so much more about the journey than it is about the destination. As educators we can sometimes become fixated on the end result, whether that be an exam score, a performance target or in our case, the final production. However this thinking is often flawed, as we are indexing results over the importance and joys of learning itself.
Thankfully the arts is probably the most subjective thing in the world, alongside food. Which means what one person loves and enjoys another can equally dislike and both can still be right. I once took my 5 year old son to an art gallery in London where we viewed Van Gough’s “Sunflowers”. He said it looked a mess, and to be honest I was inclined to agree with him, but that’s ok, as its just our opinion and our taste. The same can be said for the theatre, music, films, fashion, photography, modern art etc. Our industry is not black and white, its hundreds of shades of grey in the middle. You can’t pass or fail on your opinion and your taste can’t be wrong. That’s how the arts should be!
In my opinion, “the arts” are about the most important subject your child can undertake. Thankfully it’s not about the end product its about a whole lot more. Fundamentally, performing arts is about communication. Learning to express yourself through voice and body language. This is a critical skill in an ever digitised world. It ignites the part of your brain that is responsible for feelings, emotion and creativity. But it also enhances our ability to problem solve, to listen and observe and to understand how to articulate yourself and your ideas. There is no industry in the world that doesn’t index these skills higher than the rest and yet the arts still doesn’t get a place at the top table of education. To many, it is simply seen as a luxury, rather than a staple part of a child’s development.
What you will see during this production is a lot of the core performing arts skills. You will see acting, singing, dance, and self confidence at various levels; all wrapped up in a variety of carefully chosen Disney songs. What you won’t see on stage is the hundreds of lessons that have already been learned during the past 9 months of work. However I hope that what you take away from this experience is a slightly more confident, resilient and expressive child, who recognises that hard work often comes with a lucrative reward.
