ALVIN AILEY KIDSALVIN AILEY KIDS

andand

A LITTLE SYMPHONYA LITTLE SYMPHONY

VOCABULARYVOCABULARY

StudentsStudents

one who studiesone who studies

PerformPerform

act, sing, or play in act, sing, or play in publicpublic

EffortEffort

a work, an a work, an achievementachievement

RememberRemember

recall, hold in your recall, hold in your mind, memorymind, memory

MoodMood

state of mind, a state of mind, a feelingfeeling

ProudProud

self-respectful, self-respectful, elatedelated

A LITTLE SYMPHONYA LITTLE SYMPHONY

byby

Lani PerlinLani Perlin

The Fresno Little Symphony is aThe Fresno Little Symphony is a

group of young people who playgroup of young people who play

music. The students are childrenmusic. The students are children

who study and learn music who study and learn music together. They have shows together. They have shows

where they play their music forwhere they play their music for

others. Sometimes they performothers. Sometimes they perform

in front of many people.in front of many people.

It takes a lot of effort to beIt takes a lot of effort to be

part of a symphony. Thepart of a symphony. The

students work hard to do theirstudents work hard to do their

best. They practice once a week.best. They practice once a week.

This helps them remember howThis helps them remember how

to play the songs. They do notto play the songs. They do not

want to forget the music.want to forget the music.

The students can play manyThe students can play many

different songs. Each songdifferent songs. Each song

has its own mood. The has its own mood. The moodmood

is the feeling that people is the feeling that people

get when they listen to get when they listen to

the music.the music.

One thing is always the same,One thing is always the same,

though. People leave the showsthough. People leave the shows

feeling glad. The people who feeling glad. The people who livelive

in Fresno are proud of thein Fresno are proud of the

symphony. Many are happy to symphony. Many are happy to

say it is the best little say it is the best little

symphony in California!symphony in California!

ALVIN AILEY ALVIN AILEY KIDSKIDS

DANCING AS A TEAM

AT AT The Alvin Ailey SchoolThe Alvin Ailey School in in

New York City, kids study New York City, kids study dance.dance.

They take dance classes after They take dance classes after

school. They take classes onschool. They take classes on

Saturday. Hundreds of studentsSaturday. Hundreds of students

dance at the school.dance at the school.

Each spring the students at Each spring the students at AileyAiley

perform in front of an perform in front of an audience.audience.

The dancers show what theyThe dancers show what they

have learned during the year.have learned during the year.

Dancing is hard work. The stepsDancing is hard work. The steps

have to be done just right. have to be done just right.

That takes a lot of practice. That takes a lot of practice.

It’s also a team effort.It’s also a team effort.

The teachers help the students The teachers help the students

learn the steps. They try tolearn the steps. They try to

make the classes fun. Themake the classes fun. The

musicians also do their part. musicians also do their part.

The kids have a great time The kids have a great time whilewhile

they are learning.they are learning.

Jasper and Whitney attended theJasper and Whitney attended the

Ailey SchoolAiley School in the spring of in the spring of

2004. Jasper was nine years old.2004. Jasper was nine years old.

Whitney was ten. Jasper startedWhitney was ten. Jasper started

to dance when he was four.to dance when he was four.

When Whitney was very young,When Whitney was very young,

she went with her family to ashe went with her family to a

ballet.ballet.

””I knew then that I wanted toI knew then that I wanted to

dance myself,” said Whitney.dance myself,” said Whitney.

““Dance helps me to express Dance helps me to express myself.”myself.”

Jasper, Whitney, and the otherJasper, Whitney, and the other

AileyAiley students were excited in students were excited in

May. Their performance wasMay. Their performance was

coming up.coming up.

They had two more weeks toThey had two more weeks to

practice. Then they wouldpractice. Then they would

perform in a real theater.perform in a real theater.

They would show their parentsThey would show their parents

and friends what they hadand friends what they had

learned. First, they had morelearned. First, they had more

work to do to get ready for work to do to get ready for

the show.the show.

DANCE CLASSESDANCE CLASSES

The girls in Whitney’s ballet The girls in Whitney’s ballet

class practiced their steps. Theirclass practiced their steps. Their

teacher, Melanie, helped them.teacher, Melanie, helped them.

She wanted them to do theirShe wanted them to do their

best.best.

““Arms open, girls!” Melanie told Arms open, girls!” Melanie told them. them.

Teamwork was a big part of theTeamwork was a big part of the

dance. Everyone had to do thedance. Everyone had to do the

steps at exactly the same time.steps at exactly the same time.

““You have to dance in two ways You have to dance in two ways onon

stage, by yourself and with astage, by yourself and with a

group,” said Melanie.group,” said Melanie.

The same girls also took tap The same girls also took tap class.class.

The mood is different in tap. The mood is different in tap.

The music is jazzy! The shoesThe music is jazzy! The shoes

are noisy!are noisy!

The girls tapped, stomped, andThe girls tapped, stomped, and

marched to the music.marched to the music.

The dance they were going toThe dance they were going to

perform was long. The studentsperform was long. The students

did not always remember all did not always remember all

the steps. It was also hard tothe steps. It was also hard to

stay together.stay together.

““We have some more work to We have some more work to do,”do,”

said their teacher, Vic.said their teacher, Vic.

““From the top! 5, 6, 7, 8 smile!”From the top! 5, 6, 7, 8 smile!”

Vic worked for a long time withVic worked for a long time with

the girls.the girls.

Jasper’s favorite class wasJasper’s favorite class was

capoeira. It is a type of circlecapoeira. It is a type of circle

dance. To warm up, the boysdance. To warm up, the boys

stretched. They did kicks stretched. They did kicks

and jumps.and jumps.

ca/po/eir/a = kah – poo – air - ah ca/po/eir/a = kah – poo – air - ah

To do the dance, two boys wentTo do the dance, two boys went

into the middle of a circle. into the middle of a circle.

They kicked and moved fast. They kicked and moved fast.

All the boys took turns. TheyAll the boys took turns. They

moved in and out of the circle.moved in and out of the circle.

The boys also sang and clappedThe boys also sang and clapped

to the music.to the music.

Jasper talked excitedly about Jasper talked excitedly about thethe

class. “I love to dance,” he class. “I love to dance,” he said.said.

“ “The thing I like best aboutThe thing I like best about

dance is the beat!”dance is the beat!”

CAPOEIRACAPOEIRA

is a dance from Brazil. Everyoneis a dance from Brazil. Everyone

forms a circle for the roda, orforms a circle for the roda, or

circle dance. They sing and clap.circle dance. They sing and clap.

The dancers all have bare feet.The dancers all have bare feet.

musicians play differentmusicians play different

instruments.instruments.

DRESS REHEARSALDRESS REHEARSAL

The day of the dress rehearsalThe day of the dress rehearsal

arrived. A dress rehearsal is aarrived. A dress rehearsal is a

final practice before thefinal practice before the

performance. It is held whereperformance. It is held where

the show will take place. Thethe show will take place. The

students went to the theater.students went to the theater.

They thought the stage was They thought the stage was huge.huge.

The stage manager showed themThe stage manager showed them

how to enter and exit the stagehow to enter and exit the stage

properly. There were new thingsproperly. There were new things

to get used to at the dressto get used to at the dress

rehearsal. Moving on the bigrehearsal. Moving on the big

stage felt different. The lightsstage felt different. The lights

were also something new.were also something new.

““Watch your spacing!” saidWatch your spacing!” said

Christine, a ballet teacher.Christine, a ballet teacher.

“ “Remember you are dancingRemember you are dancing

together.” the students practicedtogether.” the students practiced

their dances one last time. Thetheir dances one last time. The

next time they performed thenext time they performed the

teachers would not be on stageteachers would not be on stage

with them.with them.

The dress rehearsal added moreThe dress rehearsal added more

people to the team. “Everyonepeople to the team. “Everyone

works hard for the works hard for the performance,”performance,”

said Jasper. “Our teachers makesaid Jasper. “Our teachers make

up the dances and teach us theup the dances and teach us the

steps. The musicians play thesteps. The musicians play the

music. Someone else helps withmusic. Someone else helps with

the lights.”the lights.”

““The stage manager tells The stage manager tells everyoneeveryone

where and when to do theirwhere and when to do their

jobs. Then we do the dancing.jobs. Then we do the dancing.

The parents help out, too, byThe parents help out, too, by

coming to watch us. For sure, coming to watch us. For sure,

my family will be there,” my family will be there,”

said Jasper.said Jasper.

PERFORMANCE DAYPERFORMANCE DAY

At last, the day of theAt last, the day of the

performance arrived. Backstage,performance arrived. Backstage,

the dancers got ready. Then the dancers got ready. Then thethe

audience took their seats.audience took their seats.

Lights! Music! The show started!Lights! Music! The show started!

The sound of tapping feet filledThe sound of tapping feet filled

the air.the air.

The tap dancers crossed the The tap dancers crossed the stage together. Their feet stage together. Their feet

were flying!were flying!

Ballet was next. The dancersBallet was next. The dancers

glided across the floor with armsglided across the floor with arms

open. They looked as if theyopen. They looked as if they

were dancing on air. The dancewere dancing on air. The dance

was long, but no one forgot thewas long, but no one forgot the

steps. All of their hard worksteps. All of their hard work

had paid off.had paid off.

Then the capoeira began. The Then the capoeira began. The

dancers kicked and jumped. dancers kicked and jumped. TheyThey

clapped and sang in the roda. clapped and sang in the roda.

When the dance was over, theWhen the dance was over, the

dancers took a bow. Thedancers took a bow. The

audience cheered. What a greataudience cheered. What a great

performance!performance!

The show was over, but theThe show was over, but the

excitement did not end. excitement did not end. Backstage,Backstage,

the dancers were happy. They the dancers were happy. They hadhad

done a great job.done a great job.

Their families gave them hugs.Their families gave them hugs.

Their teachers were very proud.Their teachers were very proud.

““It was fun!” said Whitney.It was fun!” said Whitney.

““We did it!” said Jasper.We did it!” said Jasper.

““We all did it together!”We all did it together!”

ALVIN AILEYALVIN AILEY