Institute for the Creative Arts in partnership with Community School of the Arts announces the Dance

The Institute for the Creative Arts in partnership with Community School of the Arts is excited to announce the dance production of The Wizard of Oz presented by the dance company at ICA along with CSA children in dance.  Some 25 teens and 14 children will take the stage April 25-26 at the King Opera House in Van Buren for this wonderful show!  The showtimes are set for: Friday April 25 at 7pm, Saturday April 26 at 2pm and again at 7pm. Tickets are: $20 Adults, $18 children 10 and under, $15 for a group of 10 or more.
 
Tickets are available online at csafortsmith.org or by calling 479-434-2020.  You may also stop by the new Arkansas Center for the Creative Arts at 1101 Riverfront Drive to pick up tickets. 
 
The Institute for the Creative Arts (ICA) is an immersive performing and visual arts high school that is tuition-free and open to all Arkansas students.  The school combines a rigorous college preparatory academic program with pre-professional training in the arts including the areas of music, theatre, dance, visual art and film.  It is the first of its kind in Arkansas and open to students entering grades 9-12.
 
Community School of the Arts (CSA) is a nonprofit comprehensive arts organization founded in 2016, serving the Fort Smith community and surrounding regions. The focus of CSA is to build a culture of arts education that begins in early childhood and continues through high school.  After-school, evening, and weekend programs in the arts abound.
 
In 2018 CSA embarked upon a campaign to build the Arkansas Center for the Creative Arts, a 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that will reach literally thousands of students and families in arts activities and serve as an anchor for the riverfront development in Fort Smith. The Center is located next to the United States Marshals Museum on Riverfront Drive and houses all ICA and CSA programs.
 
The production of the Wizard of Oz is Directed by the ICA Lead Dance Instructor Nicholas Perry with assistance from dance instructor Victoria Archer and theatre director Sarah Mae Lamar. This is the first major dance production from ICA and expected to be a great event for the entire family! The show is a full-length production of Oz complete with sets and costumes. The munchkins are children studying dance at CSA. 
 
ICA students include: Emily Ruark, Vada Rogers, Hannah Ruark, Mili Boyd, Lex Parnell, Likensa Schembra, Clair Axley, Laila Smith, Hayden Blevins, Maddie Roseberry, Marc Love, Jessyka Morris, Orion Salva, Serenity Sanders, Kurtys Varnell, Stephanie Chiles, Keala Barnes, Stormy Pursley, Stormy Dorey, Lyla Hay, Aubrianna Green, Aspen Rink, Nevaeh Gilmore, Brooklyn Barbry, and Zakkai Sanders. 
 
CSA Munchkins include: Oliver Caraway, Aubree Crow, Tinsley Jackson, Emery Johnson, Remington Lee, Osvaldo Mendez-Pina, Belen Mendez-Pina, Melody Mendez-Pina, Anna Rice, Naomi Rice, Eden Rice, Xavier Tamayo, Victoria Tamayo, Zinna Wagner

 Dr. Rosilee Russell, CSA Executive Director & ICA President
"I am so excited to see the first dance production by our ICA students!   We have an experienced group of professional instructors leading the teens and the CSA children for this show.  As we finish out our first year of this new high school, we are only beginning to develop a professional dance program for teens that will prepare them to go on in a dance career should they choose to pursue that. This show is the start of great things to come! "
 
Mr. Nicholas Perry, Lead Dance Instructor, ICA
"I’m so proud of the work our teens have done to prepare for this show!  We have many talented dancers in the show who are preparing for a professional career in dance.  It’s exciting to watch them grow!"
 
Registration for the high school is ongoing at icafortsmith.org or by calling 479-434-2114.  CSA summer registration is also in full swing at csafortsmith.org or by calling 479-434-2020.