2021 – 2022 Education Performances

Join our guide Herr Drosselmeyer on a 60-minute journey through a captivating abridged version of this winter classic designed to engage audiences of all ages. Whether a cherished holiday tradition or a first introduction to ballet, there’s something for everyone in this exciting production performed by a full cast of local students to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score.

Support for this program is made possible by generous donors who have committed time and resources to the Charleston Gaillard Center’s Dance Initiative.

With the head of a dog and the body of a policeman, Dog Man loves to fight crime and chews on the furniture. But while trying his best to be a good boy, can he save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings? Can he catch Petey, the world’s most evil cat, who has cloned himself to exact revenge on the doggy do-gooder? And will George and Harold finish their show before lunchtime?

Find out in this epic musical adventure featuring the hilarity and heart of Dav Pilkey’s beloved characters. The show is written by Kevin Del Aguila and Brad Alexander, who collaborated on the Emmy-winning series Peg+Cat on PBS, TheaterWorksUSA’s Click, Clack, Moo, and the upcoming Clifford the Big Red Dog on PBS and Amazon. Jen Wine

Led by orchestra director Robert Lewis and the Gaillard Center’s Artist-in-Residence Emeritus, Charlton Singleton. Students will enjoy a big band concert and learn about the origin of jazz music.

Led by company members, students will observe abbreviated dances from the full performance with a mixture of narration, participation and question and answer. Artists will explain each piece to the audience to enhance the student’s knowledge and understanding of the art form.

Support for this program is made possible by generous donors who have committed time and resources to the Charleston Gaillard Center’s Dance Initiative.

In this highly visual, interactive show, students will be on the edge of their seats as they explore how science creates magic right before their very eyes!  Their jaws will drop in amazement as ordinary objects come to life, while others defy gravity with a simple clap of the hands and so much more!

Students will learn first-hand how to create illusions using core scientific principles such as force, energy, friction, motion, and more.  Together with Bill, they will apply these principles in a variety of magical experiments that will bend the laws of science and create the impossible!  Science and magic will collide as students instantly become stronger than their teachers, stop moving objects with their minds, and even make a teacher’s cell phone invisibly travel through time!  You have to see it to believe it!

Magic in Motion is a magic-filled, educational experience that is designed to inspire students to investigate how physical science can create magic while also playing an important role in their daily lives!

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE! explodes onto the stage updated for a whole new generation with imaginative image projections and a rock’n’roll feel. The live performance centers around Tom, a nervous young man on his first day of being a schoolteacher, who turns on the television to calm himself down and is visited by three aspects of his personality who remind him how learning can be fun.

Childsplay brings the classic Saturday morning cartoons to life with SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE! Originally aired on the ABC television network from 1973-1985, then revived in the 90s and 00s, Schoolhouse Rock was a collection of clever, animated shorts that taught academic topics including grammar, mathematics, civics and science.

After Childsplay’s incredible national tour of the production in 2014-2015, the pop culture phenomenon returns to the musical stages across North America once more!

This highly engaging and participatory program for students in grades 3-5 connects the classroom with the concert hall, allowing students the opportunity to explore music through a curriculum of activities then attend a culminating concert where they sing and play recorders with the orchestra from their seats. The CSO is offering a free in-school performance to all participating schools prior to the culminating concert. 

To participate in Link Up, we ask that you watch our pre-recorded series of professional development; it will require approximately one hour of your time and can be found below. Upon completion, please email Mitsuko Flynn at flynn@charlestonsymphony.org to confirm completion. Mitsuko will send the information to the Fine Arts Department for your school district to confirm and you will be credited for your three recertification hours. Thank you all for taking the time to participate in this amazing experience and working with the Carnegie Hall curriculum. Mitsuko will be in touch with all information pertaining to the program as you get started at your school.

For more information about the LINK UP program and curriculum, visit https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Programs/Link-Up/National-Program/The-Orchestra-Moves.

PART ONE: Please watch this seven minute video workshop with Composer Thomas Cabaniss:

PART TWO: Please watch the eight Orchestra Moves Professional Development videos on the Carnegie website here. You will find these listed on the bottom of that webpage.

Students will have the opportunity to view the world-renowned ABT dancers as they engage the broadest possible ballet audience by performing classical, neoclassical and contemporary repertoire.

ABOUT ABT STUDIO COMPANY

ABT Studio Company, the junior company of American Ballet Theatre, is made up of 12-18 rising stars of the ballet world between the ages of 16 and 20. ABT Studio Company prepares these outstanding young dancers, who hail from all over the globe, to enter American Ballet Theatre or other leading ballet companies worldwide. Nearly 80% of current dancers in American Ballet Theatre are alumni of ABT Studio Company, including 7 Soloists and 14 Principal Dancers – among them Misty Copeland, David Hallberg, and Isabella Boylston.

ABT Studio Company dancers perform masterworks of the classical and neoclassical canons, alongside contemporary and newly created works. The group commissions a wide variety of choreographers to create new, custom pieces on the dancers each season. As part of the ABT Women’s Movement, the Studio Company commissions at least one new work by an emerging female choreographer each year.

The highly mobile ABT Studio Company serves as an ambassador for American Ballet Theatre by touring venues large and small. In recent years, the Studio Company has performed in such international cities as London, Athens, Manila, and St. Petersburg, and toured to a wide variety of US performing arts centers, outdoor festivals, museums, and college campuses.

The vibrant young dancers of ABT Studio Company bring the artistry, professionalism, and innovation of American Ballet Theatre to a worldwide audience.

Support for this program is made possible by generous donors who have committed time and resources to the Charleston Gaillard Center’s Dance Initiative.

The show takes place on a magical tree apparatus (built by Peter Benedetti and Kelsey Carrier), with 2 nests and 2 wood swing apparatuses hanging from the branches. The performers move from the nests, up into the aerial tree canopy, through the rope tree trunk, and on the floor. There is a large forest floor carpet that lies under the tree branches for the audience to sit and lie on. TWEET TWEET is directed by Monica Dottor. Generously supported by the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts.