2022 – 2023 Education Performances

The following performances will be sensory-friendly performances:

• Jabari Dreams of Freedom on January 11, 2023 at 1pm
• In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson on February 28, 2023 at 1pm
• It's Okay to be Different on March 28, 2023 at 12:30pm
• The Gruffalo on April 25, 2023 at 12:30pm

Sensory friendly performance: 

• The house lights will remain dimmed during the performance, not completely off
• Smaller audience size
• Social stories provided prior to performance 
• Intense lighting and loud sound effects reduced
• Adjustments will be made to the script and acting to maximize comprehension of the story
• A quiet area is available for patrons who need to take a break 
• The performance hall is relaxed and inclusive, where patrons feel comfortable during the performance, freely enter or exit the theater during the performance, and speak openly
• Ushers/house managers will be on hand to assist with patron needs
• Tablets/phones are permitted to assist non-verbal patrons
• Headphones are welcome and available upon request
• Assisted Listening Devices (ALD's) available
• American Sign Language available and must be pre-arranged by contacting slancaster@gaillardcenter.org no less than two weeks prior to the performance
• KultureCity sensory inclusive bags available upon request

All educational performances: 

• A quiet area is available for patrons who need to take a break
• The performance hall is relaxed and inclusive, where patrons feel comfortable during the performance, freely enter or exit the theater during the performance, and speak openly
• Ushers/house managers will be on hand to assist with patron needs
• Tablets/phones are permitted to assist non-verbal patrons
• American Sign Language available and must be pre-arranged by contacting slancaster@gaillardcenter.org no less than two weeks prior to the performance
• Headphones are welcome and also available upon request
• Assisted Listening Devices (ALD's) available upon request
• KultureCity sensory inclusive bags available upon request

This informal performance provides an inside look at the art of classical ballet. From the training and preparation of a dance artist through the elements of choreography and stage craft, the viewer is given an intimate look at the power of this beautiful art form. Following a brief history of ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem, the performance begins with exercises at the barre and the reasoning behind them before quickly moving on to jumping, partnering and lifts. Similarities between ballet Dance Artists and professional athletes are brought to light. Finally, to demonstrate the expressive power of ballet, excerpts from different styles of ballet are presented. Audience members are engaged with a Q&A segment or onstage interaction where possible. This lecture demonstration will also include the Gaillard Center and IAAM newly commissioned piece on Hazel Scott.

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

Sounds of Hazel: The Hazel Scott Ballet is co-commissioned by Charleston Gaillard Center and the International African American Museum, Music Worcester, Seattle Theatre Group, and Washington Performing Arts, with residency support from Chautauqua Institution, and the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College. 

This work is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Photo Credit: Anthony Santos, Derek Brockington, Amanda Smith and Dylan Santos. Photo by Rachel Neville.

The Nutcracker performance features a full cast of Dance Conservatory of Charleston dancers ages 5-18. Performing is the essence of dance and a key part of the student-centered approach, and as such, DCC is thrilled to present a production in which every role is danced by a student.

The Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra musicians, under the direction of conductor, Dr. Nisan Ak, are proud to collaborate with the dancers of the Dance Conservatory of Charleston in an all-student-led performance of Scenes from the Nutcracker. The Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras showcase over 100 young musicians from throughout the Lowcountry in grades 4-12 annually. For more information about CSYO, please visit http://charlestonsymphony.org/csyo/.

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

Explore the remarkable ways people around the world are adapting to our changing planet with environmental anthropologist and filmmaker Alizé Carrère. Dive into the South Pacific waters of Vanuatu, where islanders are using innovative techniques to combat outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish that threaten the surrounding reefs. In Bangladesh, discover how farmers in low-lying areas are reviving an old agricultural technique—floating gardens—that has inspired other floating infrastructure, including schools, libraries, hospitals, and playgrounds. And travel to the mountainous desert of Ladakh in northern India to glimpse giant ice pyramids, or “ice stupas,” invented by a Ladakhi teacher and engineer to help the community preserve its scarce freshwater resources. Through her work documenting these stories, Carrère offers a hopeful look at the resilience, perseverance, and innovation of humankind under even the most difficult of conditions.

JABARI DREAMS OF FREEDOM is a play to save Black youth from living through fear. It tells the story of Jabari, a young Black boy from the South Side of Chicago who loves to paint. Through painting, he can escape the turbulent world around him. When a friend is hurt by police, Jabari is afraid to leave the house. With his Forever President Barack Obama as a guide, he dreams he meets children from the Civil Rights Era including Ruby Bridges, Claudette Colvin, and a 7-year-old Barack Obama on the eve of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Can Jabari use the lessons he's learned to instill in young Barack the ideas he'll need to become president? Will Jabari take these lessons back into his own life and heal his community? Using history, rap, freedom songs, and humor, this play explores what it means to have courage in a world where Black children—Black boys—are not safe.

“Jabari Dreams of Freedom” received its World Premiere Production at Chicago Children’s Theatre, April 2016

Jacqueline Russell, Artistic Director

“Jabari Dreams of Freedom” was developed as part of New Victory LabWorks at the New Victory Theatre in New York City.

The Charleston Jazz Orchestra in partnership with the Gaillard Center's Education and Community Program present Jazz Day for Kids, featuring the Charleston Jazz Orchestra led by Robert Lewis and Charlton Singleton, Gaillard Center Artist-in-Residence Emeritus. Jazz Day for Kids is a big band concert designed for Kindergarten through middle school students.

Dive deep into the groundbreaking science of whale families – and their startlingly human parallels – through the awe-inspiring work of celebrated National Geographic underwater photographer Brian Skerry. Discover the extraordinary communication skills and intricate social structures among four different species of whales – from the international cuisines of orcas to families of beluga whales playing at their “summer resort” – and learn what these majestic creatures can teach us about ourselves and our planet.

The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour Presents

Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie Starring Indigo Blume

Find your voice in this feathery adventure.

Adapted from the books by Kwame Alexander

By Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess

Music by Randy Preston

Directed by Lili-Anne Brown

New York Times best-selling author KWAME ALEXANDER brings two of his beloved children’s books—Acoustic Rooster and Indigo Blume—to the stage in a world premiere Kennedy Center commission. Alexander teams up with his writing partner MARY RAND HESS and long-time musical collaborator RANDY PRESTON to tell a story about being scared, being brave, and believing in yourself. With special guests like Duck Ellington and Ms. Dairy Parton—this musical adaptation will have children (and families) dancing in their seats.

Dive into a book to keep the fun going: Kwame’s NEW picture book of the same name is based on our musical!

Most enjoyed by 5+

Please note: This performance contains haze effects.

The Kennedy Center Theaterfor Young Audiences on Tour is represented by Shaw Entertainment Group, LLC.

Photo credit Jati Lindsay.

This play is adapted from the award-winning novel by Bette Bao Lord and was inspired by the author‘s own memories of immigrating to the United States. Our protagonist, Shirley Temple Wong, and her family move from China to the United States in 1947, the year Jackie Robinson was breaking records and assumptions. Told through humor and a rich multi-media staging, the play celebrates the bravery and sacrifice of those who bring new perspectives to our country.

Based on the book by Bette Bao Lord

Adapted for the stage by Mark Branner

The Charleston Symphony is proud to partner with the Charleston Gaillard Center and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute to present LINK UP: The Orchestra Sings! hosted by Thomas Cabaniss. 

In partnership with Carnegie Hall and the Gaillard Center, the Charleston Symphony presents Link Up: The Orchestra Sings, a music education program for students in grades 3-5 on March 30 & 31, 2023 at the Gaillard Center. The nearly 3,000 Lowcountry students participating in the Link Up program will have the opportunity to study the curriculum in their classrooms and then attend a highly engaging culminating concert where they sing and play recorders with the orchestra from their seats.

To participate in Link Up, Teachers are required to attend a professional development workshop exploring the Link Up Curriculum on Friday, September 30, 2022, at the Gaillard Center. All attending teachers will receive a complimentary ticket to the Charleston Symphony’s Masterworks concert after the workshop.

To explore the Link Up curriculum and resources, please visit: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Programs/Link-Up/National-Program/The-Orchestra-Sings

Please contact Mitsuko Flynn, CSO Director of Education and Community Engagement, at mflynn@charlestonsymphony.org with any questions. 

About Thomas Cabaniss:
Thomas Cabaniss is a composer for dance, theater, film, and the concert stage. Orchestra: Double Rainbow (double piano concerto for Michael and Jessica Chow Shinn); Come To Play, Drumlines, To Make Words Sing, Away I Fly (Carnegie Hall commissions for Link Up educational concerts performed by over 120 orchestras across the US and internationally); Chamber: Trinity Pass (for two pianos), String Quartets #1 - #6, One Silken Thread (for cello and piano four hands), Tiny Bits of Outrageous Love (piano four hands), Searching for Kristallnacht (mixed ensemble and singers). Choral: My Song Is a Fire (cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra), Three Sabbaths (for 2 oboes, string orchestra and SATB chorus); Watchman, Heaven Is, Celestial Fire (for the Young People's Chorus of NYC), Behold the Star.  Operas: Denmark Vesey, The Sandman, The German Refugee, Otoyotoy, Camille’s Rainbow. Dance: The Reclamation, Noise + Speed, It's All True, and The Short-Cut. Theater scores for Spoleto Festival USA, Yale Repertory Theater, Manhattan Theater Club, Dallas Theater Center, Center Stage Baltimore, Portland Stage Company, Pearl Theater, Primary Stages, Target Margin Theater, Juilliard Drama Division. Obie Award, 1998; Drama Desk nomination, 1998; ASCAP Foundation Award; score for The Lunch Date, an Academy Award-winning short film, 1990. He helped to create the Lullaby Project at Carnegie Hall, serving young parents in shelters, hospitals and prisons with collaboratively created songs for their children. He co-founded the vocal improvisation ensemble Moving Star, which produces interactive singing experiences for young people and adults. He has been teaching at Juilliard in the Dance Division since 1998 and in the Music Division since 2007. He served as education director for the New York Philharmonic and Music Animateur at the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has written articles for Chamber Music Magazine and the Teaching Artist Journal. His music is published by Boosey & Hawkes, European American Music, G. Schirmer, and MusiCreate Publications. He is a member of ASCAP and an associated artist of Target Margin Theater.

Join Mouse on a daring adventure through the deep, dark wood in Tall Stories’ magical, musical adaptation of the classic picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.   

Searching for hazelnuts, Mouse meets the cunning Fox, the eccentric old Owl and the high-spirited Snake. Will the story of the terrifying Gruffalo save Mouse from ending up as dinner for these hungry woodland creatures? After all, there’s no such thing as a Gruffalo – is there?   

Songs, laughs and monstrous fun for children aged 3 and up and their grown-ups, in the much-loved show that’s toured Britain and the world!  

"The Gruffalo © Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler 1999 – Macmillan Children’s Books"

Photo Credit: © Tall Stories