The Lafayette Parish High School Arts Academy offers classes in the visual and performing arts to high school students across the parish. Students who enroll in the Academy do not have to leave their home school, but attend Academy classes at the N.P. Moss Annex, a historic building located near Downtown Lafayette.
Transportation to and from the students' home schools is provided by the School System.
Students at the Arts Academy can take classes in piano, theater arts, dance and visual arts. Each of the disciplines present student work through recitals or exhibits at least once a year.
No experience is necessary to participate, but advanced students also can benefit from the program.
Piano Lab instruction covers technique, sight reading, performance and music history. Individualized instruction helps students develop proficiency, no matter what their experience level.
The Theater Arts program introduces students to the fundamentals of the major theater specializations: acting, design, directing and play writing. Students learn acting technique through improvisation, movement study and scene study. The students mount full productions to gain experience in designing and directing theater pieces. Student-written plays are read and developed. The program also covers theater history and style, with students working with scripts that range from ancient Greek dramas to contemporary plays.
The Dance program offers training ballet, modern and jazz style dance. Students also are instructed in choreography, technique and the history of dance. Classes include production elements of design, lighting, publicity, costuming, music, sets, sound and make-up.
The Visual Arts program takes students on a multi-media exploration of studio production, with studies in art history, aesthetics and art criticism. Instruction is offered in design, drawing, color theory and painting, printmaking and sculpture.
For more information about the Academy, call 262-0620.
