I was recently invited to give a talk at The Harvard Graduate School of Education by Deirdre Duckett, administrator for Educational Policy and Management. William McLaughlin, from BAA’s Dance Faculty, brought eight wonderful students who performed his magnificent piece, Speak.
Me with William McLaughlin and BAA Dancers
Billy began to conceive of the piece a couple of summers ago, while on an Artist Teacher Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow. The Artist Teacher Fellowship was funded by a generous grant from the Surdna Foundation, who have been great supporters of Boston Arts Academy. I was so proud during our trip to New York with Billy and the dancers this past December, and was proud all over again to watch the students perform at Harvard after my short talk. I was also happy to see our newest BAA theatre faculty, Maura Tighe, in the audience. She is currently finishing her Master’s in Arts in Education at Harvard. Not only did the students dance beautifully, but they also (while panting and gulping down water) answered questions from the audience for almost an hour. And did I mention that this all occurred on a public school holiday? I guess you can you tell how proud I am of our kids!