Welcome to ArtsConnect! ArtsConnect is all about *connecting* the arts to what you learn in the classroom. It normally takes place in person, but this year is all online. You’re going to learn about how ballet, opera, and classical music tell a story. Not only will you learn more about each of these art forms, but you’ll also get to practice skills you learn in Language Arts.

Over the course of 5 lessons, you’ll meet our three teaching artists: a ballet dancer, an opera singer, and a violinist. They will use the story of Hansel and Gretel to teach you about storytelling in literature and the performing arts.

ArtsConnect was developed with local teachers with fourth grade learning standards in mind, but is appropriate for middle-elementary grades.

ArtsConnect Ballet Teaching Artist, Claire Small, introduces students to how ballet tells a story.

See Lesson 1 for full lesson plans and student workbook.

ArtsConnect Opera Teaching Artist, Rachael Boezi, introduces students to how opera tells a story.

See Lesson 1 for full lesson plans and student workbook.

ArtsConnect Orchestra Teaching Artist, Kirstin Greenlaw, introduces students to how classical music tells a story.

See Lesson 1 for full lesson plans and student workbook.

Students re-watch the Teaching Artists’ performances to analyze the characterization of different characters through the story, the dance, and the music.

See Lesson 1 for full lesson plans and student workbook.

In this final lesson, students put together their knowledge about storytelling in the performing arts to create a new scene for the opera “Hansel and Gretel.” They compare and contrast performances and discuss different characters’ points of view.

See Lesson 1 for full lesson plans and student workbook. A Post-Test is also included in the full lesson plans.

In Chords and Choreography, Dayton Ballet shows how works by notable composers can be interpreted through dance.

This section from Mozart’s Six German Dances, choreographed by Jiří Kylián, shows how ballet can be silly, beautiful and impactful…all at the same time!

In Chords and Choreography, Dayton Ballet shows how works by notable composers can be interpreted through dance.

This section of Dayton Ballet’s Cinderella, choreographed by Karen Russo Burke, shows the opening of Act 2. Everyone at the ball is excited to meet the Prince…including the two ugly step sisters. Watch as Dayton Ballet pairs joyful dancing with Prokofiev’s jubilant music.

In Chords and Choreography, Dayton Ballet shows how works by notable composers can be interpreted through dance.

In this excerpt, Dayton Ballet performs to a section of Aaron Copland’s “The Red Pony” called “Walk to the Bunkhouse.” Choreographed by Karen Russo Burke, this piece pairs ballet with Copland’s very “American” sounding composition, performed by the Dayton Philharmonic.

Arts Explorer Streams provides Dayton Performing Arts Alliance’s virtual education programming for free to educators. Visit our website at daytonperformingarts.org/arts-explorer to learn more.

In Chords and Choreography, Dayton Ballet shows how works by notable composers can be interpreted through dance.

This section of Dayton Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty: The Story of Briar Rose, choreographed by Karen Russo Burke, shows the opening of Act 1. The Flower Fairies are dancing and playing in the garden. Watch as Dayton Ballet performs this excerpt to Tchaikovsky’s classic score played by the Dayton Philharmonic.

Arts Explorer Streams provides Dayton Performing Arts Alliance’s virtual education programming for free to educators. Visit our website at daytonperformingarts.org/arts-explorer to learn more.

Join Little Red Riding Hood as she explores favorite fairytales through the medium of dance! Dancers from Dayton Ballet II Senior Company help Little Red Riding Hood learn lessons of inclusion and acceptance with characters from some of the most beloved stories of all time. Even the Big Bad Wolf makes an appearance! Celebrate friendship and teamwork with DBII, with some of Dayton’s most scenic locations as a backdrop. This performance is perfect for students Ages 3 and up!

Dayton Ballet invites students of all ages to step inside the world of ballet and learn how simple shapes help make ballet steps that then become beautiful dances.

A Cinderella Trilogy tells the beloved Cinderella story through three diverse musical settings, explaining aspects of opera along the way! Four singers from the Dayton Opera’s Artists-in-Residence program perform this charming retelling, created by Carol Anderson (Utah Opera, The Santa Fe Opera) and Kathleen Clawson (Dayton Opera, The Santa Fe Opera). A Cinderella Trilogy is presented in partnership with Muse Machine.

Dayton Opera takes you on a musical field trip to some of Dayton’s most iconic sites. Celebrated operatic soloists perform traditional opera, new works, and stirring art song filmed on location at the Dayton Masonic Center, Woodland Cemetery, the Dayton Arcade, and the Mead Theatre in the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center.

The Dayton Philharmonic Brass Quintet uses humor and great music to introduce you to the instruments that make up the brass family. They talk about how their instruments make sound, compare and contrast them, and show how each of them play an important role in the Quintet.

The Dayton Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet takes you on a musical journey around the world. From Denmark to Kenya to Australia, you’ll visit many countries and learn about the music of each.

From New Orleans to the Wild West, this lively presentation takes your students on a musical journey across the U.S. American Vignettes was composed especially for the DPO Trio by Cincinnati composer, Joe Price. The DPO Trio is made up of a trumpet, double bass, and percussion.

The Dayton Philharmonic String Quintet teaches students about how string instruments produce sound and why each member of the quintet plays an important role in making music.

The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance’s Young People’s Concert, “Dreams and Reality,” is part of the DPAA’s Arts Explorer Streams. This performance features artists from the Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Ballet, and Dayton Opera. It explores how musicians, dancers, singers, composers, and choreographers react to challenges in the ‘real world’ by creating art.

• The Star-Spangled Banner by John Stafford Smith 
• Magic Flute Overture by W.A. Mozart
• Poem for Flute & Orchestra by Charles Griffes
• Le Tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel
• Symphony No. 9 in E-flat major, Op. 70 by Dmitri Shostakovich
• “Je crois entendre encore” from The Pearl Fishers by Georges Bizet
• Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms