(story and photos by by Joshua Cole)
It's difficult to get teenagers excited too often, especially at school, but at the Southwest Early College Art and Culture Night, hundreds of teenagers and their families hooted and hollered, clapped and cat-called, laughed and screamed for nearly two hours at the school's little auditorium, Dec. 4. And they yelled and applauded for a variety of performers: poets, beat makers, ballroom dancers, hip-hop/break dancers and a rock band.
“It was phenomenal. It was energizing. It was unforgettable,” said sophomore Omar Reza, who read poetry, and danced ballroom, hip hop and break. “I expected fewer people because it's a small school. It was very supportive, and it was a great crowd. They had a lot of energy, and they never got bored.”
Having the little auditorium filled to capacity at Colorado Heights University, where Southwest Early College is based, energized and inspired performers, most of whom had either never performed in front of a crowd or never in front of a crowd so large.
With her estranged mom in the audience, junior Christina Langfield read her untitled poem about running away from home, living in the streets, not getting allowed back with her family, yet still dreaming and hoping for a happy reunion.
“Before I read it, I was really nervous,” Langfield said. “There was a lot of energy. My friends helped me, and I read it.”
The act of performing was also a catharsis and made her feel better.
“It got out a lot of emotion,” Langfield said. “This was about letting my mom know how I felt. Knowing she was listening, it made me feel relieved.”
Like Langfield, many poets spoke about their personal perspectives and struggles, including Jesus Reza, who dressed up in a poncho and a sombrero. Reza made jokes about being a Mexican, but then he ended more serious, about how he gets frustrated being looked down upon and stereotyped.
Emmanuel Delgado spoke from a political perspective.
“Everybody was calling my name, and I felt appreciated. That's what helped me speak,” Delgado said.
Southwest Early College is a charter high school – a public school of choice – with a student population of about 300 students. The school doesn't have sports teams (although students can join the teams of nearby high schools), so getting students to rally together has hardly happened since the school started in 2004 and needs to be something different and unique – which the Art and Culture Night provided. Also, unlike many larger schools, where different groups would have performances on different nights – such as dance programs one night and music another – one advantage for the small-sized Southwest Early College was to put everything together.
(Go to Southwest Early College's Web site)
More role models
College Literacy teacher Lisa Levad organized the event following an informal study she performed last spring. Although freshman enrollment had stayed consistent at the high school, many of the upper-class students had been leaving before graduating with a high school diploma – and an Associate's Degree, one of the draws and promises in an early college program. An Associate's Degree usually takes two or more years after high school.
One of the main problems Levad found: there weren't many good male role models for students, nor were there connections to the school.
“It was research for myself,” Levad said. “I wanted to help the school.”
In late September, Levad took a ballroom dance class for herself, and after talking with the instructor she got him to volunteer twice a week at the school for her students. About 40 students practiced regularly and then performed Dec. 4.
“What really impressed me was that there were more boys than girls when it started,” Levad said.
Soon, the Art and Culture Night came together as a way for the ballroom dance students to show off their newly learned skills. And all of the other clubs could show everybody else what they do as well.
Before the performances, artists displayed their canvasses, and a student-created documentary played. The robotics club ran a contest to raise money.
“They're all in their little enclaves. I wanted to bring them all together,” Levad said.
Levad is optimistic for the rest of not only the semester but also the lives of her teenagers. All of the volunteer instructors were male: band supervisor Stephan Hume, of Band Dynamics; hip-hop/break dance leader Ray-Ray Maestas, with Get With It; ballroom dance teacher Micah Spiers, or Fred Astaire Dance Studio; beat maker Maki Lucero, with Latenite Productions; and Micah Sturr, a teacher at the school, helped make the documentary.
“My male students could see there are other people to look up to,” Levad said. All of the students at the school “were so proud of each other. I loved that the kids recognized one another and celebrated each other. It fills my heart.”
Picture identifications (photos by Joshua Cole)
1. Jesus Reza dresses up to perform his poem about being a Mexican. He joked – “It's better to be 'wet' than to be red in the neck” – but also was serious – taking off his sombrero and describing the pain of being a chubby Latino, he said, “Just because I'm Mexican doesn't mean I'm stupid.”
2. Ray-Ray Maestas does a hand stand during the break dance performance, part of a thrilling acrobatic conclusion to the night.
3. Analisa Martinez and Omar Reza dance the tango during Southwest Early College's Art and Culture Night, Dec. 4. The little auditorium at Colorado Heights University was packed with screaming teenagers and their families to watch the night of ballroom dancing, break dancing, hip hop, rock music and poetry, all performed by the high school's students.
4. Students congratulate on stage Southwest Early College teacher Lisa Levad, who organized the Art and Culture Night as a way to increase pride and identify at the 300-student school.
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