2023 February Washington Heights
Open Studio - Nora's Ark, the jazz musical 

Jazz Power Youth Spring Performance workshop is an award winning, transformational, 12-week multidisciplinary program in singing, dancing and acting. With support from the National Endowment from the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Miranda Family Fund with the Hispanic Federation, the Common Sense Fund, the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, and the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, the program is offered at no cost to families who fully commit to the program schedule and attendance policy.

Jazz Power Youth’s 2023 Spring Performance workshop will perform Nora Ark’s, the jazz musical by Eli Yamin and Clifford Carlson. Nora, a scientist, predicts the melting of the poles and the flooding of the Earth. Rescuing the animals at the Bronx Zoo, Nora and her daughters, Dora, Flora, Lora and Fitzi rent a cruise ship. It seems all are saved, except that daughter Fitzi forgets to bring food. Predators look on their fellow passengers as prey. All animals discover that freedom is a greater sustaining force than food and all ultimately cooperate in finding an edible solution. Attending an Open Studios is the first step towards the opportunity to participate in Nora’s Ark, the jazz musical.

Jazz Power Initiative’s holistic, cross-cultural and multidisciplinary approach to jazz education activates an inclusive atmosphere that fosters creativity, collaboration, and discipline. African American and Latin American cultural foundations of jazz guide our process including the models of excellence we provide the children, the background of our faculty, the repertoire we select, the communities we serve, and the “Jazz Power Tools” we teach such as improvisation, making a soulful sound, call and response, syncopation, and swing. Our culturally relevant jazz-based pedagogy increases artistic and social emotional skills and aligns with New York City, State and National arts learning standards as well as best voice practices published by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).

Jazz Power Initiative’s voice pedagogy cultivates awareness of voice function for healthy, expressive and free singing in African American singing traditions from the foundation of many styles of American singing; including jazz, blues, gospel, R&B, rock, pop, and country. Our dance pedagogy uses African American dance traditions to increase kinesthetic, spatial, and musical awareness, and our theater pedagogy theater pedagogy explores key questions for the actor in a scene in support of internalizing lyrics of Jazz Power songs as well as basic stage directions.

JPI’s youth education program is wheelchair-accessible according to the ADA guidelines. For additional accommodations, please contact our Accessibility Coordinator Janny Gonzalez Velasquez at janny@jazzpower.org