Education / Colgate Classroom Series for K-12
Walton Arts Center believes that access to the arts is essential for all children and works to provide every child in Northwest Arkansas with exceptional and ongoing arts experiences. The Colgate Classroom Series offers live matinee performances in a variety of art forms including dance, theater, opera, and world music to school groups. These performances are opportunities for young people to explore world cultures, make connections to important works of literature, or to learn more about art forms through lecture/demonstration format. Performances are chosen for their ability to enrich class curriculum.
BEST FOR:
Middle School students and up
Martha Graham Dance Company
October 7, 10:00 am
Walton Arts Center
American pioneer Martha Graham, has been compared to Picasso, Stravinsky and Frank Lloyd Wright in terms of her influence on world culture. This performance brings her work to life on stage as well as explains its importance in American culture through live performance, vintage film footage and narration by artistic director, Janet Eilber. Graham's influence continues to be felt world-wide as an important American innovator. She was an artist activist who commented on the effects of war and new technologies in the 20th century, issues that our students are experiencing today.
Martha Graham Dance Company Performance Guide
(PDF 900KB)
BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary and Middle School students
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
October 11 & 12, 9:30 am & 11:30am
Walton Arts Center
Mufaro's pride and joy, his two daughters–of two very different dispositions–travel a half-day's journey to see the king, who seeks a worthy wife. With traditional African drumming and dancing, Dallas Children’s Theater’s musical theater production celebrates goodness, generosity and love in an adaptation of the Caldecott Award winning Cinderella story by John Steptoe. Based on a traditional African folk tale.
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters Performance Guide
(PDF 900KB)
BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary, Middle School students and up
Step Afrika!
October 14, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center
Stepping is a percussive dance form of synchronized percussive movement, singing, speaking, chanting, and drama that melds folk traditions with popular culture. Developed by African American fraternities and sororities, stepping is now practiced worldwide. As the first professional company dedicated to this new tradition, Step Afrika shares its history while promoting themes of teamwork and cultural understanding.
Step Afrika! Performance Guide
(Coming soon! PDF 1.7MB)
BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary students
Alice in Wonderland
November 3 & 4, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center
A tardy rabbit and a grinning cat, along with Alice and the rest, are brought to life by Théâtre Tout à Trac. This imaginative adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s 19th century classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, unites actors and puppets to tell the story of Alice’s journey down the rabbit hole. A whimsical stage set, conceived as a pop-up book, and beautiful costumes richly evoke the original illustrations by Tenniel. This production was a winner of the Acadie-RIDEAU award at La Soirée des prix RIDEAU 2008.
Alice in Wonderland Performance Guide
(PDF 2MB)
BEST FOR:
Lower Elementary students
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical
November 7 & 8, 9:30 am & Noon
Springdale High School - Springdale Performing Arts Center
Just a quick trip to the Laundromat with Daddy, but before you know it things go horribly and hilariously wrong. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical brings adventure, song and gigantic dancing laundry to life in an adaptation of Mo Willem’s beloved Caldecott Honor–winning picture book. This Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour production lovingly celebrates the heart and heartache of being a child (and parent!).
Knuffle Bunny Performance Guide
(PDF 1MB)
BEST FOR:
Lower Elementary students
Harold and the Purple Crayon: A Dance Adventure
November 10 & 11, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center
Harold creates his world by simply drawing it. This adaptation of Crockett Johnson's beloved Harold and the Purple Crayon picture book, puts Harold’s curiosity in motion and reveals the relationship between wonder and wander. Dancers from Hubbard Street 2 perform to music by indie-musician Andrew Bird, to remind us how much of life is experienced in the imagination.
Harold and the Purple Crayon: A Dance Adventure Performance Guide
(PDF 1.3MB)
BEST FOR:
Lower Elementary students
A Brown Bear, A Caterpillar and A Moon: Treasured Stories by Eric Carle
December 12 & 13, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia uses music, visual effects and innovative puppetry to recreate Eric Carle's most beloved tales, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do You See?, and Papa Please Get the Moon for Me. Support the learning and enthusiasm of young readers by seeing favorite literature come to life on stage.
A Brown Bear, A Caterpillar and A Moon: Treasured Stories by Eric Carle Performance Guide
(PDF 287KB)
BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary, Middle School students and up
Tao: The Art of the Drum
February 29, 2012, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center
Athleticism and theatricality meet explosive Taiko drumming in a performance of extraordinary energy, precision and stamina. The production demonstrates how traditional art forms, such as Japanese drumming, remain relevant through time in a vibrantly modern interpretation of an ancient practice.
BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary, Middle School students and up
Peking Acrobats - SOLD OUT
March 14, 9:30 am & 11:30 am
Walton Arts Center
Celebrate the Chinese New Year with The Peking Acrobats! For over fifty years this elite group, from the People’s Republic of China, has toured the world sharing the ancient folk art of Chinese acrobatics. Gymnasts, jugglers, cyclists and tumblers, accompanied by live music, transform a 2000-year-old athletic discipline into a kaleidoscope of wonder.
BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary, Middle School students
Zorro
April 25 & 26, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center
A flurry of a cape, the glint of a sword and a flash of a mask—a mysterious figure has arrived in town. Who is this baffling character? The award-winning company Visible Fictions who thrilled teachers and students with Jason and the Argonauts, brings the swashbuckling hero to life in an action packed adventure set in Colonial California.
BEST FOR:
Middle School students and up
Diavolo
May 11, 2012, 10:00
Walton Arts Center
Diavolo’s dancers, gymnasts and performers redefine thrills through a blending of athleticism, dance and drama. Abstract movement narratives refer to the ways we interact with the built environment, creating a powerful cinematic experience that includes familiar items such as doors, chairs, and stairways.