Local elementary school students get taste of performing and visual arts at SC State
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – South Carolina State University recently treated 50 local elementary school students to a showcase of music, drama, painting and ceramics all in a single day.
“A Day in the Life of a Bulldog” gave students in the Marshall Elementary School Magnet Academy of the Arts’ Students Taking on the Arts and Gifted Education (STAGE) program exposure to various disciplines in the arts through a series of workshops courtesy of SC State’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts.
The STAGE scholars began their day at SC State’s I.P. Stanback Museum & Planetarium, where they watched the planetarium show “Cosmic Colors.” Then it was on to SC State’s Fine Arts Building, where students and faculty members led rotational 30-minute workshops:
- Music and drama with Dr. Rosetta Dingle and Professor Ursula Robinson.
- Painting with Professor Kim LeDee.
- Ceramics with Professor Alexander Thierry.
Afterward, they enjoyed a buffet all-you-can-eat lunch in SC State’s Washington Dining Hall sponsored by the 4–H Club. The day ended with entertainment from the university’s Marching 101 Band Drumline.
STAGE’s theme is “The Passionate Pursuit of Innovation,” so Audrey Irick, a gifted and talented itinerant teacher at Marshall, sought opportunities to partner with her alma mater, SC State, to expose students to diverse disciplines in the arts.
Irick supports the ideals of the mission of Orangeburg County School District, which is to ensure that all students develop their person, purpose, and platform through high-quality educational experiences. Allowing students to experience “A Day in the Life of a Bulldog” with a focus on the arts embraced those beliefs.
In the spring, Marshall and SC State program leaders began meeting to develop the project. Included in the planning were Demier Z. Richardson Sanders, 4-H state program leader for SC State 1890 Research & Extension, and Leroy Jones Jr., 4–H youth development agent. Ledee, coordinator of SC State’s Visual Arts Program, led several meetings with all parties involved to make sure the vision would become a reality.
From SC State’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts’ perspective, “A Day in the Life of a Bulldog” was a long-term recruiting opportunity hopefully leading to future projects.
Irick thanked Marshall Principal William Whitehurst and Orangeburg County Magnet Coordinator Priscilla Hollington for supporting her effort, as well as the SC State faculty and staff who made it happen. Along with the planning group and workshop leaders, SC State support personnel included Ingrid McMillan, director of the I.P Stanback Museum & Planetarium; Dr. Patrick Moore, director of bands; Dr. Tolulope Filani, chairman of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts; Gigi Scoville, executive assistant; and Dr. M. Evelyn Fields, dean of the College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences.
