COAR

COAR-(Center of Artistic Refinement) performing arts program provides an intense and innovative learning environment for multi-disciplinary training in the performing arts designed to enable students to reach their full potential in the arts and in life… Through dance, vocal, and theater arts training, novice and pre-professional students thrive artistically, socially and emotionally and develop into responsible, honest and caring artists and individuals. COAR curriculum includes dance training in ballet, modern, jazz, West African, hip hop, and movement. Classes in culture, health, vocal, theater, audition prep and workshops for emerging artists are also offered. In all training formats, the character building values of responsibility, honesty and caring are instilled so that each student develops positive qualities and have positive experiences that help them grow into healthy, strong and creative artists and individuals.

COAR serves as our training program for our diverse student body aged 3 – 21 who are interested in intensive studies in dance and the performing arts. Urban youth driven to pursue the arts as a profession and/or careers in arts education dedicate five hours of their weekend schedules to study various dance techniques toward professional artistic refinement. The Waverly School of the Arts is a bright, well-equipped school with an “arts-ready” environment that will enhance and advance our students’ performing arts experience!

The purpose of the COAR Concert is to increase PURELEMENTS’ capacity to provide children in underserved communities access to high quality arts education, a creative and constructive means of self expression and character development, and an opportunity to showcase their talents. The funds requested will directly support a scholarship fund to increase the enrollment of students from low-income families into the COAR performing arts program, and will underwrite the venue rental and technical expenses for the COAR Concert.

COAR was intentionally designed to not only increase children’s access to a myriad of artistic disciplines, but to also meet the varied needs of students from underserved communities who tend to suffer from lack of self-esteem and deflated levels of self-worth. This structured programming creates an astute awareness of students’ inner strengths in order to strive toward “artistic and character refinement.” All COAR students receive training approximately two days a week for six months from January to June that concentrates on skill building and prepares them for the culminating student performance, the COAR Concert.