Monthly Newsletters - October 2020

The Power of Music & Dance

Dear Students, Parents, Faculty, and Staff:

One of the questions that I’ve been receiving lately is “How are things going at LAAPA for 2020?” The answer to that is that we’ve been extremely fortunate here to have such a supportive and engaged community who recognize the value and importance of an education in the arts. Our faculty and administrative staff have been going over the top to ensure that students are continuing to progress and have fun with their lessons! Over the past few months, we’ve been welcoming new students each day eager to get started in music and dance lessons both inperson and online! No matter how or where you want to learn, our faculty are ready to customize your lessons to your specific interests and goals.

October is always a popular time for students to get started now that school and Fall schedules are settling into place. No matter what else may come our way in 2020 – hurricanes, pandemics, economic uncertainties, music and dance are always there for us 24/7. Need an emotional or spiritual lift? Sit down at the piano for 30 minutes. Need to work out some tension? Take a hip hop class! Need to build cognitive skills and self-confidence? Music and dance help with that too. The truth is that’s it’s extremely difficult to not lift your spirits after singing your heart out to one of your favorite tunes! In fact, in a recent unscientific poll at our school, 9 out of 10 of our faculty members highly recommended music and dance education as a daily part of life, and the one that didn’t taught the bagpipes… sorry for any bag pipe lovers.

Seriously though, there is a lot going on here this Fall and we’re excited to share upcoming events that you may want to be a part of!

First – we’re excited to be presented a Christmas Musical this December, entitled “The Nutcracker Prince”. Casting is now closed for this production and we can’t wait to bring this performance to LAAPA December 20! Tickets are available at events.laapa.com

Secondly – we’re holding our first ever Virtual Recitals this Fall for both music and dance students. It’s completely free and easy to sign up at https://www.laapa.com/virtual-recital What’s even more exciting is that all participants will be entered for a chance to win a new Nintendo Switch! So take some time to shoot a nice video performance of yourself and then follow the instructions to upload your video and share with us. We’ll let you know when it will air so that you can watch it LIVE online with family and friends from the comfort of home!

Finally, our in-Person Christmas Music Recitals will be held this December on Saturday December 12 (River Ridge) and Saturday/ Sunday December 19th and 20th (Covington and Mandeville). Students interested in participating may sign up starting now at https://www.laapa.com/xmas. Each year students are asked to donate items/cash to the needy through the Batesville Mission run by the Teresian Sisters. Our concerts have been supporting this organization for many years now and you can learn more about them at https://www.laapa.com/mission.

We look forward to a fun-filled Fall with Music & Dance!

~ Ryan Cullen, Academy Director

Back to School - Lessons Available Online or In-Person!

At LAAPA, we offer the most comprehensive Music & Dance Program in the Greater New Orleans area with three campuses located in Covington, Harahan, and Mandeville. For over 40 years, we’ve provided lessons to tens of thousands of students in Piano, Guitar, Voice, Violin, Drums, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Tap, Brass, Woodwind, Bands, Preschool Music, and more!

Covington: 985-590-4545
Mandeville: 985-674-2992
River Ridge: 504-738-3050

Enroll Today!

Student News

In addition to our Holiday production and in-person music recitals, we are also hosting our first ever Virtual Recital! Students will send a recording of themselves performing a piece they’ve been working on with their instructors, and we will compile them together for a virtual recital! What’s even more exciting is that by participating in the Fall Virtual Recital, students will be entered to win a FREE Nintendo Switch! We can’t wait to see everyone’s submissions.

You can find more info at laapa.com/virtual-recital

Our Dance & Musical Theater Departments at the River Ridge and Mandeville Campuses are thrilled to announce our annual Holiday production. This year, we’ll be featuring a new musical entitled “The Nutcracker Prince”! We are very excited to showcase our talented students for this fun and festive production.

For more information, visit laapa.com/nutcracker

Our Musical Theater I Community Class at the Mandeville School of Music and Dance was a huge hit! Our students (left) had a great time learning to perform The Lion King’s Oh I Just Can’t Wait to be King.

Thank you to all who came out and participated! Be on the lookout for more FREE community classes coming this Fall!

Faculty members Reggie S. and Ryan T. wowed the crowd at the Performance Artistry workshop held at the Mandeville School of Music & Dance! Mr. Reggie taught us about communicating through music, playing with expression and the art of truly entertaining through our music. We hope you were inspired as much as we were!

This past month we opened up a new Preschool Music II class for 3-4 year olds. The turnout was great and everyone had a blast! Judging by Sujoy’s face, I’d say it was a big hit!

Send Us Your News!

We love getting your news, success stories and comments. If you'd like to share your news with us, please e-mail at studentnews@laapa.com. Please note that we publish our newsletters monthly, and if you don't see your submission in this edition, it will be published as soon as space is available! Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/laapaface, youtube.com/laapatube, and now on Twitter at @laapatweets.

Recording Studio

Our recording studio is located at the Mandeville campus and features a 32 track ProTools system, 4k video cameras, premium mics and equipment. Click the button below to learn more, schedule a studio tour or Book Your Session today!

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Happy October Birthdays!

We'd like to wish the following Students, Faculty, and Staff a very Happy Birthday this Month!

Abigail S. (9), Agustin G. (57), Aimme R. (10), Alannah B. (6), Alex T. (7), Alexavier M. (15), Amelia T. (8), Angela V. (9), Annabelle M. (7), Anthony H. (6), Arabella F. (3), Ashley Z. (16), Ava D. (11), Brooklyn C. (10), Bryan N. (9), Callie K. (9), Camila A. (10), Caroline B. (15), Cashel R. (43), Charleigh L. (7), Chloe P. (5), Claire M. (3), Cole F. (12), Coral S. (4), Dawn C. (49), Elena K. (8), Elisa B. (5), Everett L. (9), Farah A. (12), Gabriella D. (6), Gabrielle G. (16), Genevieve L. (5), Giulianna K. (11), Hayes M. (8), Ian P. (7), Ivan S. (17), Jackson K. (8), Jax C. (8), Jennifer Z. (16) Jonah K. (10), JT T. (33), Kristen P. (13), Landry O. (7), Logann L. (17), Lolo L. (12), Lorenzo B. (25), Lyric L. (13), Mabyn B. (7), Madelyn H. (5), Mason F. (13), Mazzy O. (6), Mia D. (7), Michael D. (13), Milo R. (2), Myles H. (8), Nafachi O. (7), Olivia N. (2), Phaedra S. (10), Ryan A. (15), Sabrina S. (7), Sadie D. (7), Seth L. (14), Shanna D. (34), Shannon F. (12), Sophie L. (8), Sophie N. (11), Teresa C. (51), Treme T. (7), Vicky F. (59), Vilissia S. (7)

Video of the Month - Virtual Recital and Giveaway!

Brittany and Ryan drop some exciting news... watch to learn about our first ever virtual recital and latest giveaway!

Important Dates

Take a moment to review the following upcoming dates:

New Artwork by Michaela Howell

We are very fortunate to work with local artist Michaela Howell. Many of her paintings and art are on display at all three of our school campuses!

Michaela recently brought in new artwork that can be viewed at both of our Northshore campuses. The beautiful piece above is available for purchase at our Mandeville location for $425

Interested in purchasing art from Michaela? Inquire at the front desk!

With down home country humble beginnings Michaela has always been very resourceful. She cuts, sands, primes, paints, and in some cases stains her abstract versions of the wooden instruments, creating very hands-on works of art. This resourcefulness has “Played” out very nicely in her most current work. Though the recycling of varying musical instrument components including guitar strings, violin knobs, music sheets featuring the instrument showcased, Michaela portrays a ‘current’ sense of style combined with a very vivid color pallet, creating a symphony for the senses!

View More!

Student Spotlight - Alexander "Sasha" Franklin

This month’s student spotlight is Mandeville School of Music and Dance student, Alexander "Sasha" Franklin. Sasha has been studying piano here at LAAPA with Mrs. Rebecca for over nine years! He is extremely skilled and talented, and an absolute joy to have as a part of our LAAPA family.

Outside of music, Sasha participates in the Special Olympics and has been involved in competitive swimming since he was 5. His favorite composers are Beethoven and Bach, but his absolute favorite composition is Vivaldi’s Four Seasons - specifically Spring.

Sasha’s favorite part of taking lessons at LAAPA is seeing Mrs. Rebecca and all of the LAAPA staff.

A HUGE welcome to our newest students who began lessons or added programs in September!

We are so happy that you’ve chosen to study at LAAPA. We know you will do great things this year!