Osher Lifelong Learning Institute honored for its contributions to arts education

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 18:05:55 +0000

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute honored for its contributions to arts education Lauren Reuscher Wed, 11/15/2023 - 13:05

The ArtsFairfax Awards celebrate visionary contributions to arts and culture in Fairfax County. On Oct. 26, ArtsFairfax honored the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at ��AV with its Education Award for providing exceptional arts education and opportunities to the community.

Participants in an OLLI Mason workshop taught by the LADAMA quartet, former Mason Artists-in-Residence

For more than 30 years, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI Mason) has offered educational, cultural, and social opportunities for adults in their retirement years. A nonprofit affiliate of ��AV, OLLI Mason offers more than 600 courses each year on a broad spectrum of subjects, as well as clubs, social events, and excursions.

As Fairfax County’s local arts agency, ArtsFairfax distributes public funds for the arts, connects artists and arts organizations to each other and other sectors, and promotes arts and culture activities for residents.

“OLLI Mason exists to bring intellectual stimulation, social engagement, and arts and educational enrichment to its membership, as well as the wider community,” said Jennifer Disano, executive director of OLLI Mason. “ArtsFairfax champions our efforts and lifts us up as an example of excellence within Fairfax County as a premier educational institute—this is a great honor.”

Volunteer-run and member-driven, OLLI Mason offers classes and activities designed and taught by its members, Mason faculty, and regional experts. Through courses in creative arts, music, writing, poetry, and more, OLLI sparks the creativity and interests of its intellectually curious and active senior membership.

Disano expressed gratitude for the volunteers and supporters who contribute to OLLI programs. “We owe much of our success to the all-volunteer OLLI teacher corps, nonprofit partners, and Mason departments, especially the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, for their contributions to art appreciation courses within our organization,” said Disano.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, OLLI Mason has expanded its methods of delivering courses and is providing new experiences and programs for its members. Programming is available in person, on Zoom, and in hybrid formats. A robust archive of over 1,000 recorded lectures is available in its electronic library.

With over 1,200 members, the institute’s impact continues to grow. One of its latest partnerships is with local retirement communities, where OLLI provides programming to residents.

“The 2023 ArtsFairfax Awards honorees demonstrate how the arts revitalize communities, improve our wellbeing, and spark creativity in unexpected places,” said Linda Sullivan, ArtsFairfax president and CEO. “We’re thrilled to celebrate each of these awardees for enriching the lives of Fairfax County residents.”

View the complete list of ArtsFairfax awardees.

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The LIVE Center Mentoring Series Brings Big Dance Names to Mason

Emily Schneider — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 17:59:19 +0000

The LIVE Center Mentoring Series Brings Big Dance Names to Mason Emily Schneider Wed, 04/13/2022 - 13:59

In This Story

Christopher d'Amboise

Learn More About the LIVE Center

The LIVE Center Mentoring Series is a new initiative from The LIVE Center within ��AV’s College of Visual and Performing Arts that connects some of the biggest names in the performance world to students around the country.

Left: Tony Award-winning choreographer Justin Peck; Right: Students in ��AV's School of Dance move during a class using The Live Center's Window Wall technology.

The first event of the Series features Tony Award-winning choreographer, director, filmmaker, and dancer, Justin Peck, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, April 25, 2022. This event will be produced and streamed live using the LIVE Center’s Window Wall projection technology and Zoom from the National Dance Institute Center for Learning & the Arts (New York City, NY), to participating students at Mason’s School of Dance (Fairfax, VA) and the Baltimore School for the Arts (Baltimore, MD). The class will be moderated by Mason Heritage Professor of Dance and founder of The LIVE Center, Christopher d’Amboise. Funded in part by a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), this is the first of three events planned for this series in 2022.

With the accompaniment of two dancers, Peck, who is Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet and has choreographed countless projects for stage and screen including Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story (2021), will lead a conversation with students on the differences between choreographing for film versus live performance, and will instruct students on some of the vocabulary developed around his choreography for the film.

“The LIVE Center's mission is to provide unique and creative virtual education opportunities for students, and having the world-renowned choreographer Justin Peck is as exciting as it gets,” says d’Amboise. “He will be providing insight and information on his process, experience, and the challenges of choreographing for ballet, Broadway, and cinema. The LIVE Center Mentoring Series connects the greatest artists of today with the next generation of leaders.”

Justin Peck is a Tony Award winning choreographer, director, filmmaker, and dancer based in New York City. He is currently the acting Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet. Peck began choreographing in 2009 at the New York Choreographic Institute. In 2014, after the creation of his acclaimed ballet Everywhere We Go, he was appointed as Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet. He is the second person in the institution’s history to hold this title. As a performer, Peck has danced a vast repertoire of works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alexei Ratmansky, Lynn Taylor-Corbett, Benjamin Millepied, Christopher Wheeldon, and many others. Peck has created more than 40 dances—over 20 of those for New York City Ballet. Peck has worked extensively as a filmmaker. In particular, his focus has been exploring new innovative ways of presenting dance on film. Peck choreographed the feature films Red Sparrow (2016) starring Jennifer Lawrence and directed by Francis Lawrence; and West Side Story (2021) in collaboration with director Steven Spielberg.

Christopher d'Amboise is currently a Heritage Professor in the School of Dance at ��AV. Born into a family of dancers, he became a principal dancer in the New York City Ballet, and from 1990 to 1994, he was the artistic director, president, and CEO of the Pennsylvania Ballet. He also has a passion for musical theater and performed in the Broadway production of Song and Dance, which earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

Developed to expand the reach of The LIVE Center’s groundbreaking virtual instruction technology and the connections it makes possible, The LIVE Center Mentoring Series is a new project that offers direct access to exciting classes and conversations with globally recognized artists, choreographers, and performers. Additional events will be scheduled for Fall 2022, and interested organizations are encouraged to contact the College to discuss potential participation.