Group 6 :: The Arts
• Flamenco Dance I - IV
Introductory levels of Flamenco Dance are prerequisite for the advanced levels
Flamenco Dance is offered as a Fine Arts elective to both female and male students with a sincere interest in dance and world cultures. The course includes an in-depth historical examination of flamenco's multicultural origins as well as rigorous training in flamenco dance technique and choreography. As a performance elective, students enrolled in Flamenco Dance are required to showcase their dance training and skills through several public performances that may include both on and off-campus venues. CAS hours may be earned for selected performances.
• Art 3D
The purpose of the 3D Art class is to provide the opportunity for students to develop their technical skills while fostering an artistic appreciation for three dimensional work. The class projects will be tied to discussions of historical three dimensional art works as well as the use of three dimensional art in modern society. Students will use a variety of methods, including assemblage, casting, carving, and modeling. The emphasis of this course is for students to develop a concentration and a thematic body of work while expanding their knowledge of the materials and process. Students will work independently, relying on critical thinking, problem solving. and exploration to create their own expressive work.
• Ceramics
Ceramics is a course in which students will explore a broad range of techniques and approaches to art through clay. Students will learn to approach ceramic artwork as both functional and non-functional sculptural objects. The emphasis of this course is for the students to learn various hand-building techniques with clay as well as the technical and historical terminology associated with 3-dimensional design. In this course students are able to focus on technical, historical, aesthetic, and cultural concerns of ceramic sculptors as they develop their own personal and artistic ways of working.
• Drawing
This is a studio-focused, 2D art class that provides
the opportunity to increase the students' abilities to use and understand
the elements and principles of visual expression. Students will
learn various drawing techniques and how to analyze, discuss and understand
works of art. Emphasis will be placed on the students' visual awareness
and craftsmanship as it relates to their work and their awareness of Art
History. The students will develop their observation and accuracy skills as
they progress through a variety of classroom assignments such as personal still
life, perspective drawings, portraiture, figure drawing, and landscapes. A wide
range of drawing media will be used as students complete assignments. Students
will continue to develop compositional understanding by applying the elements
and principles of design to their sketches/drawings. A variety of artists will
be studied as students discover how they are relevant in art history and to the
individual student's work.
• Painting
This is a studio-focused, 2D art class that
provides the opportunity to increase the students' abilities to use and
understand the elements and principles of visual expression.
Students will learn various painting techniques and how to analyze, discuss
and understand works of art. Emphasis will be placed on the students'
visual awareness and craftsmanship as it relates to their work and their
awareness of Art History. The students will explore the various
techniques used in preparing for and creating watercolor and acrylic paintings.
Color theory is closely examined in all aspects of this course so that students
better understand how various colors are made and how they relate to one
another in a visual composition. By using their knowledge of color theory
and compositional development, students will create abstract and realistic
paintings. Historical and contemporary painters work will be explored to
examine individual development, style, technique and problem solving
approaches. Students will develop all of the skills necessary to prepare and
stretch watercolor paper as well as construct and stretch canvas for acrylic
painting.
• Photography
The purpose of the B&W
Photography class is to provide the opportunity for students to develop their
technical skills while fostering an artistic appreciation for the art of
photography. The class projects will be tied to discussions of the
history of photography as well as the use of photography in modern society.
Students will use a variety of photographic methods, including: photograms,
pinhole photography, B&W film development, and B&W printing techniques.
The emphasis of this course is for students to develop a concentration
and a thematic body of work while expanding their knowledge of the materials
and process. Students will work independently, relying on critical thinking,
problem solving, and exploration to create their own expressive work.
• Printmaking
Printmaking is a visual arts course that teaches a basic understanding of printmaking processes and theory. This course is an overview of a wide range of printmaking techniques with a closer introduction to three: Monotype, Linocut, and Screen Printing. The emphasis of the course is to enhance and expand the visual literacy of the students while building an appreciation for the power of the printing medium in creating expressive images. The students will gain a better sense of appreciation by studying specific art works, artists, styles, and movements of art. They will use this historical and aesthetic base as a means to explore and produce their own individual work.
• Drama I - IV
The progression of theater courses emphasizes the importance of working individually and as a member of an ensemble. Students are encouraged to develop the organizational and technical skills needed to express themselves creatively in theater. At the core of the theater program lies a concern with clarity of understanding, critical thinking, reflective analysis, effective involvement, and imaginative synthesis--all of which should be achieved through practical engagement in theater.
• Music
High school students can elect to participate in the instrumental
music program. They perform at Performing Arts Showcases several times a year.
Diploma Programme Courses
Courses for the Diploma Programme are taken over two years and are offered at standard level (SL) and higher level (HL). HL courses represent 240 teaching hours; SL courses cover 150 hours. By arranging work in this fashion, students are able to explore some subjects in depth and some more broadly over the two-year period.
• IB Visual Arts 11 [SL / HL]
• IB Visual Arts 12 [SL / HL]
Prerequisites: 2-D art required, 3-D art OR ceramics required, Advanced Drawing OR Painting and Color Theory highly recommended
Visual arts is an extensive two-year visual arts course for the motivated student who has a deep interest in art. Through the duration of the course students will be required to keep an investigation workbook in addition to art projects. Students will be encouraged to make art that is both personally and aesthetically meaningful to them, while mastering skills and techniques of many different types of art media. As the art students become submersed in the Diploma Programme, they will focus on a theme or art medium that showcases their technical art skills and visual self-expression. Students will delve into this concentration to create imaginative, purposeful, high quality pieces of artwork. Their artwork and ideas will evolve through investigation and experimentation. An art exhibition that demonstrates each student’s growth and commitment will be completed at the culmination of the course.
• IB Theater Arts 11 [SL / HL]
• IB Theater Arts 12 [SL / HL]
The aims of the program in Theater Arts are to help students understand the nature of the theater; to understand it by making it as well as by studying it; to understand it not only with their minds but with their senses, their bodies and their emotions; to understand the forms it takes in cultures other than their own; and through this understanding better understand themselves, their society and their world. Students in this course engage in four areas of theatrical studies: 1) development of performance skills, 2) world theater studies, 3) practical play analysis, and 4) actual theater production. Higher level students will also be required to complete an individual project.
