SPAC INITIATIVE
School of Arts set to open in September
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> Saratoga Performing Arts Center is launching the SPAC School of the Arts, slated to open to the community in September 2021.
This new initiative is a multidisciplinary school dedicated to dance, music, and theater, with additional offerings planned for instruction in literary arts, visual arts, and media arts at the nearby National Museum of Dance’s Lewis A. Swyer Studios.
Building upon the founding legacy of Lewis A. Swyer, Marylou Whitney and Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, the new School of the Arts will prioritize multi-cultural, multi-genre education, while furthering SPAC’s mission to facilitate inclusion, equity and access in arts education.
Complementing SPAC’s extensive education program, which currently serves 49,000 students throughout the Capital Region annually, the SPAC School of the Arts will expand to reach more underserved communities in addition to establishing a creative space for arts exploration and discovery.
“The National Museum of Dance and its School of the Arts has an exceptional history of philanthropy and artistic vision thanks to individuals like Lewis A. Swyer, Marylou Whitney and Cornelius Vanderbilt
Whitney. In more recent years, that spirit, vision and generosity has been carried on by Michele and Ron Riggi,” SPAC president and CEO Elizabeth Sobol said in a press release. “We are grateful to Susan and Bill Dake for their investment in the School of the Arts and its future.”
The school plans to operate out of the Lewis A. Swyer Studios, a state-of-theart facility located behind the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs. Following the museum’s closure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, SPAC has been collaborating with New York State Parks and the administration of the National Museum of Dance to reopen it to the public.
Here, the school will focus on creating a joyful learning environment that will include introductory and exploratory arts instruction for all age groups, physiques and abilities — all designed to complement offerings by other community arts organizations and schools.
“The opportunity to open a school dedicated to yearround arts education is a thrilling addition to our rapidly expanding education programs. With this new venture, we look forward to providing something truly unique to the Capital Region — a creative space where children can access and explore multiple art forms; make lasting connections to the world and each other; and discover their own passions for art making in a learning environment that is joyful, engaging and welcoming to all,” said Dennis Moench, SPAC’s senior director of education and the school director, in the release.
Each year, SPAC’s free education programs reach nearly 50,000 young individuals, offer more than 400 classes, presentations, performances, and events, and partner with more than 120 schools and nonprofit organizations across the greater Capital Region. SPAC’s flagship educational offerings include the in-school “Classical Kids” music and dance program; “Ballet in Fifth” with dancers from New York City Ballet; in-school dance residencies with SPAC teaching artists; and its annual signature event “The Adirondack Trust Company Festival of Young Artists,” which celebrates hundreds of student dancers, singers, musicians, poets and visual artists.
In 2020, SPAC’s education program created free online content for students, families and educators at a time when previously scheduled in-school presentations and classes were not feasible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The continuing virtual platforms include “The Festival of Young Artists Online Gallery” and “The SPAC Learning Library.”
The launch of the SPAC School of the Arts is made possible with support from Stewart’s Shops and the Dake Family. Additional funding from the Charles R. Wood Foundation will go toward tuition assistance, supplies, instruments and transportation.
Online registration for fall classes begins on Aug. 18.