For the next two days, teachers from all over Belize are diving into an exciting training program hosted by the Institute of Creative Arts. The goal? To get kids pumped about performing arts. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the institute has brought together secondary school teachers, equipping them with the tools and techniques to inspire teenagers to explore music, drama, and dance. Today, News Five’s Britney Gordon was at the Bliss Center for Performing Arts to capture all the details of this fantastic educational opportunity.
Whether it’s through music, drama, or dance, the Institute of Creative Arts (ICA) is on a mission to get Belizeans fired up about self-expression. By sparking this passion in young people across the country, ICA hopes to see more talented performers stepping up for their annual Festival of Arts. Today, they kicked off a two-day workshop aimed at educating secondary school teachers on how to get their students more involved in the arts. Crysel Gabourel-Moro, the dance facilitator at ICA, shared the goals of this exciting training.
Crysel Gabourel-Moro, Dance Facilitator, ICA
“Festival of arts has been here since the nineties. The workshop is to help educate the teachers to properly train the students in order to come and give a full performance on stage in the areas of drama, in the areas of music, in the areas of dance, how to put together all of these items, how to differentiate between the different styles and techniques and genres and give them all the knowledge that we can possibly do to give better performances when they come on stage”
The Festival of Arts season kicks off with the preschool festival in March, followed closely by the secondary school festival. ICA director, Kim Vasquez, is hopeful that this training will build capacity and encourage more high school students to participate.
Kim Vasquez, Director, ICA
“Participation is always good across the board, from preschool, primary and secondary, we want children, we want students to grow in the Festival of Arts. But sometimes we notice that at the high school level, other things, other factors come into play. Graduation, CXC, workload there’s a lot. But there’s also a need for additional support. Because this is the time too when careers start being decided. When if you’re going to be involved more in music seriously, or dance more seriously, or drama as a career, or this is something that you want to take up into your, beyond your high school years, this is the time to really hold on to them and support them.”
Crysel Gabourel-Moro
“ We have to try and give as much as we can in the time that we have and then have them execute a practical afterward, which is a mock FOA. So the teachers will actually be dancing. They will be singing and doing all the things that they need to go and teach their students, then we would adjudicate them and let them know or give them some pointers on how to make it better so that when they get on stage with their students, they produce outstanding performances.”
Stefan Nolberto, Teacher, Julian Cho Technical High School
“ One of the most things that I’m going to take back to my students is to be open-minded. I believe that my students focus on primarily one aspect of the arts. And you can’t blame them for that. What we have learned today in this workshop is that the arts is not a competition. It’s about honing skills and trying to see how we could master not only one, but hopefully all three.”
The Festival of Arts is ICA’s national platform for creative expression. This April, the festival is broadening its horizons by reviving the creative writing publication, offering more Belizeans the chance to get involved and showcase their talents.
“Last year alone in the Festival of Arts actively participating we had over two thousand, I think it was like two thousand three hundred students from across the country. from all areas. And that’s just on the stage alone. You also have to factor in that their classmates, their schoolmates, their community comes to see them participate. So the impact of the National Festival of Arts in Belize is huge. It’s really significant.”
The Institute of Create Arts invites all schools to showcase their students’ talents by participating in the festival this year. Britney Gordon for News Five.
