When the legendary operatic soprano Dorothy Maynor opened the Harlem School of the Arts in 1964, it was for the community’s children. It was her way of introducing the children to the transformative power of the arts, at a time when great political and social unrest was spreading across the country’s predominantly Black inner cities. In Harlem, Ms. Maynor’s visionary reaction took form in the basement of St. James Presbyterian Church, where her husband, the Rev. Shelby Rooks, was pastor.
Harlem School of the Arts in 2021
Today, the Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) occupies a 37,000-square-foot facility with three dance studios that legendary dancer/choreographer George Balanchine helped to design. Additionally, there are private-lesson music rooms; a new digital lab space where students interested in photography, graphics, filmmaking, coding, and animation can develop their skills; and a performance gallery that has been remodeled and retrofitted with state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment. The organization also has a black box theater that seats upwards of 125 comfortably.
World-Class Teaching Staff
This cultural arts institution now attracts students, ages 18 months and up, from a cross-section of backgrounds and every neighborhood in New York City, and the tri-state area. The organization’s focus on excellence, its emphasis on quality of training, and the depth of the world-class teaching staff it has engaged are why students like Blasina Olowe travel from New Jersey to take classes there.
Young Bergen County Dancer Seeking Diversity, Finds HSA
In 2018, 12-year-old Blasina, a resident of Bergen County, New Jersey, enrolled in the HSA Dance Summer Intensive. The decision, said her mother, was based on her daughter’s desire to see herself reflected in the student body and the instructors. Until then, Blasina was often the lone Black student or one of a small handful of students of color in her dance class.
“She was asking for an arts program more representative of who she is,” said Blasina’s mother, Jahaira. “She wanted to be in a more diverse environment. That is how we arrived at HSA after searching on Google. HSA simply matched the set of criteria we knew would be important to my daughter.”
Who’s Who from World of Dance
Neither has regretted the decision, even though it meant having to travel a long distance across state lines. “I love HSA because it is very competitive and the curriculum is intense, and that’s important to me,” said Blasina.
What was even more impressive to this young dance enthusiast was the roster of guest artists attached to the summer intensive that year. The list included dance superstars Desmond Richardson, hailed as one of the greatest dancers of our time by The New York Times and a Tony Award nominee and co-founder of Complexions Contemporary Ballet; Brazilian ballerina, model, and entrepreneur Alison Stroming; dancer and choreographer Anthony Burrell, who has worked with music royalty including Mariah Carey and Beyonce; Alvin Ailey’s own Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, a product of the Joffrey, Graham and Ailey schools of dance who was a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for more than a decade; and Hope Boykin, another Alvin Ailey alumna, a former member of Philadanco and recipient of numerous dance awards.
“I loved it! Harlem is beautiful, and the school is amazing.”
Blasina has since participated in the yearly HSA Dance Summer Intensive and was “accepted into the organization’s Dance Prep, a program designed for exceptionally skilled and passionate dancers who exhibit a desire to train at the highest level and pursue dance professionally. When asked if attending dance class at HSA had lived up to her expectations, the gifted young dancer didn’t have to think about the answer.
“The intensive is always so good! We even had an opportunity to dance with members of the Rockettes – I loved it! Harlem is beautiful, and the school is amazing. I think I have grown as a dancer.” Her mother agrees that HSA was the best fit for her daughter. “She is surrounded by examples of people who look like her in key roles, and teachers who are each accomplished artists in their own right. It reinforces the idea that she can achieve anything and that she can become the artist she wants to be.”
HSA@Home Zoom Allows for Uninterrupted Classes
When COVID-19 shut the city and the country down last year, Blasina, like every one of HSA’s students and other dance students across the country, wondered what would happen next. What did happen at HSA was remarkable. Within a short time, the young dancer was back in class, thanks to the organization’s leadership and the creation of HSA@Home.
Utilizing Zoom, in-person classes became virtual classes. Although Blasina was removed from her peers and teachers, the online, virtual curriculum was no less rigorous. Like so many students, she has had to adapt to the loneliness of dancing in isolation. She laments missing the instant feedback from instructors, the motivational factor of other dancers in the room, and the comradeship of like-minded friends and peers that happens organically in a studio setting. Still, she considers herself lucky that classes continue.
$9.5 Million Renovation and Community Rejuvenation Ensure Bright Future for HSA
With in-person gatherings and classes gradually resuming, Blasina and her fellow HSA students have been met by some exciting changes. During the students’ absence, a $9.5 million renovation project – underwritten by musician, artist, and philanthropist Herb Alpert and the Herb Alpert Foundation – was completed. No longer a walled-in oasis, the building’s new appearance is indicative of the rejuvenation taking place all around the greater Harlem community.
The organization’s renaissance fits in with the larger plan to transform the 141st – 145th Street corridor along Saint Nicholas Avenue into an educational campus. A new Harlem Academy building is under construction next door, the new Neighborhood Charter School opened in the fall of 2019, and the HSA Herb Alpert Center is ready to open its doors to students like Blasina. HSA is also looking forward to partnering with the educational organizations that share the extended block, as an arts provider for their students.
“I miss going to class and I am looking forward to going back to the building again,” said Blasina, who, in addition to dance classes, is looking forward to adding an improvisation class in 2021.
The organization has built a reputation as one of the most respected, multidisciplinary cultural institutions by providing a robust, interdisciplinary arts curriculum. The result is that more and more young creatives like Blasina Olowe have found the rigorous approach and the prestige of being instructed by a luminary teaching staff a most appealing combination worth the travel.
COVID-19 Safety Measures at HSA
In preparation for an increased return to in-person classes sometime in the summer of 2021, HSA has undertaken sweeping upgrades. With the addition of a state-of-the-art air filtration system, a specialized sanitation process in place, and the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, the possibility of a return this summer is encouraging. In the meantime, registration for online spring classes is now open.
For more information on how you can support Harlem School of the Arts and for a schedule of available classes, visit www.hsanyc.org.
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