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Summer Musical Announcement!
Hey theatre students (and everyone) - click for a personal message from Theatre Instructors Kurt Muenstermann and Marlana Perry about our summer musical and audition details for Bright Star, Steve Martin's delightful and redemptive hit musical!
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Conservatory Showcase and
Senior Celebration Night
May 14 at 7:00 pm
Join us Thursday, May 14 at 7:00 pm sharp for our Conservatory Showcase and Senior Celebration, streamed live from the Valor Center via GoToWebinar.
To register for the Conservatory Showcase click here. You'll be able to join anytime, but we encourage you to register early!
The evening will include:
- Senior Performing and Visual Arts Awards, presented live, with recipients able to offer their acceptance and thank you speech on GoToWebinar
- Performance or portfolio highlight videos of award winners
- College bound Conservatory Highlight reel of all graduating seniors
- Arts production and exhibit highlights to celebrate from the past year
- Conservatory cord ceremony, featuring our faculty on stage and our Seniors on screen!
- Unveiling of the Conservatory Showcase Website featuring videos of every student's Showcase Piece or Portfolio. And more!
We are excited to be able to honor our Conservatory Seniors and have some live online interactive fun. We are so grateful for our amazing students and look forward to celebrating them with you!
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Applications are still open for the Conservatory and Valor Dance!Applications for the Valor Conservatory and Valor Dance program have been extended! Click on the following links for more Conservatory Audition and Valor Dance Audition information. Please submit your application to get on the email list for further information on updated audition dates.
Music/Theatre applications extended through May, click here to apply!
Dance applications extended through the summer, click here to apply!
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High Marks for Cinderella!
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Valor’s spring musical, Cinderella, was a smash hit for our community, nearly selling out for all performances. The ‘magical’ transforming gowns, flying Fairy Godmother, and modern touches of this fairy tale left the audiences enchanted and lining up for photos with the cast!
We are grateful to have closed the show before the state stay-at-home order began (unlike many high schools.)
Every year, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts sends professional adjudicators to watch the high school shows, by which nominations for awards in 12 categories are made. This amazing program provides constructive feedback on the shows and actors, and brings schools together for an annual awards night to celebrate high school theatre. Due to the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, the 'Bobby G' awards have been cancelled this spring, but Valor received great feedback from our four adjudicators through their score sheets, which are worth noting.
The adjudicators all indicated that this was a show everyone should be proud of -- from our lead actors to our chorus performers and our technical artists backstage. They gave high marks for the amazing fairy tale storytelling on stage with a huge role played by our technical students through the seamless scene changes and performer and scene flying. The originality of the lighting (designed by Maddie White, Rhys Ogg and Ruth Jones) received top marks, as did the originality of the set design.
Sydney Kamel, who played Ella, was praised for 'mixing a contemporary young woman with the classical fairytale heroine. She captured the optimism and innocence of Rodger & Hammersteins’ Cinderella while maintaining Ella’s independent nature.' Ryan Lavey, who portrayed Topher, 'created a likeable character who convincingly played the giant-slaying prince as well as the lovesick young man.'
Special shoutouts were given to the spectacular vocal performances of Marie (Victoria Xikes) and Lord Pinkleton (Connor English); the comic timing accomplished by Charlotte (Savannah Wanebo); the depth and complexity of character development portrayed in Madame (Zola Feasel) and Sebastian (Will Harbottle); and the sweet and endearing performances of Gabrielle (Lauren Honderd) and Jean-Michel (Ben Shultz).
Here are a few more encouragements from the professional judges:
"Cinderella was an incredible production with whom EVERYONE involved should be very proud! The sets and costumes were beautifully constructed and crafted, and the hair and make-up really added to the characters personalities! The scene changes were smooth and seamless, as well as the costume changes - so magical! The chorus was impeccable with their characters, reactions (obviously worked on in rehearsals).”
"The addition of the modernized expressionsions and comments were fun and made the production more relatable to the times of today! The tableaus were beautifully staged and the stage was wonderfully balanced and looked like a page out of a storybook. Choreography and vocals were well-executed and energetic, the energy throughout the show never faltering! The chase-scene was creative and well done and everyone looked like they were having the time of their lives up on that stage!’"
"Your production details noted that teaching humility and kindness were an intended part of your theater education program. This was communicated well throughout the show, in every actor, in the way they shared the stage with each other. Cinderella is a timeless story told around the world with varied plot lines and cultural revisions. This version, at Valor Christian High School, was beautifully realized."
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A Word from Mr. MageheeSongwriting Instructor Marty Magehee (who loves Jesus, coffee and hugs) shares a word of encouragement!
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Yearbook Senior Editor Shares Hope
Valor Yearbook's Senior Editor, Sarah Swift, reflects on struggles in her own life and how they have helped her overcome adversity, especially during this season of struggle. Sarah shares:
If I have learned anything in the last ten years, it would be 'the sun will rise again.'
Today marks my dad’s tenth year up in heaven. For a long time, I struggled with the ‘why?’ behind his death. I had no idea why God would put my family through such a tragic loss and heartbreak. I felt completely betrayed by God, and I needed my closure. Ultimately, I learned that God didn’t take my dad to spite me or my family, He did it because He has glorious plans for us beyond our imagination. God has a plan great of joy beyond my pain and grief. No matter what the circumstance is, God has a plan and He is working in the midst of our hardships and confusion.
Through losing my dad, I have learned to apply this trust I have put in God in all places of my life, and I want to encourage you to do the same amongst COVID-19. He promises us “joy beyond our suffering” (Romans 8:18), and during this worldwide tragedy God is still working. He has a plan beyond cancelled proms and graduations, and He has a purpose for our pain. We will learn from it, and we will grow from it. After every storm, the sun will rise again.
Sarah's sister Ellie, who is a freshman at Valor also commented, "The loss of my dad has given me a more positive outlook on everything going on right now. Through losing my dad, I was able to see how important family is, and how lucky I am to have a family who loves me. With knowing how important family is, it has been a blessing to be able to spend quality time with my mom and sister - especially with everything going on in the world right now, I know that I will always have my family by my side to support me."
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News Anchor Visits Broadcast News ClassNatalie Tysdal, Denver Channel 2 'Day Break' news anchor (and Valor parent) shared her new broadcast routine during the stay-at-home order with the Pulse broadcast students. It's a great behind-the-scenes look at how the news and television industry has pivoted and problem-solved with innovation!
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From the Studio
Songwriting student Katherine Noonan will release her single, 'Smile' on Spotify next week. Congratulations Katherine! Here's what she shared with us about the song:
'I wrote 'Smile' about one of my biggest inspirations, and her constant joy and complete trust in God despite the many hardships she endured. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, but that didn’t stop her from sharing God’s love with everyone. She fought so hard, but unfortunately, she is no longer with us today. She impacted my life in so many different ways, and I can’t express how much her joy has inspired me. I wrote this song to celebrate her life and legacy, and to encourage others.
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Sunbeam New Valor Student Devo Website
Last month a group of friends, feeling a need to stay connected spiritually and bring encouragement to fellow students, launched Sunbeam, a daily devotional website. Senior Maddie White explained their mission:
"When the virus situation started impacting church attendance, I started thinking about other ways that God communicates with the world. I thought about how we do devotionals almost everyday during theater productions and I thought it could be fun and encouraging if something similar was started to help us continue to grow in our relationship with Christ. There’s a lot out there about how to keep yourself physically and mentally healthy, but not much about how to stay spiritually healthy. So a few friends and I started writing devos and posting them to this website in an effort to combat the spiritual virus that is hitting us."
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Valor Pulse: Homvid-19
Valor Pulse student Alivia Martin interviews Shirley Xu, a junior at Valor, who is using her
international resources to provide help to our community. Watch here, and you can help her through the GoFundMe page.
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Home Lighting Tutorial from Josh AnamierFilm Instructor Josh Anamier created a fun DIY home lighting tutorial for film and performance students. We thought everyone could benefit from it!
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| Click Below for More Information
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