Coordinator & Dance Instructor: Ms. Ilana Puglia
Phone: 804-768-6145 ext: 6276
Faculty
Specialty Center for the Arts
BAND
Through course work emphasizing theory, technique, composition, analysis and musical citizenship as well as through a multitude of performance opportunities, the Specialty Center Instrumental Music programs encourage students to think critically about music and provide them with the kind of well-rounded music education which prepares student artists for further study in college, university and conservatory programs. The Thomas Dale Band Program is a Ten Year Honor Band and a Governor’s Blue Ribbon School. The Band Program has a variety of options for young musicians offering three Concert Band classes, Advanced Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble. Within these ensembles, students play music ranging from Grade 4 to Grade 6. They participate in State Assessment as well as several concerts throughout the school year. The other two performing groups are the Jazz Band and the Marching Knights. The Jazz Band is an elite performing ensemble open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors who participate in several community activities and works collaboratively with Specialty Center Dance Company on one of the most anticipated collaborative performances of the school year. The Marching Knights perform at home Football Games and 4 VBODA Competitions throughout the fall, consistently receiving Superior Ratings at State Assessment. Students also have the opportunity to participate in Show Band, Pep Band, and the pit for the musical.
Chorus
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Through course work emphasizing theory, technique, analysis and musical citizenship as well as through a multitude of performance opportunities, the Specialty Center Vocal Music program encourage students to think critically about music and provides them with the kind of well-rounded education which prepares student singers for further study in college, university and conservatory programs. The Choral Department of Thomas Dale High School has a legacy of high musicianship that spans all choirs. Under the direction of Kristen Batson the choirs perform a variety of styles and genres while learning the foundations of choral singing and receiving an enriching and dynamic music education.
Groups perform multiple times a year in concerts at the school as well as events throughout the community. Select groups also travel to State Assessment each year, where they have consistently received Superior ratings, and to national and local competitions where they also receive Superior vocal ratings and other awards such as Best Vocal Quality, Best Choreography, Best Show Design, and Best Show Band.
DANCE
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Through course work centered in modern, ballet, choreography, improvisation, dance history, anatomy and somatics, dance production, dance critique and through a multitude of performance opportunities, the Specialty Center Dance program encourages students to think critically about technique, dance making, personal aesthetic and performance, providing them with the kind of well-rounded dance education which prepares them for further study in college, university and conservatory programs.
Once admitted to the program, students will be registered for a Major course for content study and a Repertory course for rehearsal work each year. Students also become a part of the Specialty Center Dance Company which performs in three concerts annually; the Jazz Band & Dance Department Collaborative Concert, the Senior Dance Concert which features the graduating class' culminating projects in choreography and production, and the Spring Dance Showcase which includes the work of students from all grade levels, faculty and guest artists. Students are also given the opportunity to perform as featured dancers in the Specialty Center's fall musical theater production and perform at various community events and functions.
Visiting teachers and choreographers are a regular part of the Specialty Center Dance Program. Past guests have included modern, ballet, contemporary, musical theater and jazz choreographers and performers from the Richmond-Metro area, New York, Rhode Island, D.C., Texas, National Touring Broadway shows, and beyond!
The Specialty Center Dance Company also travels regularly to experience dance communities around the country. The Company attends the National and Regional High School Dance Festivals and has also taken trips to New York City and Los Angeles, California.
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The Thomas Dale Theatre Department is committed to excellence in theatrical performance, design, and technology.
Students in the Theatre track of the specialty center program begin their training as an ensemble, learning to work collaboratively in the creation of dramatic performances and other projects in Studio Theatre. As students progress through their four years at TDHS, they continue to grow as an ensemble while discovering and honing independent interests and passions. Through their elective coursework, students are provided opportunities to study theatre history and theory, survey a variety of theatrical forms and genres, and read/perform from a broad range of theatrical texts, while challenging themselves and their fellow ensemble members to grow as actors, playwrights, directors, designers, technicians, and producers.
After school, Specialty Center Theatre students are strongly encouraged to take on extracurricular roles as cast, designers, stage managers and student directors on fall and spring productions. Students also perform annually as selected for the VHSL one act competition each winter.
Learning in the Specialty Center Program is project-based and student-driven. As they mature in their studies, students are encouraged to take on independent projects, engage with the Richmond theatre community as performers, crew-members, and audiences, and develop personal aesthetic perspectives and critical responses to the world and art around them.
VISUAL ART
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The Specialty Center for the Arts at Thomas Dale provides Visual Art students the opportunity to develop skills, explore concepts, and refine techniques needed to create quality art works. Functioning as an arts school within a comprehensive high school, SCFA arts and academic classes provide a strong preparation for post-secondary education. Opportunities to exhibit student work are actively sought throughout the year and pieces are regularly submitted to local, regional, and national competitions and shows. The Visual Arts faculty aspires to assist our young artists in gaining the intellectual, emotional, and sociological tools necessary to set goals and to find purpose and success in a variety of mediums.
ORCHESTRA
Through course work emphasizing theory, technique, composition, analysis and musical citizenship as well as through a multitude of performance opportunities, the Specialty Center Instrumental Music programs encourage students to think critically about music and provide them with the kind of well-rounded music education which prepares student artists for further study in college, university and conservatory programs. The Thomas Dale High School Chamber and Concert Orchestras are part of the Chesterfield County Specialty Center for the Arts which has a Virginia Blue Ribbon Music Program. Many orchestra students study music in college while others pursue professional career paths including teaching, medicine, and many other diverse fields. Orchestra graduates attend Belmont University, University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Shenandoah University, William and Mary, UVA, VT, and Temple among others.
Orchestra students believe in supporting the community and have produced charity rock concerts to benefit causes such as homelessness, AIDS, and children of fallen soldiers. One charity concert raised funds to provide 26,000 meals for families in need in our area. Since 2004, the outstanding group of young Orchestra program musicians have continuously received superior ratings at district competitions, performing professional level compositions. They have traveled throughout the Commonwealth and other states and consistently receive top honors for their stellar performances. Most recently, the Chamber Orchestra received national attention when they were selected to perform in Nashville, TN for the National Association for Music Educators In-Service Conference, an honor typically reserved for college and professional groups. The TDHS Chamber Orchestra was the only high school orchestra selected to perform. The orchestra was also recently acknowledged when they received the highest rating in history at Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Music in the Parks.
This outstanding group of musicians has also performed with Mark Wood, one of the original founders of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
APPLY NOW
Interested in joining one of our specialty center programs? Start by reviewing the audition or portfolio instructions for your chosen focus area, and follow those steps as outlined. Once you’ve completed them, click the Apply Now button to submit your application and begin your path toward an exceptional high school experience.