I had only a vague idea what STREB was all about when I walked through the doors of their brightly colored gym last Saturday. (For all you newbies, STREB is a collective of aerialists and acrobats that perform shows and offer classes at their crazy cool Williamsburgh gym.)  I knew that STREB put on these awesome acrobtic shows and focused on body movement. What shocked my system was the strength, flexibility and athleticism that goes into this incredible artform. I sat stunned by these dancers and artists as they transformed regular teens into acrobats-in-training.

About thirty High 5ers joined us last weekend for a special workshop with STREB’s instructors. The afternoon started with a quick warm-up and a combination of body positions and falls. After a break, instructors introduced the amazing variety of trampolines, balance beams, tumbling equipment and flying trapezes. (You heard me, H5ers on a TRAPEZE! How cool is that?) High 5ers were given free reign to use their new found skills and jump, bounce and soar however they wanted for two glorious hours. When the afternoon came to a close and we all dispersed to our separate Saturdays, we all felt awe and wonder at the capabilities of the human body.

Miss the STREB event? No worries! We’re offering $5 tickets to their newest show Kiss the Air. But, wait, there’s more!  The first Saturday of each month, STREB hosts the Teen Action Club. So get in on the ACTION and experience STREB! What are you waiting for?

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Saturday afternoon myself and two totally AWESOME High 5 Teen Reviewers and Critics ran a teen workshop at the Joan Mitchell Foundation and Noguchi Museum’s Careers in the Arts Fair, 2011.  The day was full of workshops with everything from comic book artists to fashion designers and even filmmakers!

In our workshop we spoke a bit about the High 5 Tickets to the Arts program and my two assistants, Joe Strong and Maya Whalen, spoke about how they have grown in the New York City arts scene as a result of starting their journey with the High 5 program.

As the workshop went on, we talked a lot about discussing art as a community.  As we did a mock-TRaC writing exercise the discussion took flight!  I was so impressed and moved by the participants’ interpretations that I wanted to share it here and pose the same questions to you.

The two pieces of work we focused on were Isamu Noguchi’s Policeman and Sun at Noon (both pictured below).  Here are some of the questions we asked about the pieces:

The Policeman, 1950

1.    What do you think the titles of these two pieces are?

“The Martian”
“Black Hole”
“The Moon”
2.    How does each piece make you feel?

“It reminds me of the circle of life”
“Confused”
“Hypnotized”
“Like I can jump through to another dimension”

Sun at Noon, 1969

3.    Pick one word from the inside of your Noguchi tablet to describe each piece.
“Unique and Harmonious”

“Creative and Tranquil”

“Bold and Serenity”

“It’s like he has a hard shell on the outside to hide the emptiness on the inside, only filled by his billy club.” Student comment on The Policeman

“The use of different materials represents the ups and downs, rough and smooth spots you might face throughout your life.” Student comment on Sun at Noon

What are your thoughts about these works?

Post in the comments below!!

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We came.
We ate.
We voted.
We watched
We discussed.

That’s what we do.

On a cold December 4th (first Friday of December, naturally), a record 63 young art/film-enthusiasts descended upon the SONY WONDERLAB for High 5′s Pizza and a Movie Night: RANDOM HOLIDAY EDITION.  This mob voted down both The Nightmare Before Christmas and Groundhog Day in favor of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  The mob ruled, as always.

FERRIS BUELLER’s DAY OFF (1986, 103min)
Directed by John Hughes
Written by John Hughes

“Life moves pretty fast. And if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you’re gonna miss it.” – high-schooler Ferris Bueller.

Someone asked, “hey!”  (yes, they shouted).  “hey!  how does this count as a holiday movie??”  To which we replied, “Doesn’t any day off from school count as a holiday?  This may just be, in fact, the GREATEST holiday movie ever made.”  Yes, we are prone to hyperbole.  But this time we may just right.  Ferris’s holiday may be the ultimate.  He even goes to the Chicago Art Museum in one of the most poignant cinematic moments of John Hughes’ career….

….which we give you now, for your viewing pleasure:

If you’re looking for a movie to watch over your holiday break, check out the full list of films that have been screened at High 5′s Pizza and a Movie Night here.

NOTE:  The next Pizza and a Movie event will be on the second Friday in January, due to, of course, the holiday.  Mark your calendar accordingly.  And see you in 2010!

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Some group pics sent to us by the Mirabel Sisters Campus Community School (a Children’s Aid Society site) after using High 5 tickets to see Broadway’s newest show:  Finian’s Rainbow.

Check them out on High 5′s Flickr stream!

The group leader who took these lucky teens wrote:

“The students chosen to attend are all a part of our performing arts clubs in our Extended Day Program, and they all had quite an experience seeing the artistry they love being practiced. For some of our students, it was their first Broadway performance. For our other young artists, it served as inspiration for future projects and upcoming presentations.”

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