Twenty-two students from the five Turnaround Arts schools at DMPS were in Washington, DC March 9-13. They participated in the Turnaround Arts Talent Show, presented at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. DMPS photographer Jon Lemon went along to document the trip. He shared an essay below about the experience and an album of photos at the bottom of his article.
Twenty-two brilliant and talented students from the Northside feeder pattern flew to Washington D.C. last weekend to perform in the Turnaround Arts Talent Show, held in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the first time. I was lucky enough to travel with the group to help chaperone and document the experience. My job was to look for the light and see when kids would shine at their best. Led by Ben Heinen, the DMPS Turnaround Arts Program Coordinator, the group of principals and arts instructors from Cattell, Findley, Harding, Madison, and Oak Park schools were there as chaperones and to help the students from those schools give their best performance and enjoy a great experience.
The Des Moines cohort left from Harding Middle School early Friday morning on a charter bus to Minneapolis, and then flew to Washington, DC with mixed feelings of excitement and apprehension. Among other new experiences, it was the first flight for some students. After landing there was just enough time to check in at the hotel before an evening walk to the Lincoln Memorial. Saturday morning started at the Kennedy Center with a tour of the art galleries, a bit of history about JFK, and a walk through the magnificent Opera House and the Eisenhower Theater where the students would perform the next day – all before rehearsing some last minute changes to make sure the show ran smoothly.
That night a trolley tour took the group around the city to see the sites, monuments and memorials. When the driver asked why the students were here, the whole bus started belting “Banaha,” the Congolese folk song that would ring through the Eisenhower Theater the next day. At the end of four long days, a few teachers mentioned how they had tears in their eyes on that bus ride.
Sunday was the big day of the performance. Students rehearsed their respective acts of drumming, singing, spoken word-poetry or break dancing one last time before the final show. Lisa Hesse, an art teacher at Findley Elementary School, introduced Des Moines. Hesse spoke about how the arts are transforming students to be true to themselves. She was at Findley (one of the original eight pilot schools in the nation – now there are 73 Turnaround Arts Schools) five years ago when Forest Whitaker worked with students on expression and acting for their upcoming musical. And she was at the first Turnaround Arts Talent Show when it was at the White House.
Boom. Pop! DJ IZ Avila (who recently urged students at Harding Middle School to follow their dreams during a visit to the school) starts the drum beat. A beautiful harmony of students sing BANAHAAA! Poets take the mic. A break dancer flips her final back handspring. They all come together and shout SEE OUR DES MOINES! And it’s over. The weight of performing is off their shoulders, but the confidence remains.
I have heard most adults are more afraid of public speaking than dying. Whatever the stress or trauma or social pressure that might hold students back, there are dedicated teachers willing to put in long hours to help kids perform. The arts provide a stage. Turnaround Arts helps students (and adults) live their best lives. From her hit song “Astral Plane,” Blues singer Valerie June sang it best on stage with students from Des Moines at the talent show:
“Is there a light?
You have inside you
Can’t touch
…
The day will come
When you are ready
Just trust
…
Is there a way?
For you to shine
Without fear
…
There is a light
You have inside you
Can touch”
