Houston International Festival to Offer Houston Schools a Taste of South America
On Tuesday, March 27, the 2012 Houston International Festival (HIF) will bring a preview of its festival spotlighting Argentina to YES Prep Northside located at 5215 Jensen Drive, Houston, TX 77009 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The visit is a part of the Houston International Festival’s program to bring Argentine culture to eight Houston at-risk schools. This week the dance company and group Luna Argentina will present gaucho folk dancing, as well as perform the tango for an assembly of 130 students.
Luna Argentina will be performing on all four days of the Houston International Festival (April 21, 22, 28 & 29) in the Estancia in the Chevron Argentina Living Museum, as well as on the festival’s H-E-B Cultural Stage.
2012 marks the 42nd year for the festival, which is produced by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Houston Festival Foundation, Inc. Festival proceeds benefit the education program of the foundation, which produces a teacher’s curriculum guide on the spotlighted country’s culture. The curriculum guide reaches a potential 900,000 students at 1,471 campuses in seven Texas counties.
Like the many colorful and exciting performances on site at the festival, these visits to Houston-area schools help bring the culture of Argentina to life for students, as a complement to the lessons presented in the Teacher’s Curriculum Guide. Through these efforts, the Houston Festival Foundation seeks to help inspire the children of today to become global citizens of tomorrow.
Additional school visits are as follows:
March 30 from 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Travis Elementary 3311 Beauchamp, Houston 77009
with Guests Luna Argentina, approximately 120 students
April 4 from 1:30 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
Sherman/Crawford Elementary 1510 Jensen Dr., Houston, TX
with Guests Luna Argentina, approximately 250-275 students
April 5 from 1:30 p.m.- 2:15 p.m.
Clemente Martinez Elementary 901 Hays, Houston, TX 77009
with Guests Luna Argentina, approximately 250-275 students
April 10 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:10 p.m.
Milby High School 1601 Broadway, Houston, TX 77012
with Guests The Argentine Tango Club, approximately 24 students
To schedule interviews with Argentinean performer and leader Susana Collins of Luna Argentina and dancers; or HIF Performing Arts Director, Rick Mitchell; contact Alexis Jones at alexis@medley-inc.com.
For more information about the Houston International Festival and its education and outreach programs visit: www.ifest.org. To purchase tickets to this year's festival, visit: http://ifest2012.eventbrite.com/
"LIKE" HIF on Facebook.com/ifest and follow HIF on Twitter at @iFest, hashtag #2012HIF.
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ABOUT LUNA ARGENTINA
Dance Company - Luna Argentina, strives to showcase different areas of Argentina through song and dance to cover its broad, vibrant spectrum of expression and culture. From the Tango of Buenos Aires to the strong Argentine Malambo show of the Pampas, including boleadoras and bombo / drums.
Luna Argentina director; Susana Collins, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She began her dance training at the age of 5 studying Classical Ballet, Flamenco and Argentine Folk. After moving to Houston, Susana trained and was featured in a variety of Latin and Central American dance troupes in Houston. By the age of 16, Susana and her family formed her first dance group, Argentina 2000, performing for celebrities such as Libertad Lamarque and Robert Duvall .
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