On Friday, September 25, The Benjamin Middle and Upper School joined forces to create an event students would never forget: Fine Arts Day! This day-long event introduced students to the fine arts and the endless possibilities the arts afford.

“How does all this begin? It’s the whole point of this school, this program: exposure!” exclaimed renowned dancer-turned-photographer Steven Caras, the day’s keynote speaker. Along with Caras, more than 30 artists from all over Palm Beach County were invited to share their artistic prowess with the 700+ middle and upper school students.

The immense planning and organization for this day was executed by Middle School Dean of Academics Dr. Cristina James, Middle School English Department Chair Mrs. Kathleen Devine, Assistant Head of School Mr. Kendall Didsbury, Performing Arts Chair Mrs. Sara Salivar, and upper school teachers Mrs. Melissa Ford and Ms. Mary Ditaranto.  In addition, Benjamin’s Technology Department along with parent volunteers, led by Mrs. Stacey Marino, helped make the day a huge success.

With impeccable timing, the entire Middle School arrived at the Upper School campus before 9:00 a.m. Imagine the effort it took to transfer 230 students on multiple buses to the Upper School. Once the students arrived, they met with their advisory groups and paired off with upper school advisories.

The groups then made their way to the state-of-the art Benjamin Hall. For the first time, the entire Middle and Upper Schools were brought together for this all-day event.

After an introduction from Head of School Mr. Robert Goldberg, students and faculty were given a glimpse into the life of Caras, the keynote speaker, via a brief documentary. The video chronicled Caras’ career as a dancer for the New York City Ballet under legendary choreographer George Balanchine and then his transition to dance photography, a discipline for which he has become world famous. Caras’s accomplishments were featured in the PBS documentary Steven Caras: See Them Dance, which received an Emmy in 2012 and the Grand Remi Award for ‘Best Television Film of 2012’ at the 45th Annual Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival.

“I liked the dancer, Steven Caras, first because he engaged the audience in his lecture and I really enjoyed [his story],” commented eighth grader Mitch Faloona.

Multiple students were inspired by Caras’story as he talked about growing up in New Jeresey and being bullied because he enjoyed dancing.

“[Steven Caras], though he was put down, he still did something that he loved,” noted seventh grader Chloe Habib.

“[I see myself going more deeply into the fine arts] because I like filming productions and taking pictures of things, which is really interesting to me,” commented eighth grader Scott Pignataro after hearing Caras’ talk.

However, if that weren’t enough, students were also treated to a live performance in Benjamin Hall.

“My favorite [event] was actually Poetry Alive because it was really fun when people would go up [to the stage] and act!” continued Habib.

In Poetry Alive, two gentlemen, Carney Gray and Luke Arrington, acted out multiple poems, and involved student volunteers in some of their performances. From Shakespeare to Edgar Allen Poe to William Stafford. Founded in 1984 in Black Mountain, North Carolina, Poetry Alive employs approximately 20 performers who travel around the world opening the eyes of students to the creativity of poetry. While Poetry Alive was fun and exciting, it also hit home in a meaningful way with some students. “I think that the Poetry [Alive] inspired me because I like poetry and I’ve tried to [write my own] sometimes,” remarked seventh grader Lexi McCulla.

After a 10-minute break, the students returned to their seats to hear Julian Velard, a talented pianist and singer songwriter from New York, who was accompanied by guitarist Ryan Bull. Velard cam to TBS by way of Dr. James as she was his babysitter when he was younger. It was a fun mini-concert for the students, especially the seventh graders who have studied his songs and lyrics in English class.

“My favorite part of Fine Arts Day was seeing Julian Velard perform for us,” said seventh grader Molly Sullivan. “It was very inspiring for me to see how he came to be the performer he is.” Velard sang multiple songs (including I Don’t Know How to Drive; New York, I Love it When You’re Mean; and Girl Next Door) and served as another inspiration for TBS students with Fine Arts dreams. “I have always been interested in the arts since I was little,” continued Sullivan, “and now I really want to focus on my career in music and singing because this taught me that if you focus, you can do what you want to achieve. I think [singing is] a way to express your emotions on a much deeper level than any other method,” finished Sullivan, who is working on her own singing career by writing songs and recording at studios.

Lunch in the beautiful outdoors followed as parents served students pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and water courtesy of Cheney Brothers. After the delicious lunch, middle and upper school advisories paired together and went to ‘breakout sessions’ which included architecture, drumming, tie-dying, dance, Instagram artifying, theatre improvisation, painting and glazing bisque cups, art with glass, cyanatope selfies, multi-media painting, the art of the violin, and many, many more!

“My advisory learned about improvisation through very fun games, and I think this not only helped us learn more about theater improv, but it also helped us bond as an advisory,” said eighth grader James Richardson, who is a member of Devine’s advisory. After the two successful breakout sessions for each advisory, middle school students either boarded the buses back to the Middle school, or stayed in the library where their parents (or upper school siblings) picked them up.

Benjamin’s faculty and administration primarily wanted Fine Arts Day to expose students to the variety of disciplines and careers the arts has to offer, cultivate an appreciation of those disciplines, and allow the middle and upper school students to spend time together. It was a day like no other in the history of the School.

“I felt like I learned a lot about all of the fine arts, and I think that this experience will help me excel in them for the remainder of my days here at The Benjamin School,” said Richardson.

It looks like mission accomplished for TBS.