PACE - Mamaroneck Union Free School District

PACE at Mamaroneck High School

PACE, the Performing Arts Curriculum Experience at Mamaroneck High School, is a curricular elective program which offers students four progressive years of study in dance, music, and theatre. It also offers students the opportunity to learn through extra-curricular performance and production projects. PACE students culminate their four-year study with a year of specialization in Dance, Music, or Theatre. The PACE philosophy is that the performing arts are for all students as they make individuals more focused, more confident, and more responsible. In addition, there is also the belief that doing work in several performing arts areas accelerates this progress. Thus, the PACE program is designed for everyone —those with no previous experience in performing, those aspiring to careers in the performing arts, and those who are considering any career that requires problem solving, teamwork, clear thinking, and effective public speaking.

In PACE dance, students study dance technique but the focus is on choreography – a much more complex cognitive and social endeavor than simply learning to be a dancer. Students study choreographic craft including solo and group choreography and modern dance technique based on influential modern dance choreographers such as Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, Jose Limon, and Paul Taylor. In addition, there is a strong emphasis on Musical Theater choreography, specifically the works of Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins. Dance students learn to look at works of dance with a critical eye and learn how to use their own movement ideas and personal histories to choreograph dances that express thoughts, emotions, and ideas. No previous dance experience is necessary to be successful in the PACE dance class.

In PACE music, students get hands on experience working with the ukelele, keyboard, voice, guitar, drums, and also GarageBand, Sibelius, and ProTools. There are creative opportunities to compose, record, arrange, direct, or run live sound. The basic concept is to empower students to envision and realize their own unique dreams and aspirations for their musical lives. No previous music experience is necessary to be successful in the PACE music class.

In PACE theater, students begin their journey through becoming comfortable taking risks through games, improvisation, and beginning acting experiences. Throughout their four years in PACE, students progress to advanced acting, playwriting, and directing techniques so that by the time they leave the program, they have a holistic foundation which enables them to create dynamic and artistically strong original theater work.

* These courses satisfy the New York State Regents requirement for art.

Performing Arts 1 (PACE 1): Dance, Music, and Theater

Performing Arts 2 (PACE 2): Dance, Music, and Theater

Advanced Performing Arts (PACE 3): Dance, Music, and Theater

Performing Arts 4 (PACE 4): Advanced Dance, Advanced Music, and/or Advanced Theatre for a full-year

Performing Arts 1 (PACE 1)

Full Year - 1 Credit

Prerequisite: Grade 9

This course provides basic skills in the three performing arts: Dance, Music, and Theater. Through learning the building blocks of each art form, students will increase their powers of concentration, focus, energy, sharpen their perceptions, learn how to take initiative, and work cooperatively with others. The three PACE faculty members teach students in small groups in approximately six class sessions. For each session, students will be regrouped and thus have the unique opportunity to meet and work with dozens of their peers. In the spring, students will create and produce the “PACE 1 Show” - an evening showcase of dance, songs, and scenes. Students also have the ability to get involved in one of the three PACE mainstage productions (as a cast member or crew member) – although this is not a requirement.

Performing Arts 2 (PACE 2)

Performing Arts 3 (PACE 3)

Full Year - 1 Credit

Prerequisite: Pace 1 & 2 or special permission given by the PACE department chair.

This course is open to those who have developed improvisational and technical skills and the ability to work as an ensemble in dance, music, and theatre. It is a full-year course devoted to choreographing, writing, composing, performing, sharpening technique, and otherwise understanding and practicing the art of dance, music, and theatre. Near the end of this full-year course, students will choose a specialty area for their final project—a public performance of the “PACE 3 Show.”

Performing Arts 4 (PACE 4) Advanced Dance

Performing Arts 4 (Pace 4) Advanced Music

Full Year - 1 Credit

Prerequisite: Grade 12 & Pace 3 or permission given by the PACE Music Teacher. Any senior school-wide is eligible to take this course pending successful interview.

This course was created for students who wish to explore music as a creative outlet. Students will study GarageBand, Pro Tools, and Sibelius to create compositions, arrangements, sound recordings, podcasts, and scores of sheet music. Students will participate in a class piece for Soundscapes and will present original compositions and performances in Senior Music Night.

Performing Arts 4 (PACE 4) Advanced Theatre

Unified Theatre

Full Year - 1 Credit

Prerequisite: 9th - 12th Grade

Unified theater provides a neuro-diverse environment to create opportunities for participants of varying abilities to express themselves creatively and collaboratively through the art of theatre.

The course will be based in the following core beliefs:

All are welcome: Unified theater celebrates a community with open doors, supportive of people with all abilities, beliefs, and backgrounds.

We celebrate unique qualities: The students will collaborate as an ensemble to discover individual voices.

We make discoveries in the art form: The students will grow artistically and intellectually as theater makers.

All experience levels are welcome to engage in this exciting opportunity to create theatre that speaks to and represents the unique voices of the students enrolled while providing an environment for students to support each other in their artistic growth.

PACE Extra Curricular Activities

After School - No Credit

Prerequisite: None

PACE offers its students many extra-curricular activities, which take place after school and in the evening. A typical performance season includes a full-length play, a concert of student-choreographed dances, a student directed and arranged music show, and an evening showcase performed by each grade level including a farewell recital by the seniors. Participation in the main stage productions is completely optional.