LSMSA welcomes Jackie Beth Shilcutt

Renowned dancer and choreographer offers Masterclass for students.
On Friday, Oct. 5, students at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) got to participate in a Dance Masterclass taught by world-renowned choreographer Jackie Beth Shilcutt.

Several students attended the workshop and received technique and training. The one-hour class was an open-level exploration of modern-dance.

During her visit, Shilcutt also worked with students in the dance ensemble and created new choreography for them to perform at their Spring Dance Concert.

Shilcutt has been involved in a number of dance projects, both stateside and overseas, and her choreography has been performed all over the world, from New York to Brazil to Africa. Her performances and productions are oftentimes interactive and have included atypical performative elements, from stilts to “Flash-Murals” done by Brazilian artists such as Paulo Lara.

Currently, Shilcutt lives in New Mexico and is pursuing a Doctorate in Kinesiology. She serves as an Adjunct Professor of Dance at Abilene Christian University in Texas. She has presented a TEDx Talk on correlating choreographic principles to the next steps of life.

The Masterclass was organized by LSMSA’s Dance Instructor Crystal Lewis. Lewis knew of Shilcutt’s credentials and was enthusiastic to have her on campus.

“Having Jackie Beth Shilcutt as a dance guest artist was such a great opportunity because it provided dance students with the opportunity to work with a master teacher and choreographer,” said Lewis. “Having her also teach a Masterclass that was open to all students, whether they were taking a dance class or not, provided them the wonderful opportunity to expose more of them to dance.”

The Masterclass was made possible by the Praecellemus Fund, an endowed fund provided by the LSMSA Foundation, which brings scholars, artists and researchers to the school. The fund draws its namesake from LSMSA’s motto meaning “We shall excel.”

LSMSA’s dance and performing arts department offers students a variety of movement classes not typically offered in public high schools, with many courses qualifying for physical education credit. For course listings and info, visit www.LSMSA.edu/arts.
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Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) is the preeminent state-supported residential high school with competitive admissions for Louisiana's high-achieving, highly-motivated sophomores, juniors, and seniors. As a public school, there is no tuition to attend, and assistance from the LSMSA Foundation ensures the program is available to all qualifying students regardless of family financial need.
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