Durham Students Sparkled in An Evening to Shine on Feb. 21st at DPAC
This article was published in the Triangle Review on 22 February 2023.
An Evening to Shine is an annual event, presented at the Durham Performing Arts Center by Durham Public Schools (DPS), in partnership with the Durham Public Schools Foundation, which showcases the talents of dedicated youth from every public school in the county. [Of note, the DPS Scholarship Foundation merged with the DPS Foundation in 2020.] Only a handful of students are selected from each school, and they must commit to five weekly two-hour rehearsals, plus two full days of preparation at DPAC before show time.
The program started as a cabaret show in C.E. Jordan High School's cafeteria and evolved into An Evening of Entertainment at the DPAC, which changed names this year. Proceeds fund scholarships for one senior at every DPS high school.
Jordan, an Easley Elementary School student, introduced the show -- "Will you join us in creating an atmosphere where my friends and I can shine?" -- before reminding the audience, with authentic childlike humor, to silence cell phones, crying children, etc. In the left front corner of the stage, a woman was spotlit as she signed, nonstop, for deaf audience members throughout the show, often moving to the rhythm with the young performers (one of my highlights).
The emcee was former Durham City Councilman and Durham Public Schools graduate Pierce Freelon, a GRAMMY-nominated musician, author, educator, co-creator of Emmy Award-winning PBS series Beat Making Lab and The History of White People in America. He immediately caroused the audience into loud cheering: "Make Some Noise, Bull City!" Freelon pointed out the 10-piece band in the orchestra pit, which treated the audience to high-quality live music throughout.
"Do you have the music in you?" Pierce Freelon asked, as the stage filled with high-school students wearing red T-shirts and black pants, singing Kirby Shaw's "I Got the Music in Me (And the Music's in Me)" and dancing with sincere energy. The house lights illuminated, and all three aisles on the ground floor filled with students wearing different colored T-shirts. Over 500 children were singing and dancing, and the vocals created by this extremely large group were perfectly and harmoniously produced, somewhat of a surprise given the endeavor.
Throughout each performance, the odd child forgot their moves, but it was only more endearing to watch them bust out again at the refrain. The elementary students performed Roger Emerson's "Permission to Dance," successfully showcasing much more complex choreography than expected (or remembered from past years). And the acoustics were perfect, which is not an easy feat with such a vast and varied cast.
The middle-schoolers performed Roger Emerson's "True Colors," with beautiful mass harmony and Mac Huff's "Can't Stop the Feeling," with genuine joy, individual dancers and gymnasts showcasing their feats at the front of the group, which was doing what looked like a complicated line dance.
There were solely dancing numbers as well -- flowing, holistic, and modern choreography that the students pulled off with clear dedication and feeling.
Pierce Freelon gave a shout out to all the teachers dancing along backstage, before taking a moment of silence for the victims of recent gun violence at Hillside High School. Then the elementary students returned and performed Mac Huff's "Cover Me in Sunshine." There's nothing like hearing 128 young voices (I counted) singing on stage at once, not digitized but live.
Pierce Freelon returned with a giant-headed, brown-skinned man named Falcon X, created by the Paperhand Puppet Intervention, then promoted Freelon's his recent children's book Daddy & Me: Side by Side, a copy of which was provided to every elementary student in the production. Afterwards, the dancers performed to Janet Jackson's "Together Again," at one point standing as a group and creating completely different yet somehow still synchronous, "Vogue"-like moves.
Next, the middle schoolers returned and performed Roger Emerson's "Aint No Mountain High Enough" -- again impeccably, particularly given their age and experience. Then the high schoolers performed Kirby Shaw's "Rain on Me," before provoking tears as they sang Mac Huff's more traditional "In Whatever Time We Have" from Children of Eden.
At the end of the show, participating high-school seniors were recognized, before all the students performed Kirby Shaw's "Celebration," clearly cognizant that this was the last time that they'd be performing together and singing and dancing their hearts out.
Getting the money for this all-district public-school production is one thing; but putting it in action, on the ground, is a heroic feat. Kudos to the vocal clinicians and choreographers (one for each school level), all but one of whom are DPS teachers and/or graduates. They pulled real feeling and dedication out of these students, and out of the audience and community as a result.
Click here for a copy of the full 2023 program, including all student participants.
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