The Patel Conservatory Gears Up for Another School Year
There’s no such thing as summer break for the faculty and staff of the Straz Center’s Patel Conservatory. We spend the summer months steeped in a camps, classes, workshops, performances and pre-professional productions like this year’s impressive mounting of an almost full-scale Les Miserables. So, we have just enough time to clean the mirrors and sweep the floors before we welcome our next season’s spate of students when the official school year starts Monday, Aug. 29.
While other school years start with a backpack full of composition notebooks, the Conservatory school year starts with small duffel bags stuffed with leotards, hairpins, dance shoes, make-up kits, music, reeds, valve oil and water bottles. No matter what class you’re taking, everybody needs a reusable water bottle. Our students also need plenty of traditional school supplies: paper for notes, pencils and three-ring binders.
In case any of our incoming students forgot what they’ll need for dance, theater or music class, we asked the tireless faculty to let us publish the must-haves for your first day of school.
So, scan these handy checklists to make sure you’re prepared for another exciting year of friends, rehearsals, creative challenges and unforgettable moments.
DANCE
- Dance bag
- Appropriate dance attire*
- Appropriate dance footwear*
- Personal hairbrush and hair spray (boys and girls)
- Personal bobby pins, hair net (to match your hair color), hair ties (girls)
- Performance make-up (refer to handbook for make-up suggestions)
- Water bottle
*See your specific class information sheet
THEATER AND MUSICAL THEATER
- Performer bag (small duffel or backpack)
- Pencil w/eraser
- Folder or binder for sheet music & script storage
- Highlighter
- Scrap paper for notes
- School appropriate movement/gym clothes
- Jazz shoes or sneakers
- Water bottle (healthy snack for classes/rehearsals longer than 2 hrs.)
- Recording device (phone or tablet)
- Personal hairbrush/comb & hair ties
- Make-up kit for productions
MUSIC
- Black, 3 ring binder (preferably with a matte finish that does not reflect light on stage)
- Pencils (many!)
- Water bottle, especially for singers
- Extra paper for notes
- Extra reeds for woodwind players
- Valve oil for brass players
- Rosin for string players
- New set of strings
- Scale and arpeggio sheets
- Method books
- Make sure your concert attire is clean and ready to go
For life-long learners in the adult classes, you can find similar information on the Straz Center website.
If the notion of arpeggio sheets, jazz shoes or two hour rehearsals get you as excited as it does us, know that it’s never too late to sign up for Patel Conservatory classes for yourself or your family and friends. View classes and register here.
