JPAS Competition Team Performs at Disney

The Jefferson Performing Arts Society floored the judges at the National Performing Arts Festival in Orlando over the weekend with their pitch-perfect performance of "Shrek the Musical," winning the Judges' Choice award and earning the chance to perform for the Disney public at large Sunday evening.

With about 80 fans from their home state of Louisiana in attendance, the middle-school stars brought home a trove of awards from Disney World, including Best Choreography, five Outstanding Performance Awards and the Judge's Choice. As a result, they were awarded the chance to perform their number "What's Up Duloc?" for a crowd of thousands on a stage in the Magic Kingdom.

"As I was sitting there watching the other performances, I was thinking "Oh my gosh, these children are even more talented than I thought'," the JPAS director, Lynne Bordelon, said after seeing groups from across the country put on everything from Shakespeare to Disney musicals. "If I were going to lose to anyone, I thought, I'm going to lose to them."

"There is no junior version of 'Shrek,'" she said. "These harmonies are quite complicated. We're asking a lot of them.

"I knew that most of the kids [at the National Performing Arts Festival] were going to be high school aged," Bordelon had said while rehearsing in early February. "But we're going to bring a middle school group and see what happens. I think it's going to be something they can be proud of."

Produced by Brightspark Travel in coordination with Walt Disney World Resort, the NPAF represents a rare opportunity to involve students in a national competition. "There are plenty of competitions out there for students in general, but very few opportunities for theater groups," said Mary Ernst, whose 20 players fro North Forsyth High School in Georgia put on a performance of "The Little Mermaid."

The NPAF is one of several exclusive tours of national and international destinations that Brightspark Travel offers to teachers. Providing educators with custom travel services and solutions, Brightspark has served as a member of the Walt Disney World Resort Youth Advisory Council for over 15 years and is a proud recipient of the Walt Disney World Resort Partners Award for exemplary leadership and achievement within the student travel industry.

Founded in 1978 by Maestro Dennis G. Assaf and Hannah Cunningham, the Jefferson Performing Arts Society is a non-profit professional arts organization whose mission is to promote arts performance, training, and outreach by providing a diverse range of quality programs that entertain, educate and enrich the cultural and economic vitality of Jefferson Parish, Greater New Orleans and the Gulf South.

JPAS focuses on three main elements:

Performance: JPAS annually provides a wide range of theatrical performances that appeal to many interests and age groups. Most seasons include a selection of grand opera, musical theater, dance and music. JPAS strives to network and partner with national and international artists and companies to bring new and diverse programming to the Southern Region.

Training: JPAS provides performance and technical based training in the arts for all ages with a particular focus on young people.

Outreach: JPAS provides arts education programming in local area schools, as well as access to professional theatrical experiences that align to classroom curricula and Louisiana Content Standards, including Arts Adventure Series, Cultural Crossroads and Stage Without A Theatre. JPAS provides performers, musicians, artistic experiences and expertise to select area events and organizations to enrich the community.