Kravis Classroom Connection Hosts ONE SMALL STEP with Palm Beach Symphony & Demetrius Klein Dance Company

The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts flew local students to the moon and back through its One Small Step presentation as part of its ongoing Kravis Classroom Connection programming. The recent online performance reached 2,135 Palm Beach County 5 to 14 year-old students and highlighted the story of the lunar landing with music, dance and science workshops. Students even had a live chance via Zoom to learn more about the cast members of One Small Step.

"Over 50 years ago, a brave American stepped out of a landing craft on the surface of the moon and made history," said Tracy Butler, Director of Education for the Kravis Center. "This newly devised program made that historic event come to life for local students thanks to sponsorship from J. M. Rubin Foundation and the Kravis Center's partnerships with the Palm Beach Symphony and Demetrius Klein Dance Company. The production connected science with national core arts standards. In light of the pandemic, our education team at the Kravis Center has been very proud to design online offerings to provide adults and children with additional learning opportunities through virtual platforms. This local collaboration for One Small Step was truly rewarding!"

Launched virtually during the pandemic, Kravis Classroom Connection helps students and teachers bring the arts into their classrooms in a fun and engaging way. The performances follow topics in math, science, technology, arts, history and social studies and range from grades K to 12. This innovative virtual series offers prerecorded presentations for teachers and students to view from a designated district-approved streaming platform.

With the help of Demetrius Klein Dance Company and four exciting pieces of all-American music from The Palm Beach Symphony, One Small Step brought that indelible moment of Milky Way magic to the stage. An interactive concert took students on a journey into space along with moon rock puppet friend, Rocky de Luna, and explored such scientific concepts as the Earth's rotation, gravity and telescope viewing.

With a special narrative accompanied by the music of Copland's "A Lincoln Portrait" and "Star Wars", students met Rocky as she hitched a ride with two friendly NASA astronauts on the Apollo 11 lunar module en route back to planet Earth. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin showed Rocky some out-of-this-world views of the moon, helped define the moon's place in the solar system and described how the moon affects all life on Earth.

Local students were taught about the valuable lessons of teamwork between writers, dancers, musicians, puppeteers, producers and science professionals to create a performance together. They were also encouraged to explore the concepts of rotation, revolution and gravity in relation to objects, themselves and planets through dance.

"At the Kravis Center, we're committed to enriching the lives of students and educators in Palm Beach County and throughout South Florida by providing engaging and enlightening arts education programs," continued Butler. "Since 1992, the Kravis Center has welcomed nearly 3 million students served by a multitude of different arts education programs that take place at the Kravis Center and throughout our local schools.