Thousands of Children to Dance Together on Plaza After Each Performance

LOS ANGELES (March 7, 2007) - The Music Center of Los Angeles County presents the 37th annual Dorothy B. Chandler Children's Festival taking place on March 13, 14 and 15. The Festival welcomes over 18,000 fifth graders from Los Angeles County and features a free performance by The Arpino Apprentices of The Joffrey Ballet and a choreographed South African Gum Boot dance performed in unison by 3,100 students on the Music Center Plaza. Performances by The Arpino Apprentices take place in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at 9:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. each day.

This year's Children's Festival kicks off two weeks of Music Center appearances by The Joffrey Ballet. In addition to The Arpino Apprentices performances during the Festival, the full company will present a 3-night engagement in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, March 22-24.

"We are thrilled to welcome these students to the Music Center, most of whom are visiting a performing arts venue for the first time," states Mark Slavkin, Music Center Vice President of Education. "Between the spectacular performance by the Joffrey dancers and their own dance out on the Plaza, this is a magical experience the students are sure to remember for the rest of their lives."

Educators at more than 215 schools have prepared their students for their visit using Music Center curriculum materials about The Arpino Apprentices and The Joffrey Ballet, a short history of ballet, audience etiquette, what to watch for during the performance, and the music and dance instructions for the students' own performance out on the Plaza.

Since the Festival began in 1970, the Music Center has welcomed over 600,000 fifth graders to this annual event. The Festival is sponsored by The Blue Ribbon of the Music Center. Founded by Dorothy Chandler in 1968, The Blue Ribbon is a support group of women leaders serving the Center, its Resident Companies and its arts education programs.

Thanks to a generous gift from Blue Ribbon member Maxine Dunitz, each student will receive A Journey Through the Music Center, a book written specifically for the Festival and designed to introduce students to the Center and the world of the performing arts. Because of Dunitz' gift, the book is updated and reprinted every year in perpetuity so that all students attending the Festival will receive the book to use for years to come and to share with family and friends.

The Dorothy B. Chandler Children's Festival is an example of the variety of education programs undertaken by the Music Center, all of which are created to provide the finest in arts education to hundreds of thousands of students and teachers each year while providing leadership to advance the quality and scope of arts education in Southern California. For more information about Music Center education programs, call 213-250-2787 or visit musiccenter.org/education.