BAY HARBOR, MI – The Great Lakes Center for the Arts is proud to announce that its youth initiative, Next Gen, has now served more than 20,000 Northern Michigan students since its inception.
The 2022-2023 school year marked the program’s first On the Road shows and the launch of the Human[kind] Cinema Series in addition to a full season of performances designed to enhance student learning outcomes through the arts.
Additional highlights from the school year included:
Seven in-person events
5,400 local students and educators served
30 public schools across five counties impacted
21,800 students have been impacted by Next Gen since its inception in 2018.
“Next Gen is honored to serve schools, educators, and students in Northern Michigan as it connects children and young people to the broader community through the performing arts,” said Next Gen director Dr. Rachel Sytsma-Reed.
“From its Teacher Advisory Committee to donors and sponsors, from GLCFA staff to teachers and administrators, the Next Gen family provides students access to cultures, ideas, beauty, and voices from and about communities beyond our region. We cannot take students around the world, but we can bring the world to students.”
Program highlights include masterclasses with the renowned Second City improv group, a political seminar by Senator George Mitchell, music workshops with The Accidentals, Collison of Rhythm, and the Michigan Rattlers, and dance Masterclasses with the world-famous Pilobolus and the Paul Taylor Dance Companies.
“I enjoy getting my students out to experience new things that many of them might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience. Opening up their world is priceless,” said one area educator.
Next Gen is an educational initiative of the Great Lakes Center for the Arts, provided to shools free of charge thanks to the generosity of the Center’s family of donors.
To learn more, and to support the program, visit https://www.greatlakescfa.org/support
