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SAN DIEGO (April 12, 2012) Donald McKayle, a recipient of numerous awards including Tony and Emmy Awards and honorary Doctorates from three universities, continues to inspire SCPA students while teaching them about dance history and world events. For the second year, thirty-eight SCPA dancers will perform one of his choreographic masterpieces from April 19 through 27, 2012 at SCPA’s Grand Theatre. SCPA dancers will perform House of Tears, a full length ballet based on McKayle’s observations while performing in Argentina in the 1970s. Through dance, House of Tears explores the heart-wrenching experiences of the 20,000 to 30,000 people who permanently “disappeared” in Argentina between 1976 and 1983 under its military government. The desaparecidos (the disappeared) ended when the grieving Argentine women of the victims brought down Juan Domingo Perón's military regime.

SCPA dancers will perform choreography by Christopher Huggins, a former dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Huggins’s The Ballet on Point and The List will feature Cleo Person, a SCPA dancer who was recently accepted into Juilliard. Cleo is one of thirteen female dancers selected internationally by Juilliard for admission in September; she follows in the footsteps of a 1993 SCPA alumna & Juilliard graduate, Sara Ramirez who can be seen weeknights on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. The history of the holocaust is the inspiration of The List which captures the moment a family receives the devastating news of their assignment to a concentration camp during World War II.

SCPA dancers will also perform works by Fred Benjamin, a Broadway performer, and Erin Fetters, a SCPA dance instructor. The Passion and Pathos concert will be performed April 19 and 26 at 2:30 pm and April 20, 21, 27 and 28 at 7 pm in SCPA’s Grand Theatre. Tickets may be purchased online atscpaboxoffice@yahoo.com or by calling SCPA’s Box Office at 619.475.8556.

Senior exhibition artwork by the 2012 visual arts students will be on display in SCPA’s Little Theatre from April 19 through 27 one hour prior to each dance concert and during intermission. SCPA senior exhibition requires students to demonstrate their mastery of an arts discipline through creation, performance and writing. Recent class of 2012 visual arts college acceptances include but are not limited to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Otis Parsons College of Art in LA, and Parsons The New School for Design in NYC.

McKayle and Huggins’ SCPA residency is made possible through the 21st Century ASSETs grant and the Friends of SCPA. SCPA is a college preparatory arts-focused magnet public school for students in grades 6 through 12 who have a strong interest, passion, and talent in the arts. For more information about SCPA, please visit www.sandi.net/scpa.

Mark Your Calendars Summer 2012 Upcoming Production

Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez will be performed in partnership with The San Diego Repertory Theatre, July 14 –August 20, 2012 at the Lyceum Theatre. Set in the 1940s in Los Angeles, Zoot Suit illuminates the tensions that emerge between people when a group of Chicanos are charged with a murder they did not commit. Zoot Suit, the first Chicano play on Broadway (1979), will feature SCPA actors, singers, dancers, musicians, and technical theatre students performing and working with professional actors including Herbert Siguenza of Culture Clash.

SCPA’s Passion and Pathos Spring Dance Concert Features Major International Choreographers