Halloween at Hope U

Vera (on right), music therapist, assists Melanie with chocolate covered pretzel making.

Tanette Tuttle shows off her best 'spider woman' smile.

Students helped to make, and eat the spooky snacks.

Kim Mumper chose a to be a waitress for Halloween this year.

Jason Rosales, as Batman in Repose.

Tina and April show off their costumes together.

Artistic Director Shelley RuggThorp paints Darren Crow's face.

Darren shows off his pirate paint!

Carol Ryden is a very happy pumpkin princess.

Alexis D'Luna had much fun in her 'Jasmine' costume.

Halloween fell on a Monday this year and the students of Hope University had some fun.  Our annual Halloween party was a hit to be sure.  There were spooky snacks, 'bobbing' for chocolate covered pretzels, paper hat making, face painting, a 'pumpkin walk', a costume parade and of course, lots of dancing!  Here are a few comments from the students about this years Halloween party:
"I really like the music."
Lori Slikker
"I liked all of the decorations that we made."
Kris W.
"I had fun in the costume parade."
April Renick
"Getting to dress up like a witch was fun."
Joanna Buon-Cristiani
"I liked doing the pumpkin walk game."
Margaret Kelley
"I liked everything!"
Tanette Tuttle

'Catch Me Bird'

Darren on the rings.

Margaret on the rings.

Kimmie on the rings.

Hope University student guest performers.

Catch Me Bird dancing together.

Catch Me Bird dancing together.

Napkin up her nose, napkin in his ears.

Catch Me Bird dancing with a table.

Catch Me Bird dancing with a table.

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts Teach Program provides a wonderful array of dance, music and drama programs for educational facilities.  We have had several of them perform for us.  In June we were treated to a duo called 'Catch Me Bird'.  They are a married couple who dances together.  Their choreography reflects the love, conflict and humor associated with many relationships.  In their dance piece they incorporated several props, such as a table, chairs, napkins and two large double ringed objects.  With these double rings they invited a few students onto the stage and made them part of the dance!  We loved having the guest performers and we think they liked us a lot too!
Some of the Hope University favorite moments of 'Catch Me Bird' are:
"I liked going on the 'rings' on stage."
Margaret K.
"When they put napkins up their nose and in their ears!"
Tanette T.
"I liked it when they danced together."
Lori S.
"My favorite part was when they set the table and danced on it!"
Michelle E.
"It was kind of scary when they balanced on their props."
Darren C.
"The way they stretched out their bodies as they danced on the stage, they opened their arms very wide."
Carol W.
"How the two dancers, who are husband and wife, were interacting with each other."
April R.

Beau Monde Float, A Beatiful Success!

All of the hard work and day long rehearsals certainly paid off for the students of Hope University, Saturday, September 25th at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton California.
The show was amazing, the students were all shining stars on the stage.
Here are two photos of the students rehearsing dances with guest artist Marco Schindelmann.
Here is what some of the Hope University students said about the show:
"I liked my costume because it hung down my back like a tail."
Karen Leeb
"I liked aria that I sang in."
Cathy Acton
"The drum circle outside of the theater before the show, I liked drumming."
Christopher Friedman
"Playing the bells was my favorite."
Margaret Kelley
"I liked dancing on stage, throwing paper airplanes into the audience and holding up a doily."
Rene Smith
"I got to hold up one of the big fish and make it go across the stage, I liked doing that."
Dolores (Shadow) Franks
"Using the rope to dance with Marco."
Jennifer Doyle
"I really liked moving my arms in the solo dance."
Crystal Serna
Congratulations to all of the students in the show, it was an amazing performance by a group of amazing people.

One Night Only Beau Monde Float!

Beau Monde Float is back for one night only! If you missed this amazing performance last year you will not want to miss it this month. Have you ever wondered about 'beauty'? What does it mean? Who is beautiful? What is beautiful? How is it different for different people? How about people with different abilities? What does it look like? How does it sound?
Beau Monde Float, Thirteen Six Views of Sound Beauty may just answer some of these questions and possibly raise several more! This performance is a poignant and passionate celebration of the vitality of the human spirit and the beauty in us all.
Developed through a collaboration between Hope University and the artist group MLuM, Beau Monde Float, Thirteen Six views of Sound Beauty is a profoundly moving experience that takes audiences on a journey exploring the nature of Beauty.
About this original sound and performance art production, Director Marco Schindelmann says, "It doesn't have a narrative. It does not have to be understood, but should simply be experienced. In our culture, people frequently expect to be instructed by 'a greater will' as to what to think, what to buy, what to expect, how to live, etc. Beau Monde Float is about making connections that are personal and not based on outside expectations. Beau Monde Float hopes to present a world in which people create their own personal mythologies and entertainments. It is a dream parade, an aesthetic circus, mystical vaudeville or whatever else the spectator-auditor imagines it to be"
This piece is truly an experience and the Hope University students have created a dream world of beauty to be enjoyed by all. We hope you can attend this performance of Beau Monde Float as it is a celebration which shows us that beauty is and is not always in the eyes of the beholder.
Here we have Tina Gopinath painting set pieces, Lori Slikker knitting part of the stage set and a close up photo from the costume of Karen Leeb who portrays 'Eternity' in Beau Monde Float.
Beauty is Eternal.
Please see the 'Upcoming Events' section at the right of this page for location, times and ticket information.

Hope U Talent Showcased

In September Hope University had a fall Talent Showcase. There were singers and dancers, guitar and violin players, we had a fashion show, a drama skit and so much more. Here we can see Mikki, Lori, Cindy and Cathy performing a drama piece. Our drama teacher Shelley RuggThorp has been helping the students with improvisation and projection.
Next is a sampling of items from our Hope U boutique. You can see cards with original student
artwork, colorful hand sewn pincushions both made in teacher Michele Vavonese's art classes and hand knitted items from teacher Sandra D. Carter's knitting classes all for sale. Also in the Talent Showcase we had a fashion show to showcase some of the hand made items available in our boutique. You can see Cindy wearing a hat that she knitted herself and a scarf knitted by another student. Karen is wearing a matching T-shirt and tote decorated with our students original hand carved linoleum block prints. The show as a great success!

Hope U Performs at Main Place Mall!

On Saturday, April 21st a selection of Hope University students performed for Very Special Arts at the Santa Ana Main Place Mall. Our beautiful bell choir played, several of our students sang and the Hope U dance department performed a wonderful dance to the music, 'Claire de Lune' which was played on the piano by Hope U student Howard Miller. Here are some photos of the students dancing. Christie Cook, Jason Rosales, Isela Elias-Calles and Marvin Castillo among others were stars for the day. We are very proud of all the performers on Saturday. It is amazing what these developmentally disabled adults can do!