RAHWAY, NJ – Most teenagers daydream about singing or dancing on a stage before a live audience. That dream becomes reality for some Union County middle and high school students at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12th when they perform in the Teen Arts Showcase at the Union County Performing Arts Center, 1601 Irving Street, in Rahway’s downtown arts district.
The Teen Arts Showcase is sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Union County Performing Arts Center. Teachers, fellow students, friends and family members of participating students are invited to attend the Showcase along with the general public. Admission is free.
“The annual Union County Teen Arts Festival is a wonderful opportunity for students to interact with professional artists while sharing their own talents with students from other schools,” said Freeholder Chairman Mohamed S. Jalloh. “Students appearing in the Teen Arts Showcase represent many of the performing arts disciplines and the municipalities that participated in the 2015 Teen Arts Festival.”
Instrumental groups, vocal groups, pianists, dancers, theater performances and visual artists were selected from the 3,500 students who participated at the 2015 Teen Arts Festival at Union County College in Cranford on March 19th and 20th. The annual Festival is sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and coordinated by the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs in the Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Teen Arts Festival is a two-day celebration of the arts where students and a staff of fifty professional artists participate in performances, critiquing seminars, master classes and workshops in every discipline – visual arts, music, creative writing, theater, media arts and dance. The Festival’s focus is not on competition but an opportunity for students to develop perceptual, intellectual and technical skills; gain cultural awareness and understanding; develop personal, aesthetic values; and learn self-discipline, critical thinking and problem solving through analyzing, interpreting and making judgments.
For more information, contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07202. Telephone: 908-558-2550. NJ Relay Users dial 711. Or E-mail: Culturalinfo@ucnj.org.