By the time students graduate from Tampa Prep, they have all fulfilled at least two years of an art credit. Whether it’s visual art, music, or dance, everyone takes part in the arts to grow in non-academic areas. With course selection for the 2024 to 2025 school year around the corner, students should understand what all of their options for art electives are before deciding on a class.
Elle Ashworth teaches all forms of 3-D art. Next year, she will teach Ceramics 1 and Ceramics 2, which are both semester-long, introductory courses into working with clay. Students learn various techniques and history of ceramics, and they have the chance to display their work in showcases. Ashworth also offers Crafts and Design, as well as AP 3-D Art.
Martha DeAmbrose teaches 2-D art, and next year, she will offer classes for students at various levels. For ninth through twelfth graders, there is a year-long Studio Art course, as well as Drawing and Painting and Printmaking, which are both semester-long classes. Additionally, she will teach at AP 2-D Art and Design, which is typically taken by juniors and seniors.
“I really hope [students] understand that it’s okay to take risks,” said DeAmbrose on what she hopes her students take away, “Creating does involve a lot of research, and you’re going to have your own process, other than someone across the table.”
Hannah Box is the head of the dance program at Prep, and she hopes that her students can find expression through dance. For upper school, she teaches a Musical Theatre Dance class, where students learn the history of musical theater dance, learn combinations from famous musicals, and experiment with their own choreography. Box also teaches Dance for Social Change, in which students discuss how movement can be used as a tool for social change. Box emphasized that her classes are focused on “expression and exploration”.
“I’ll have some dancers come in who are very comfortable with dancing, and I also have students who are new to dance who just want to try something new. That’s something unique about Tampa Prep, to be able to have that opportunity,” she said.
Within the music department, Gilad Ben-Zvi teaches middle and upper school band classes. Next year, he will offer Beginning Wind Band for sixth-graders and Instrumental Ensemble to seventh and eighth graders. For upper school, he teaches Guitar Lab and Pop Rock Ensemble, as well as a Music Production class that will be introduced next school year. Ben-Zvi, who writes his own musical arrangements for his students, emphasized the importance of creativity in his courses.
“The main narrative is more creation from students, and less ‘sit down and play what I tell you to play’. I don’t think it has room in the world we’re living in today,” said Ben-Zvi.
Also in the music department, Andrew Hoy teaches a variety of chorus classes. For next school year, Hoy will teach Piano Lab, Treble Acapella, and Chamber Chorus. For Piano Lab, students have the chance to develop their piano skills through lessons with Hoy. Treble Acapella is a choir class focused on pop-acapella style music. It is typically taken before Chamber Chorus, where students sing a range of styles from pop to classical. According to Hoy, chorus students will have no shortage of unique events to participate in.
“We have opportunities for travel, for example, we’re going on a trip to New York and we’ll sing at Carnegie Hall,” explained Hoy. “We also do a showcase in the fall where all the choirs combine. We sing at Disney World and Epcot in December, and we compete in the Spring.”
While completing course selection for the upcoming school year, students should consider what they hope to gain out of the classes they take. Beyond a two-year graduation fulfillment, students are able to explore methods of artistic expression and discover new passions through the electives offered.
