Disney Musicals in Schools: Young Dallas Students Perform at Winspear Opera House

Disney Musicals in Schools Lets Kids’ Talent Shine

(DALLAS) – The nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center recently presented its third Disney Musical in Schools Student Share Celebration presented by the Moody Foundation. More than 180 elementary school students performed Monday, May 8 inside the stunning Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House in the Dallas Arts District. The performances began at 6:00 p.m. before an audience of more than 1,000 family members and friends.

“The Center is pleased to be Disney’s partner in this incredible program. We put these talented students center-stage and they really shine,” said Warren Tranquada, president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. “Performing on a world-famous stage provides memories to last a lifetime for these kids and their proud parents. It resonates with the students, their classmates, family and friends. It also leaves their teachers with the skills and a legacy to provide a performing arts education in their school for years to come.”

Disney Musicals in Schools (DMIS) is designed to create sustainable theater programs in five elementary schools while giving students a chance to experience and perform a musical. For over 17 weeks, the Center’s Disney-trained teaching artists worked with the students and their teachers on the choreography, songs, costumes, makeup and more. Each school received performance rights, educational support materials and guidance from the teaching artists. This culminated in a 30-minute Disney KIDS musical performance for their classmates at their school. Then they all came together in the Student Share production to perform one of their numbers in the Winspear Opera House. The schools were able to choose from a number of Disney classics including The Jungle Book KIDS, The Lion King KIDS, and 101 Dalmatians KIDS.

The five participating Dallas ISD schools are:

• Birdie Alexander Elementary School
• Jesús Moroles Expressive Arts Vanguard
• Martin Weiss Elementary School
• Solar Preparatory School for Boys
• Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary STEAM Academy

Disney KIDS musicals, created in partnership with Music Theater International (MTI), are 30-minute musicals designed for elementary school performers and have been adapted from the classic Disney films. The program was launched in 2010 in response to Disney Theatrical Group’s concern that under-resourced public elementary schools were not afforded equitable access to the arts. After successfully offering the program in New York City schools, Disney Theatrical Group began collaborating with organizations in other communities across the United States. The Center joined the program in 2018 and is only programs in Texas. Nationally, DMIS is made possible by a grant from the Disney Corporation. The Center’s DMIS program is supported by the Moody Foundation.