Generously sponsored through the Department of Cultural Resources and approved by the North Carolina Legislature in July 2006, cARTwheels, formally named Caring & Sharing, is a vibrant touring program designed to enhance student learning in the arts. Third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students experienced free professionally-staged opera, dance, theater, and music performances at venues throughout North Carolina. cARTwheels stimulates thinking and learning through early exposure to the performing arts.

Performance Guides and Teacher Workshops help teachers prepare students for the performance; they align with N.C. Standard Course of Study and connect the performance and schoolwork. The performances and accompanying materials enhance learning in all academic subjects and promote essential 21st-century learning skills: global awareness, creativity, critical thinking, and communication skills, as well as social and cross-cultural skills.

Since its inception in 2006, cARTwheels has toured with premier arts organizations including Carolina Ballet's productions of Swan Lake and Peter and the Wolf. This allowed the ballet to further its mission of performing world-class ballet, as well as educating current and future audiences. To date, Carolina Ballet has visited 33 counties reaching 32,300 students across North Carolina, assisting communities in their efforts to develop "whole" children who will eventually become thoughtful, contributing members of society, and future patrons of the arts.

  • • Productions were free of charge for students and visited rural areas of North Carolina
    • The touring program included curriculum-based education materials to help teachers
      prepare students for the performance and explore connections between the
      performance and their schoolwork
    • Allowed participating arts organizations to build relationships with venues, schools,
      and artists across the state


“ I am positive that the opportunity for our students to attend this spectacular performance provided a positive impact on or students and I am sure that for many in our audience it will help set the tone for a lifetime appreciation of the arts.”
Ray Jordan, Sampson County Expo Center

ARTS AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Studies have found that early exposure to the arts provides critical benefits that help students achieve success.*

• Arts involvement shows a consistent and significant correlation with higher SAT
  test scores
• Students in the arts scored an average of 82 points higher every year than their
  non-arts counterparts
• Arts learning experiences contribute to the development of critical thinking, social
  and motivational skills that are considered basic for success in school, work and life
cARTwheels increases opportunities for students in rural school systems to have arts
  experiences


*Research facts from The College Board, Profile of College-Bound Seniors National Report (2002) and National Assembly of State Art Agencies, Critical Evidence: How the ARTS Benefit Student Achievement (2006)



“An education in the arts benefits society because students of the arts gain powerful tools for understanding human experiences, both past and present. They learn to respect the often very different ways others have of thinking, working, and expressing themselves. They learn to make decisions in situations where there are no standard answers.”
Kent Seidel, PhD
Commissioned by the Association for the Advancement of Arts Education (© 1996 AAAE)

CAROLINA BALLET HOST VENUES
• Kinston/Lenoir Performing Arts Center, Lenoir County
• Sampson Center Stage, Sampson County
• Chowan Arts Council at Swan Auditorium, Chowan County
• The Centre at Halifax Community College, Halifax County
• Odell Williamson at Brunswick Community College
• Reidsville High School, Rockingham County
• Whiteville High School, Columbus County

Western Carolina University, Jackson County
• Dian Wortham Theatre, Buncombe County
• Polk County High School, Polk County
• Alexander Central Auditorium, Alexander County
• Southern High School, Durham County
• Farthing Auditorium at Appalachian State University, Watauga County
• RJ Reynolds Memorial Auditorium at RJ Reynolds High School, Forsyth County
• Andy Griffith Playhouse at Surry Arts Council, Surry County
• Seventy-First High School, Cumberland County
• Crown Theatre at Crown Center, Cumberland County


SPECIAL GUEST REPRESENTATIVES
• R. Van Braxton in Lenoir county
• Timothy L. Spears and Senator Edward Jones of Chowan county

   

Resources
To obtain a Teacher Resource Guide or Student Activity Book click on the links below.

cARTwheels Teacher Resource Guide

cARTwheels Student Activity Book




The guides are in Adobe Acrobat format,
You can download a free Adobe Acrobat Reader here.


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