It’s been thirty years of arts education, and the benefits are just incalculable. June 6, 2026 at the Wende Museum, the students, parents, teachers, friends and supporters of the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts got together for an evening of celebration, fundraising and of course, performance.
At one end of the garden was the Jazz Combo, in their signature black shirts and red ties, playing classic jazz melodies for the guests who were looking at the Visual Arts display of paintings and drawings.
Dr. Tony Spano, the AVPA director as well as the head of the many music programs at Culver City High School was enjoying the high water mark of the anniversary while staying in performance mode. He graciously accepted the accolades being offered to him from parents and guests, while fielding questions and putting out the ‘fires’ that any multi-faceted media performance breaks out.
“It’s been an amazing couple of decades,” he smiled, ” and I’m still inspired.” The program had begun with little more than a small marching band, something to put on the field at half time for the football games. In a few dozen years, the AVPA had expanded in the space around him into a quantum expansion of creativity.
The Glorya Kaufman Community Center at the other end of the garden was the space for the orchestra, theater and dance programs to perform, offering small but intense samples of their expertise. The orchestral strings played the famous “Ashokan Farewell” from the Ken Burns film on the Civil War, theater performed their Drama Teachers Association entry of the musical “Six” to the festival standard of no costumes, no props, and four chairs, cutting an entire musical down to 10 minutes. (Theater Director Lee Hanson was pleased to note they made it the finals.) Carol Zee’s dancers then took the stage with two student choreographed pieces; first a small group ensemble reflecting 1970’s chic, followed by a large group powering through a demanding hip-hop routine.
Film students showed their work in the upstairs ‘classroom’ space, just a day after their successful screenings at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Holly Gable was beaming, delighted at her students camera work, script writing, sound editing, and plot twists, with each short film offering something unique.
This year even included a fashion show, with the walkway to the main museum entrance being used as a catwalk for students to strut some style, showcasing outfits and makeup as a collaborative effort between theater, film and tech.
It’s always a challenge to describe the creative output of AVPA students as “student work,” although that is the category. These are teenagers. But it’s better than a lot of “professional” work out there. After attending hundreds of AVPA showings and performances over the years, I’m still impressed – and surprised. I’m never surprised that I’m impressed, but I am impressed that I’m surprised.
This unique and fantastically successful program does launch professionals; I know of several people who walked right out of AVPA and into paying jobs in the entertainment industry. I know of many more who went on to study arts in their next level of education. These students win awards, get scholarships, and make their mark.
There are plenty of neurological studies that show how painting, playing an instrument, or memorizing a monologue opens up more areas of the brain to use for problem solving, for imagination, for pleasure.
The Java Gala began as a ‘coffee party’ to showcase the work of the artists, actors, musicians, dancers, and all the students at the Academy. Sunday evening was a multidimensional collage of time, teachers and talent.
Imagine – just imagine – what the next thirty years could be.
Judith Martin-Straw
