Firebird TimesDoral Academy Preparatory School 11100 NW 27th St., Doral, FloridaVolume 1 Issue 1

The magazine division of The Phoenix Newspaper

Special Performing Arts Edition...

The Music Department2012-2013

audition process to re-cruit new talent and only the top students were ac-cepted. This year with new members the neces-sity of more equipment brought about fundrais-ing through the sale of World’s Finest Chocolate and popcorn. “These have been very effective forms of fundraising, the mon-ey is used to buy chorus uniforms, band uniforms and to help purchaseequipment and re-sources for the depart-ment,” said Yanes. Kimberly San-Martin and Kimberly Fernan-dez are the President and Vice President of the Per

forming Arts Vocal Group known as the Acronyms, they were appointed to this position by Yanes. This is their final year in the program and theyare excited about the fu-ture. They have started to apply to colleges tocontinue their musiccareers. “I will be applying to Michigan State University and hope to become a Fo-rensic Psychologist,” said San-Martin. “I hope to at-tend Florida International University and pursue a career in psychology,” said Fernandez. Both are very excited about the new tal

ent, they feel that since this is their last year they are leaving the program in great hands. “The new Performing Arts stu-dents are very young and talented. They are very nice, ambitious andshowcase a lot of tal-ent,” said both Fernan-dez and San-Martin.

Written by: Kristen Cruz and Maria Elena Amaya

Simon Baduy performs

at Cafe Amore (above).

Dr. Adalberto Yanesconducts Doral Academy’s chorus

(Below).

Stephanie Rubio em-braces her Hispanic Heritage (above).

The Music De-partment has been in-volved in a variety oflocal performances such as Café Amore at La Co-vacha, Coral Gables’ Car-oling Competition, Band Sprint Concert and the Doral Tree Lighting Cer-emony. This year they added more performanc-es to their schedule, in-cluding the Doral Festival of the Arts “which was a great way to showcase the many talented students in our programs,” according to Dr. Adalberto Yanes, Performing Arts Director. The MusicDepartment under-went a very rigorous

Fine Arts look into a Bright Future

“The Fine Arts program has some of the most talent-ed students we have ever seen,” said per-forming art teachers Kevin Cabral, Andrea Fuentes and Daniela Aguilera. Cabral said, “I am proud of how far it’s grown. From 75 students to 300, we’re able to take it somewhere.” He also said it is the best per-forming arts program in South Florida be-cause students and staff are passionate about what they do. Fuentes had a chance to explain about the Winterfest as she is part of Performing Arts program for Art. She said, “Winterfest was a wonderful opportu-nity for the communi-ty to see all the talent and wonderful art.”

Fuentes had also said to be looking out for students Gaia Ro-dri-guez and Itzel Ba-sualdo, but that the whole Firebird fami-ly in general is great. Aguilera added, “The students are the most dedicated and actually believe in pursuing a carrer in their art.” Overall, ex-pect see a great deal of beautiful art work around the school and seasonal shows. Junior and third-year Performing Arts student Gaia Rodri-guez said, “The pro-gram has changed in a good way. This year we are having anoth-er Art Basel fieldtrip. Young Arts and Scho-lastic clubs are taken more seriously and deserve more recog-nition. More materials

would be useful, but it’s a work in progress. We have great artists this year.” Rodriguez went on to say, “You should expect possi-ble wins in the Young Arts and Scholastic program in addition to the competition at the Orange Bowl.”“I’ve been in the pro-gram since freshman year, and I’m now a senior, so it’s been four years,” said Itzel Ba-sualdo. Basualdo also said, “The program has definitely expand-ed both as a program and in the amount of people joining each year. AP courses are at a faster pace and taken seriously, allow-ing students to study artwork other than our own.” Basualdo concluded by saying, “Expect a varied body

Fine Arts look into a bright futurePriscilla Correa

EditorEmily LaraStaff writer

Hugh Curtright VStaff writer

Marielena PerezStaff Writer

“Water colors and Ink” courtesy of Luis Vega

of work, last year was the first year we add-ed ceramic 3D art to the program. This is also the first year we have the National Art and Fine Arts club, which art students may find promising.”

“Suanay” courtesy of Christen Romero

“I Should Have Been a Dancer” courtesy of Itzel Basualdo

“Colorful face” courtesy of Jennifer Rodriguez

“Mortartcycle” courtesy of GG “Pop Art Mannequin” courtesy of GG

Doral Academy’s performing arts program is filled with diversity. From inspiring thespians to high energy Diamond Dancers, Doral Academy is the place to be when seeking to be a performer. The Diamond Danc-ers, under Ms. Natalie Vega and Ms. Sheryl Canu, are in a transitional phase and focusing on strengthening the discipline of the girls and perfecting their tech-nique. With new additions to the team both Vega and Canu are excited about the year. Vega said, “We’re very excited with all the new girls and equipment.”

Many students questioned the position of dance team this year after their talented senior dancers graduated last year. Vega said, however, the fact that many of the underclassmen who joined the program this year come from private dance studios and have a long history with dance. Their knowledge of the more technical aspect of dancing as well as their skills will help project the team into a more successful year. Vega is confident that although she lost some of her top dancers, her steadily growing Diamond Dance Team will continue to perform at its peak. Canu was excited about the equipment in-stalled this year saying, “With the new ballet bars we are going to be able to focus on perfecting the girls technique which will help them become overall better dancers.”

Last February, the performing arts dance team was able to compete at the Cheer and Dance/Drill Team America

competition in Orlando. The girls placed first in var-ious divisions including large group division (jazz, kick, pom, lyrical, contemporary and hip-hop), large ensemble (seniors), small ensemble (freshmen), solo by Carolina Navarro and duets by both juniors and se-niors. They hope to compete more around the county, including at the ADA Competition at FIU in January, and be able to improve their scores and gain more recognition. They will also return to Orlando in Feb-ruary with a victorious mindset and top of the line routines. As more and more schools across the coun-ty close their performing arts program, Doral Acade-my becomes a haven for dancers and performers. The increase in demand for a spot on the Diamond Dance Team has made competition this year “fierce and cut-throat,” according to senior dancer Micaela Bonilla,

A returning addition to the program this year, orig-inally removed from the curriculum due to budget cuts, will be the Dance Honor Society. The program will not be limited to dance students or performing arts students, but will open its doors for any Doral stu-dent with a passion for dance. The Dance Honor So-ciety will focus on helping the dance community at Doral while promoting the performing arts program.

Within the next five years, Vega and Canu said with smiles, they envision a top tier dance team with recognition across the state and even the nation.

By: Pamela Vargas

Competion to be on dance team is “fierce and cut-throat.”

Senior Dance Team Members: Vanesa Casa-nova, Estefania Briceno. Michaella Kanarek, Crystal Perez, Alison Lo-pez, Nathaly Mon-tero, Maria Vera, Vallerie Bello, Emily Rodriguez, Jennifer Gonzalez, Janeisy Perez, Gabriela Perez, Micaela Bonilla.

Diamonds Dance Team

By Jonathon Warring Jack Marquez Ocatavio Suarez Staff Writers

Since its beginning Doral Academy’s Per-forming Arts and Enter-tainment Academy has continued to grow and expand. The school has received a gold med-al from U.S News’ best high schools and ranks it as 183rd in the nation, 16th in the state and 33rd in the district. In order to achieve this kind of suc-cess it takes multiple pro-grams that achieve more

success as the years go by. One of the academy’s most notable programs is its drama department. “Our first show was the Thespian Showcase,” said Mr. Shawn Sears. The Showcase took place Oc-tober 18th at both 4 pm and 7:30 pm, featuring mono-logues, scenes and songs. “The first show after the Showcase was on No-vember 15th and 16th. It featured two different one act plays: The Lottery and Go Ask Alice,” said Sears. On December 8th Doral hosted the Winter Festival which featured

Lights, Camera, Actionperformances from all of Doral Academy’s per-forming arts departments. Sears said, “It was an all-day event held from 10 am to five thirty pm. In addition to the perfor-mances there were food, rides and activities for the whole family.” As for the students themselves, Daymis Rosa said, “I was really excited about this event. I looked forward to showcasing my talent.” In past years several departments have collab-orated on shows. Sears said, “Sadly this year we will not be working with

any other departments. I do plan to next year, but it won’t be happening this year.” However this year drama has added a new theatre in room 316C which has the capacity to seat 60 people. Sears added, “For any students interested in helping in production they are wel-come to speak to myself or Ms. Patricia Cruz as we will be in charge of volunteer registration.”

Doral Academy’s Performing Arts school has come a long way since it was integrated into Doral Academy Prep in 2009. There are currently five departments in the School of Performing Arts, 98 students of the Per-forming Arts Department are seniors who have been a part of the department since the program started. There are now about 700 students in performing arts. These students have watched the arts departments flourish and improve this year, collabration will occur within the departments to work together to enhance the quality of the performances. Journalism and TV production plan to deliver news faser and with greater detail by show-ing a quick summarization of the report, while journal-ism displays the full story on the school’s newspaper, which will convert into a magazine sometime this year.

“This year we have added more performances to our schedule...which will be a great way to showcase the many talented students in our program,” said Dr. Adal-berto Yanes. He has been fundraising to help buy polos, band uniforms and equipment for other disciplines with-in the Performing Arts. “I have high expectations for the Performing Arts this year since the expansion , and I can’t wait to see the performances this year,” said Kiara Casellas.

By Kevin Gonzalez, Maria Garcia, Nicolas Pantaleon, Walter Gutierrez

Performing Arts in-creases enrollment, course offerings

By Dannielle Gonzalez Steven Kelly Joshiah Ferrer Staff Writers

With horrific sights and terri-fying sounds, Firebird Fright Night left audience members on the edge of their seats. Each guest started the night going through a haunted house with numerous experienced dra-ma students that impressed many. The film extravaganza included three silent films and seven short horror movies that were produced, edited and presented solely by Doral Academy’s own Television Production crew. The show was put together by junior Joshiah Ferrer and sophomore Alejandro Ponce who were the hosts and introduced the terrifying films that concluded the night with screams and chills. The Firebird TV crew was sur-prised by the number of guests that arrived, but where ready for every scenario as they made new rows of seats as needed. With the surprising outcome of this festive night ad-ministration and the television pro-

duction crew realized that this was more than what they expected. TV Production teacher Willie Viruet said, “We have been getting ready for this event and preparing for the unexpected, but I will not take credit for such a memorable night. I have to give it to my students who pulled it together all the way to the end and even after. They were there cleaning up after and every-thing. My crew has great work eth-ic and I could not be more proud.” Firebird Fright Night was a huge success for Firebird TV and the support from parents, teachers, students and faculty was widely appreciated. “We really hope this becomes an annual thing, I real-ly enjoyed putting it together,” said TV Production Vice Presi-dent Nicholas Pantaleon. Many students echoed this and cannot wait to come back next year for even more frightening flicks.

Firebird Fright Night