All students at CCSA study visual art, instrumental music, vocal music, theatre, and dance. The skillful practice of the arts empowers students to unleash their creativity, bolstering their critical thinking skills and enhancing their approach to all academic subjects and areas of life.
Through habits of practice and self-assessment in their art subjects, students at CCSA develop discipline and perseverance. From kindergarten onwards they are refining their communication and presentation skills, learning to collaborate in teams, and forming strategies for the completion of short- and long-term projects.
At CCSA we push students to develop mastery in art. Starting in sixth grade, they narrow their arts focus to two classes each trimester. Upon entering high school they embark on a rigorous creative program by selecting two arts disciplines as “majors” for the entire year.
All CCSA students study music. The curriculum includes vocal and instrumental music, music theory and appreciation, original composition and notation, and improvisation.
Academic classes integrate music into the study of historical and cultural periods, as well as math and literature through exercises in rhythm, beat, and tone. In middle and high school, vocal and instrumental ensembles rehearse throughout the year.
The music department works with the theatre and dance departments to produce the annual spring musical.
Our theatre program provides strong support for literacy development. When children have access to great stories, we empower them to develop a lifelong love for learning and to become better readers, thinkers, orators and advocates.
Every child at CCSA studies theatre, including performance, playwriting, and technical theatre/arts management aspects. CCSA offers one major musical production each year, previously bringing junior versions of The Lion King, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin to the stage. Children also visit theaters in the Philadelphia region to see professional shows.
CCSA’s ballet-based program emphasizes concentration, discipline, technique, strength building, flexibility and history and cultural appreciation of classical and modern dance traditions. Students also study African dance, hip-hop, modern, jazz and ballroom dancing. They have multiple opportunities to perform and to view professional dance.
At CCSA, visiting artists and frequent trips to art galleries and museums enhance our visual arts program. The curricular scope for visual art includes drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture and graphic and media arts. Our program allows students to develop foundational and advanced skills while also gaining solid background in art history.