North Shore Academy of the Arts

A Note from NSAA Founder and President

Paula sent out an invitation for volunteers to come to NSAA last Saturday and help with the Circle of Friends event. Circle of friends is a group of special needs individuals and we were providing them with opportunities in the arts.

I stood listening and watching for a while.  Parents bringing their children, young and not so young, into our academy. Teenagers, giving up their weekend afternoon to help. Our devoted staff, giving up holiday time with their families to give to other families.  I watched the singing, dancing and laughter down in the theatre room, the creating, and gluing and smiles in the art room. I saw the learning from one person to another. The honest giving and receiving from each individual involved.

 The afternoon was filled with unwrapping of all sorts.

Here are some of that gifts that I received:

that listening to someone shake the maraca while they laugh, is beautiful music.

that watching a teacher dance with enthusiasm and joy can get you  up out of your wheel chair to join along, even if the only way your feet can move to the rhythm is through your heart.

that while the list of “to dos” don’t get done when you come to an event such as this, their priority shifts. Dramatically.

that if you can’t express your joy through words, you can through music

that it pays to nurture your talents-because even at a young age you can mentor others

that even if it seems you aren’t painting or dancing or singing, in your own way, you’re experiencing art just as deeply

that teachers -especially those at NSAA, have a rare and unique gift of patience and giving and bringing out  the best in someone else by nurturing what’s within

that our old building, despite its shortcomings, is home for good things

and mostly, here is what I was given… the realization that we all have special needs, in one way or another. A need  to express ourselves in unique ways; to discover our talents.  To feel accepted for who we are and for being allowed to be true to what’s within.  And to have the opportunity to give, and to be given to.  

Paula and I stood together on the balcony as people were beginning to filter out.  The last event of the year, of the decade at NSAA, was coming to a close.  We stood in silence– after all these years of working together, little needed to be said. I know we were both thinking through the ups and the downs of the past  ten years–together with our team, all the trials of working on fixing up the facility, the financial challenges,  the journey of finding instructors, the endless editing of brochures, the shows produced, the classes taught, the late nights til three in the morning, the early mornings til late nights. At times, we’ve both had our doubts.

That afternoon shifted those doubts.  We shared the same thought,

“This is why..”

To all of you–Scott  and Paula, our amazing volunteers, staff, board members, artistic and advisory boards, parent committee members, parents, and families, kids and babies, the elderly,  visitors, CPAC, Hartford, Bayshore, our consultants, the Village of Grafton, Mequon Jewish Preschool, organizations we’ve teamed up with,  our donors, even those who have told us time and time again our bathroom is less than desirable and that they aren’t happy with auditions….thank you. We wouldn’t be here without you.

You are our circle of friends.

We look forward to the next ten years as our circle continues to grow.  We hope that together, we can honor the special needs of each other–

 To imagine, discover, create, dream.

North Shore Academy of the Arts.

May your celebrations this season be warm and joyful, may you have opportunities to give and be given to, and may all you  unwrap in the upcoming year, be bright and true.   

Sheri