Arts Offerings

Dance education offers girls a positive, healthy outlet for creative self-expression, self-awareness, and independent thought while celebrating their humanity. Through the study and discipline of Ballet and Modern Dance, girls are encouraged to take more responsibility for the care, conditioning, and health of their bodies, both within and outside dance class. Early exposure to a structured dance program helps students learn that self-discipline is a prerequisite for achievement in dance. Early childhood girls receive creative movement and move into ballet class through lower school. In middle and upper school, girls continue to explore and expand dance technique as they study modern dance technique and apply it to their own choreography. Through creating, performing, and responding to dance, middle and upper school girls can continue to develop skills and knowledge that enhance important development of self-image and social relationships.

Girls in grades pre-k-12 have multiple onsite options for continuing dance training past the school day. The Mary Miles Loveless Arts Academy offers weekly classes, workshops, and master classes in ballet, hip hop, modern dance technique, modern dance ensemble, and musical theatre movement.

Capturing the human experience through digital communication will forever be a part of how history reflects on the current chapter of human civilization. Teaching girls to be effective communicators in front of other or in an online platform is a priority for Hutchison. In digital design and communication, girls learn how to express their voice and use it for positive change and influencing others. Through online journalism and creative writing, they discover the value of communicating effectively and responsibly in our rapidly changing digital world.

Girls can explore real world applications of communications and technology skills by taking Graphic Design and Digital Media and producing the school newspaper in print and online editions, our literary magazine, and our award winning yearbook. Filmmaking and podcasting are skills developed in multiple courses in film production, and Public Speaking and Debate.

From Little Hive through upper school, music plays an important role in Hutchison's arts curriculum and the ethos of the school. Girls explore music patterns, history, and techniques, building on these skills and experiences as they advance to higher grades. From the exploration of rhythm as music's most basic form to the writing and performing of original compositions in song and opera forms, Hutchison girls gain more than the ability to identify Mozart; they gain an understanding and appreciation of music in all its forms and genres.

Starting in Early Childhood through lower school, music is taught by master teaching artists. Focusing on music history, genres, theory and choral performance, the upper and middle school girls utilize our digital keyboard lab and performance space in each music class.

Hutchison music teachers conduct three choirs that perform on and off campus many times during the school year. Two formal music concerts, featuring the choirs and music ensemble are produced each year. Loveless Arts Academy music opportunities include private lessons in voice and many instruments, including strings. Students can participate in group lessons for piano, guitar, singing, and rock band. Numerous arts academy recitals and showcases offer students further performance opportunities.

Creative Dramatics are implemented once a week in the early childhood program and focus on story structure, characters, and language development. Literature-based theatre units of study are taught throughout the lower school experience and culminate in showcases on the main stage in the Wiener Theater. Theatre as an arts discipline is part of the middle school arts rotation and girls can continue to build acting, directing, and design skills through fine arts electives in Upper School.

Our teachers are professional theatre artists with years of teaching experience; they understand how theatre affects students on a personal level by contributing to mental, emotional, and social growth of each girl.

In theatre classes, through solo and ensemble projects, girls learn poise and gain the confidence needed to be effective communicators. Students design and construct scenery, props, lighting, and makeup interpreting the ideas of others and apply their own through real world design projects.

The Mary Miles Loveless Arts Academy offers many opportunities to continue the study of theatre in afterschool and weekend events and classes. Acting, playwriting, stage movement, and stage combat are only some of the topics covered each semester and in the summer.

Each theatre pursuit, whether in a class or after school activity, focuses on the theatre skills of collaborating with others, giving and receiving meaningful criticisms, developing analysis skills, and empathy.

Theatre Box Office

The philosophy of the visual arts department at Hutchison centers on mastering art making skills and meaningful discussions about works of art. Whether the girl is in kindergarten or an AP drawing class, she should have a proficiency in talking about her own art work, a classmate's, or a painting hanging in an art museum. Girls from pre-k through middle school experience visual art as part of their year’s curriculum. In upper school our girls can explore art in a semester introductory level class and move through AP drawing and also sculpture. Each year, girls in the AP art program receive multiple scholarships to pursue arts at the college level in selective programs.

The Mary Miles Arts Academy classes and events support and supplement the day program by offering pottery, figure drawing, digital photography, painting and mixed media, printmaking and private art lessons.