GT Humanities students are finishing off the semester with a Great Performances Project. The class has been learning about opera’s and ballet’s and will be putting their own twists to them based on their research essays. 

For sophomore Sophia Hung, the idea of a performance was initially daunting, but is now friendly towards the idea. 

“I was honestly confused when I was told we had to sing and dance for the final project,” Hung said. “I didn’t get the point, but now that we’re well into out unit it’s starting to make sense since we’re learning about how ‘Art Can Amend History’.”

GT Humanities teacher Elizabeth Evans believes the project will drive students’ creativity and push them out of their comfort zones. 

“We wanted them to embrace challenges and that was the future ready skill we wanted them to work on,” Evans said. “It forces students out of their comfort zones. They have to get up in front of their peers and sing or dance, play music. By doing that it builds resilience that students need. They’re connecting this to their historical research papers and the different topics and art forms we’ve learned.”

Though some students are hesitant about performing, freshman Soren Ryu feels it connects his experience in band to the classroom. 

“I personally think the project is very unique,” Ryu said. “It helps deepen out learning of important concepts through creative and unconventional presentations. I enjoy the project idea of composing program music because I feel like music is a part of my identity through band.”