A Bridge to Students’ Creative Sides

April Quinn, 11, stepped into a circus ring as a lion tamer on Friday, although the ring actually was an auditorium stage and the lions were her classmates.

“I think the animals were very well-behaved,” April said, giggling, after her performance. “But the best thing was that I got to be on a stage performing for people for the first time in my whole life. It was very, very cool.”

The Clara Barton Elementary School fifth-grader, along with about 300 other students from seven other Orange County elementary schools, was taking part in the second annual ArtsBridge Day, celebrated at the Irvine Barclay Theatre at UC Irvine.

Through music, dance and drama, students demonstrated skills they have learned in their ArtsBridge programs, sponsored by UC Irvine and funded by corporations and community groups.

The purpose is to help restore the arts to curricula in schools where programs have been eroded by state and federal funding cutbacks.

The performers Friday included the children’s mentors, arts students from UCI.

Pedro Sosa, 10, a student at Pio Pico Elementary School in Santa Ana, was fascinated by the performance of a flamenco dancer.

“It was beautiful,” Pedro said. “And it was so colorful I could not believe it.”

Several children said their favorite part of the day was a demonstration of the trombone by two UCI musicians.

The kids roared with laughter as the musicians used their instruments to duplicate the sounds of cows mooing and lions roaring.

ArtsBridge funds 33 scholars working in elementary schools in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, El Modena, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Orange.