At This School, Talent Is the Key Requirement

The odds were heavily against them. But that did not discourage the nearly 500 young dancers, actors, musicians and artists who auditioned Sunday for the 100 or so spots in the upcoming freshman class at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.

The students came lugging instruments, ballet slippers, sheet music and portfolios for a chance to get four years of free arts instruction at the specialized campus.

The school, on the campus of Cal State Los Angeles near Monterey Park, requires applicants to have at least a 2.0 GPA and no failing grades. If they meet that requirement, only their auditions stand between them and admission.

“It’s only talent on audition day,” said school Principal Marsha Aguirre. “Grades don’t matter.”

At the dance auditions, what mattered was the ability to follow an instructor’s movements of full splits, plies and pirouettes. The students moved slowly but worked hard. They spun and leapt. The room smelled like a gym.

At the end, the students were allowed to improvise in groups in front of one of the juries of faculty and professional artists assembled in the different departments.

“Dance like you dance in your living room when no one’s watching,” a judge instructed. “When you are given the opportunity to dance and show why you want to come to this school, you should dance your heart out.”

Celestine Denson, 14, added hip-hop dance to the improv, along with ballet twirls and leaps. Denson, an eighth-grader at Dana Middle School in Hawthorne, has had only four dance classes in her life, but that was enough to get her hooked.

“I think, personally, God gave me this gift,” Denson said. “I want to be a dancer. I want to go to Broadway. I want to go to New York. I want to go to Alvin Ailey.” Matthew Rushing, a 1991 graduate of the arts high school, is with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, founded by African American choreographer Alvin Ailey.

Though Denson is inexperienced compared with other applicants, judges said that was not a certain barrier.

“It is important to have a diverse balance of talented young people,” said Lois Hunter, chairwoman of the dance and theater department. She said judges looked for passion and potential as well as talent.

In a nearby building, Matthew Kolodziejczyk, 14, from Canyon Country, prepared for his audition on his alto sax, accompanied by his father, Marc, on double bass. Kolodziejczyk, an eighth-grader at Sierra Vista Junior High, said he started playing about two years ago, inspired by jazz artists like John Coltrane and Charlie Parker.

“I just love playing the sax,” he said. “Playing the sax, you can make a person’s day. You can make people feel happy about themselves or make them feel crappy.”

At his neighborhood high school, Canyon High, he would have to be in the marching band to take jazz instruction. Kolodziejczyk said the arts school would better prepare him for a career as a jazz musician, although he would have a long commute.

“I love the fact that they have a jazz program,” he said. “If I go here, I get to go to school with a bunch of kids who have the same passion for music as I do.”

The arts school, which opened in 1985, is a starting point for what the students hope will be successful careers in the arts. Its graduates include actress Jenna Elfman, star of the TV show “Dharma and Greg,” singer Josh Grobin and writer Josefina Lopez, author of the play “Real Women Have Curves,” which was made into a movie.

The school also is a haven from students who do not share their interests and can be hostile.

“It’s the only place where you can turn to your classmate and say, ‘I have to go practice my flute for an hour,’ and they say, ‘That’s cool,’ ” Principal Aguirre said. “There’s no bullying here. There’s no teasing. It’s unbelievable.”

But the school is no cakewalk, either. “It’s quite competitive,” Aguirre said. “You might have always been first violin in your old school, but when you come here, you’re not.”

Applicants will receive letters by May 18 notifying them whether or not they’ve been accepted. Some might be called back for another audition in the next few weeks.

For example, non-jazz musicians had to play the Italian aria “Caro Mio Ben” as well as a selection of their choice.

“The most important thing in music is sound,” said Dan Castro, chairman of the music department. “We’re looking for someone who sounds good.”

He said a student with years of experience and impeccable technical skill is not as desirable as a student without those skills who simply sounds better.

“You only have to hear a student for 10 seconds before our judges know if they want that kid,” he said.

Students, he added, have a better chance if they meet a need, for example, for male vocalists or an oboe or bassoon player. But admission still depends on talent.

For the visual arts, students brought large portfolios of up to a dozen pieces, including drawings, sketches, paintings and photographs. A panel of artists reviewed their work, while another group interviewed the students. After that, the students had 25 minutes to draw a still life.

In theater, students had 15 minutes to perform two monologues, one classical and one contemporary, without costumes or props. Then the judges interviewed them.

Lily Boughtwood, 13, from Topanga Canyon, did a monologue from “Romeo and Juliet.” The eighth-grader from New West Charter School in West Los Angeles has been doing musical theater since she was 3.

“I just want to go somewhere [where] there’s a really good theater program,” she said. “I feel really passionate about theater.”

Jeremy Guskin, a theater instructor, said he did not envy the judges because the students showed so much talent and motivation.

“For any 13-year-old to have that kind of perspective on their life, that’s impressive,” he said. “You have to admire that kind of commitment.”

Ben Fonseca, audition and community outreach coordinator, said attendance at the school often takes special effort because it does not provide transportation or housing. Many parents drive long carpools, while nearly half the students use public transportation. Some families move closer to the school, he said.

Students take regular academic classes, including advanced placement courses, from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. After that, they study music, theater, dance or visual arts until 4 p.m. That does not include rehearsals for shows, plays or concerts.

Jessi Quinlan, 14, a freshman theater student, takes the Metrolink from Encino to Union Station, then a bus to campus. It takes an hour each way, but she doesn’t mind -- she wants to be in theater.

“It’s just in the cards for me. It’s in my blood,” said Quinlan. “It’s what makes me happy.”