Encore, the new Culver City Middle School Show Choir will give its first performances at 7 p.m. on Saturday, January, 26 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 27 at the Willows Community School Theater, 8520 Warner Drive, in Culver City. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door. Twenty-seven vibrant Culver City Middle School students chosen by audition comprise the ensemble, directed by Dane Morris, a dynamic young director/arranger who founded the award winning a capella group Sound Check at Chapman University.

Morris is assisted by choreographer Jessica Ordaz, who teaches dance at Claylee’s Dance Academy and works as Director/Choreographer for Southern California Youth Theater (SCYT).

Encore will perform ensemble numbers arranged by Morris of popular music by Owl City, Adele, Beyoncé and others. In addition, several students will take the stage as featured soloists, highlighting the array of talent within the choir. The choir will be accompanied by a professional band, also under the direction of Morris.

The Show Choir program, one of two classes offered by CCMS Theatre Arts, was made possible in part by The Glee Give A Note Foundation, which awarded the three-year-old program a $10,000 grant. CCMS Theatre Arts is a program of Panther Partners, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that raises funds for and develops and delivers a variety of after-school enrichment classes for the students of Culver City Middle School, in conjunction with the CCMS administration and the Culver City Unified School District. CCMS Theatre Arts enjoys the active support of and coordination with the Middle School administration and members of the Culver City School Board.

With Encore, CCMS Theatre Arts is fulfilling the original mission of its founders, Diane Feldman and Diana Kunce – “building a creative and collaborative community through arts education, giving middle school students a positive social and emotional experience that strengthens self-esteem and opens doors for exploration during a key transitional time in their lives.”

Bring the family for a fun-filled, exhilarating performance by CCUSD’s first-ever Show Choir. For more information please visit www.ccmstheatrearts.com.