Arts

Architecture + Design is for students who are creative thinkers and makers, like to explore the world around them, and want to be a part of shaping the environment we live in and the objects we interact with every day.

Students in this department will develop critical skills in how to take creative ideas beyond concepts, and learn how to communicate design intentions through research, analysis, drawing, and model building, as well as visual, written, and verbal presentations.

Be ready to fill a sketchbook with ideas and drawings!

TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE DO

The Conservatory Dance program offers rigorous coursework in ballet, modern, jazz, blues, and other contemporary styles of dance as well as training in choreography and composition.  Students learn to combine strong technique with a sense of artistry.

More about Conservatory Dance

The Conservatory Music Department is a modern performing arts program. Curriculum includes instruction in classical instruments, strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion and is dictated by instrument groups to form the primary performing ensembles, Orchestra, Jazz, or Big Band.  This is to fully provide a well-rounded music education for all students, no matter the path they chose in life following high school.  Students are able to take additional seminars such as mariachi, creative strings, rhythm section workshop, or world music workshop. 

The program offers a college preparatory environment for those students who may consider pursuing music in post-secondary education, while providing an inspiring, engaging, and fun music-making community for students five days a week.

Conservatory Music is looking for instrumental students willing to build their skills through an investment of time and energy, whether they have been playing for two years or ten years. Ideal candidates have a passion for music and seek to surround themselves with colleagues and friends who inspire them to reach new heights of academic, musical, and personal success. 

The Electronic Music Program at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts is a four-year, project-based course where students learn to compose, produce and perform original music using industry-standard tools and techniques. Through hands-on work in digital music production, students explore beat-making, arranging, sound design, recording, mixing, scoring for media and immersive spatial audio. The course focuses not only on electronic production and composition, but provides foundational audio engineering skills. The program emphasizes technical fluency, critical listening and the development of an individual artistic voice, encouraging students to build both creative confidence and professional-level production skills. 

This program is designed for students who are excited to explore music through technology and develop broader musical sensibilities as both attentive listeners and adventurous creators. Applicants should have some prior experience creating music in any style, but most important is curiosity, dedication and a willingness to experiment, collaborate and grow.

Instruments and software include:

iMac
Ableton Live
Akai MPC
Akai MPK Controllers
Tascam Model 12 Mixer
Microphones
18.1 Multi-speaker System & Spatial Controller
Drum Machines
Samplers
Synthesizers

The Costume & Fashion Design Department at RASOTA gives students hands-on experience in both fashion design and costume production. Students move between designing original garments for the annual Fashion Show and creating costumes for school productions, including the spring musical.. Across every project, sewing and construction skills are at the center of the program.

Through project-based, studio-style learning, students develop skills in sewing, professional finishing techniques, self-drafted patterns, illustration, garment construction, textiles, fashion history, and styling. Students work with professional equipment, including industrial sewing machines, while learning the expectations and collaborative habits used in the fashion industry.

The department is designed for students interested in sewing, theater, fashion, art, storytelling, and design. Through productions, photoshoots, portfolio-building projects, and the annual Fashion Show, students leave with stronger technical skills, creative confidence, collaboration experience, and preparation for college or career pathways in costume and fashion design.

Costume + Fashion Design Artists Link to this section

Alex Lunt, Department Lead

lunta@sfusd.edu

Tiersa Nureyev, Teaching Artist

nureyevt@sfusd.edu

Audition Video

Costume & Fashion Design Audition Video

Audition Assignment for Costume + Fashion Design

Audition Assignment Here 

Media + Film students are introduced to a variety of genres, including documentary, animation, narrative and experimental and receive instruction in all aspects of motion picture production. Film history and analysis also play an important role in the coursework.

Essential technical skills and real-world applications of these skills provide Media + Film students with a well-rounded experience: planning and executing projects from start to finish, training on equipment, submissions to film festivals, film school research, grant applications and proposals, internships, peer-teaching, and mentoring.

Media + Film students work independently and collaborate on projects and frequently interact with students in other disciplines.  It is not unusual for Instrumental Music students to provide original scores or for students from Dance, Theatre, and Creative Writing to contribute to student productions in the Media + Film Art department. 

Ideal candidates for Media + Film have a strong artistic interest in one or more of the following areas: script/playwriting, video production, visual arts with an emphasis on storytelling or comic art, animation, film criticism, photography, performance in video or film productions.

More about Media + Film

Musical Theatre students at RASOTA engage in rigorous, holistic training from their very first day. With dedicated instruction in vocal technique, ensemble singing, music theory, acting, ballet, jazz, and tap, they are challenged and supported as they develop into confident, expressive, and technically skilled triple-threat performers. Now an independent department, Musical Theatre offers students a comprehensive curriculum designed to nurture versatility, discipline, and artistic excellence.

ADD

The Technical Theater Department offers project based, student-centered learning in theater stagecraft including scene design, construction, and painting, theatrical lighting design and application, sound design, mixing, and application, prop design and fabrication, shop safety, theater terminology, drawing and sketching for design rendering, color theory and painting technique, technical lettering for design presentation, historical research skills, portfolio building and review, professional Internships, and time and project management.

The Technical Theater Department supports the technical needs of performances and events produced during the academic year. Tech students collaborate with the other arts departments on more than 50 productions. Students are encouraged to explore and develop their skills in all aspects of theatrical production in a creative and unique learning environment. 

The program is supported by artists-in-residence and theater professionals.

Drawing, Painting, Digital, & Sculpture

The Visual Arts program emphasizes intensive studio instruction and the mastery of technique in drawing and painting with additional coursework in digital design and sculpture.  Students focus on composition, perspective, and color theory using a variety of media including oil, acrylics, conte, watercolor, ink, and charcoal.

A year-long art history course during sophomore year exposes students to the major works, periods and themes. Senior students develop a series of works on a topic of their choice and submit their best pieces to national art competitions, the National Congressional Art Awards and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, often with very successful results.

The Vocal Music & Classical Piano Department at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts offers a unique learning opportunity for students to delve into all facets of singing and music.

The Department provides pre-professional training and college audition preparation for students desiring a career in music and a deep exploration of music as enduring appreciation for those that may pursue other careers. This involves classes that include choral ensemble singing, solo vocal training, language study, music theory training and creative music creation, and independent learning opportunities centered around the cultural exploration of music.

Students focus on their chosen art form for 10-15 hours per week for all four years of high school. Incoming Vocal and Piano students begin with the study of both jazz and classical music simultaneously and have the opportunity to specialize starting in the junior year. All students have the option to sing in multiple choirs throughout their four years of study. 

The Piano Program focuses on the study of classical piano, with an emphasis on technical development, an understanding of period style and musical interpretation, and collaborative performance. The program aims to develop well-rounded pianists through a comprehensive curriculum that includes both solo and collaborative playing. Students explore a wide range of ensemble repertoire, including piano four-hands, two-piano, and eight-hand works, while also having ample opportunities to collaborate with vocalists and instrumentalists in both small and large ensemble settings.

Learn more about the Vocal Music Program HERE

Global Dance Styles and Traditions

World Dance at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts is a training ground for students to hone their skills as diverse movers, creative practitioners and more! Students rigorously train in a variety of dance forms from around the world, employ choreographic devices and structures to generate their own work, and explore multidisciplinary approaches to art making throughout the year. Physical training is met with exploring the social, cultural and political contexts in which dance exists. Additionally, students have the opportunity to perform, choreograph and share their work with each other, their families and community throughout the year!  

The WRITING DEPARTMENT offers the combined disciplines of CREATIVE WRITING and SPOKEN ARTS.

CREATIVE WRITING students explore and develop their voices as writers over several genres: fiction, poetry, and playwriting.  Students are invited to write from experience and imagination, all the while developing their craft and curiosity for writing and Literature.  In Creative Writing, there is a mixture of encouragement towards publication, as well as readings and stagings that connect with the school community and beyond. Each school year students will have the opportunity to work with visiting writers and artists who offer diverse perspectives on storytelling and poetics. 

For prospective students, we offer free optional workshops through 826 Valencia to aid in compiling your application. 

What We Do In CREATIVE WRITING 

Step up to the mic, challenge yourself and grow as an artist! SPOKEN ARTS will push you to explore new forms of expression, develop your skills, and find your voice. Through poetry, rap, storytelling, singing, and more, you'll discover the power of words to move and inspire. "The role of the artist is to reflect the times." - Nina Simone. Are you ready to step up?

Students in Spoken Arts explore their creative voice(s) through poetry, dramatic and comedic performance, improvisation, rap, and public speaking. The core of this four-year program is writing and performance, hand-in-hand. Spoken Artists have a passion for writing and an interest in honing their voice to perform their work. Over the course of the program, students meet a wide ranging group of artists in residence who support them in their journey to finding their authentic written and performance styles. 

What we do in SPOKEN ARTS