Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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And with those real-world opportunities comes real-world success for the school's students. Alumni are dancing with respected ballet companies, performing in Strip production shows, and teaching music to the next generation of performers. Some alums have even achieved celebrity status, including True Blood actress Rutina Wesley, comedian and actor Baron Vaughn, R&B artist Ne-Yo, dancer-turned-actress Julianne Hough, and a star of the CBS drama Criminal Minds, Matthew Gray Gubler. Gubler speaks fondly of his alma mater, describing its atmosphere of acceptance, the encouragement he received from teachers and classmates, and the way the school's audition process "weeded out all of the kids who were just phoning school in," he says. "It's this amazing, safe world. I was always surrounded by nothing but love and encouragement, which really allows you to flourish as a painter, a director, an actor, anything." The native Las Vegan considers his time at LVA crucial to his later success. Scott Walker, the Academy's current principal, echoes Gubler's comment about feeling accepted: "We don't have a lot of the bullying element that other schools have." He mentions the school's core values, the "LVA Way," saying that "investing in family, community, and that sense of belonging" is at the top of the list. Thanks in part to that supportive atmosphere, students can be seen giving impromptu performances in the quad or walking to class rehearsing the aria they'll be performing that night. It brings to mind familiar scenes from the hit 1980 film Fame and the subsequent stage musical, as well as the school on which they're based, Manhattan's LaGuardia High School. "It's not unusual to see someone pull out their guitar and start playing, or walking around with a harmonica, breaking into song," says Walker, adding that LVA really is similar to the movie and the musical. "Everyone here loves what they do, so they put an incredible amount of time and energy into it," even if that means extra 92 Alumnus Matthew Gray Gubler with Jeanne Tripplehorn on Criminal Minds. BELOW: "King" Gubler's 1997 yearbook photo. practice while walking to class. Says alumna Serena Henry, who during her high school years sang with Gladys Knight and is now touring with Smokey Robinson: "There were definitely certain [Fame-like] moments. When it got close to some of the musical productions, you would see people in their tights and in their dance attire, or the singers in their choir robes." In recent years, LVA students have staged hits such as Sweeney Todd, Jekyll and Hyde, and, aptly, Fame, in its inaugural year, productions that bring in theater fans from across town. "During just about every performance, I just beam," Walker says. "We were the first high school group to perform at the Smith Center—a combined band, orchestra, and choir performance. And to see that place fill was amazing and a highlight for me. When we put on our big musicals each year, you can just look at the talent and hear the audience, the members, the community that comes to see it, go, 'Wow, I can't believe this is high school. This is just like Broadway.' I love that." Indeed, both Gubler and Henry say that the experience helped them immeasurably. "The Academy came along at the perfect time in my life," Gubler says. "Really, it saved me and made me so excited to learn and so excited to be surrounded by people that were creative and very encouraging." From the school's point of view, the students make it easy. "These kids naturally have talent and ability," says Walker, who taught choir and band prior to becoming an administrator. "It just needs to be fostered, focused, and directed. The kids choose to be here, and with that kind of motivation you can do just about anything." V PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ROBERT VOETS/CBS BROADCASTING (CRIMINAL MINDS); COURTESY OF LAS VEGAS ACADEMY OF THE ARTS (KING GUBLER) LEFT: VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 088-093_V_Feat_FAME_Sum13.indd 92 6/19/13 1:41 PM